US Trip essays

US Trip essays In 11th grade I had the chance to apply for a 3-week-stay in the USA. There is a student exchange program between our high school and the Oak Ridge High School in Conroe Texas. It is a tradition that every year in spring a group of 11th graders visits Texas. I have always been interested in foreign languages and I like travelling to English-speaking countries to use the language and to get to know more about the inhabitants and their way of life. That is why I absolutely wanted to be one of the students to go to Texas that year. But it is always only a few students who get the opportunity to do that. I knew I had good conditions to take part because one of my main subjects was English and my teachers comminded me all the time. And my assumption was right. After a very short time I already got an e-mail from the daughter of my prospective host family. However the political situation in the U.S. was very complicated at this time. For that reason it was not certain if the exchange program could really take place. It seemed like my host family knew about the doubts my family had to allow me to go on that trip. So they sent a detailled letter to my parents to introduce themselves and to let them know that they could not identify with Bush's policy and that they would not support the war in Iraq. I was very glad to hear that because I would not have to think about how to react, if there were discussions about political topics. The letter they wrote made my parents feel relieved. My host family made avery positive impression on them. So they know I would be safe. And this was also the beginning of a friendship between our two families. Everyone of us started writing letters and e-mails and calling each other on the phone - me and my host sister (of course), my parents and her parents and even my brother and her sister. I could not wait to talk to my host family in person and when I got there they exceeded all of my expectations. They gav...

10 Pairs of Similar-Looking Near Antonyms

10 Pairs of Similar-Looking Near Antonyms 10 Pairs of Similar-Looking Near Antonyms 10 Pairs of Similar-Looking Near Antonyms By Mark Nichol Many pairs of words, often but not always etymologically related, can be easily confused for each other though they mean almost the opposite. Distinguish carefully between these odd couples: Contemptible: deserving of contempt, or despicable (â€Å"Their effort to suddenly kiss up to her once she inherited money was contemptible.†) Contemptuous: demonstrating contempt (â€Å"His contemptuous dismissal of the idea was inexcusably rude.†) (Both words stem from the Latin contemnere, â€Å"to despise.†) Flare: a signal light or a similar literal or figurative eruption (The shipwrecked sailor fired a signal flare to attract attention from the passing vessel.†) Flair: talent, or style (â€Å"He’s shown a remarkable flair for the craft.†) (Flare has uncertain origin, but it is not likely related to flair, from the Latin fragrare â€Å"odor.†) Gourmet: an expert on, or one who appreciates the nuances of, food or drink (â€Å"His reputation as a gourmet rests on his familiarity with all the best restaurants.†) Gourmand: a person enthusiastic about good food and drink; glutton (â€Å"My neighbor the gourmand has pretensions of being knowledgeable about wine.†) (Gourmet is from the French grommet, â€Å"boy servant,† perhaps itself based on English groom; gourmand derives from the Middle French gourmant. In French, gourmand remains a close synonym of gourmet, with no negative connotation.) Incredible: inspiring disbelief, extraordinary (â€Å"The fact that she had survived the ordeal was incredible.†) Incredulous: disbelieving (â€Å"I looked at him with a gaze of incredulous wonder.†) (Both words are from the antonym of the Latin credibilis, â€Å"credible.†) Mantel: a shelf or supporting structure above a fireplace (â€Å"She approached the fireplace and placed the candelabra on the marble mantel.†) Mantle: a literal or figurative cloak, covering, or layer (â€Å"A mantle of authority lay on the chieftain’s broad shoulders.†) (Both words derive from the Latin mantellum.) Material: matter, or components (â€Å"She brushed up against an object covered with soft material.†) Materiel: supplies and equipment, especially used by a specific organization (â€Å"The army found itself running low on materiel as its supply lines were cut.†) (Both words come from the French materiel.) Ordinance: order or law, or established usage (â€Å"The ordinance went into effect on January 1.†) Ordnance: artillery, or weapon-related military supplies (â€Å"The fort was equipped with enough ordnance to withstand several regiments.†) (Both words stem from the Latin ordinare, to put into order.†) Temerity: recklessness (â€Å"My assistant had the temerity to suggest that I didn’t know how to do my job!†) Timidity: lacking in courage or boldness (â€Å"Her timidity about approaching him resulted in another missed opportunity.†) (Temerity is from the Latin temere, â€Å"blindly†; timidity derives from the Latin timere, â€Å"fear.†) Troop: a military unit or similar group (â€Å"The outnumbered troop retreated in the face of overwhelming firepower.†) Troupe: a theatrical group or other collection of entertainers (â€Å"Stratford was often visited by traveling troupes of professional actors.†) (The first word is a variant of the second, a Middle French word meaning â€Å"company† and related to the Germanic thorp, â€Å"village,† which survives in English place names as spelled or, more often, as thorpe.) Venal: mercenary, corrupt (â€Å"His approach to business is purely venal.†) Venial: forgivable, excusable (â€Å"I consider envy a venial sin.†) (Venal derives from Latin the venum, â€Å"sale†; venial comes from the Latin venia, â€Å"pardon.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About HandsHow to Punctuate Descriptions of ColorsContinue and "Continue on"