TWO WEEKS NOTICE (Part I)

KEY VOCABULARY

1. Prevail, bid, bail, permit, bonus, perk, console, scummy, lousy, scintillate, skyrocket, dab, bounce.

2. Impact, implication, track, endorsement, stock, bond, benefit, to release, to reason, to crave, to blow, to estimate, intimidating, indispensable, vigilant, presumptuous, amuck.

Previewing

Proper names: Lucy Kelson, George Wade, Howard Wade, Ansel, June.

Culture knowledge

Coney Island — a famous beach and amusement park of South Brooklyn in New York City. It is not an island. The beach has been popular since 1881 and is often very crowded. The hot dog was invented there, and so it is sometimes called 'coney'.

Staten Island –– an island which is one of the boroughs of New York City, its former name was Richmond. It is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The Staten Island Ferry goes to Battery Park in Manhattan and provides good views of the city.

The Chrysler Building –– a skyscraper on East 42^nd Street in New York. It was completed in 1930 and was then the tallest building in the world. Its design has been greatly admired.

Darrow Clarence –– a US lawyer who became famous for defending people on trial. These included Leopold and Loeb, and John Т. Scopes, the teacher who was taken to court for teaching the theory of evolution to his students.

Condominium (Am.) — a building that consists of separate apartments, which are owned by the people living in them.

Pretzel (Am.) –– a glazed biscuit, salted on the outside, usu. baked in the form of a loose knot or stick (сухой крендель, посыпанный солью).

Vocabulary I:

I. Look up the meaning of the following words in the dictionary and fill in the vocabulary chart. Prepare the cards: prevail, bid, bail, permit, bonus, perk, console, scummy, lousy, scintillate, skyrocket, dab, bounce.

II. Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and phrases. Translate the underlined phrases (in writing):

1. Wrecking balls, to be in violation, to get through to people, to put up (to tear down) condominiums, to file an Environmental Impact Report, to lose West Side waterfront deal, to write a brief, to work for the Coalition of the Homeless (at Legal Aid), to direct efforts, to do pro bono work, to start an employee at $250 000, to have huge resources at smb's disposal, to denude forests, to resent the implication (of), to be a person of substance and depth, to share smb's IQ, to reach one's potential, to be more of a whimper, to miss the blessed event, to discuss the terms of the settlement, to double the alimony, to refer to alleged infidelity, a generous property settlement, to release somebody from any further obligation, not to give a degree in yenta, to find smb. ungrateful (tense, argumentative, intimidating, harsh, demanding), to hire smb. with no corporate experience, to have the optimal blend of public and private interest law, to be indispensable to an organization, to do a lot of business with ("….."), to set up interviews with law firms, to massage smb's cloven hoof, to have no loopholes, to clerk for the Supreme Court, to work on endorsements from local merchants, to be in control, to be a piece of work, to loosen up, to have a strong background in property law, to be working for a cause, to be a tad weak on the experience side, RV (a recreational vehicle), a benefit for the New York Children's League, to receive new estimates on Island Towers, to decide unilaterally, to close a deal, to have some protesting to do, not to raise a child to sit on the sidelines.

2. To have an inside track, to have a restraining order, to shape a community, to feel engaged instead of imprisoned, a nice Christmas bonus, to use the bail money, charities and shelters, watermarked vellum finish, to bounce, bouncy, to swallow one's Altoid, to trade oneself like a stock, to do a little couch time, to handle one's divorce, to enter into the most sacred bond of all, to make a smooth transition, to finalize, to stir up some publicity, to spit on the boss, to see each other professionally, to get one's stare from, to live up to somebody's expectations, to move in predictable patterns, moot-court experience, to embrace life, to go on a Greenpeace boat, to drive men away, to get dolled up, to bend like a pretzel, to smile obsequiously, a company newsletter, to have a tennis forehead, to eat away one's profit, to have a homey feel, to rhyme away; to let smb down; ‘this hankie is very nearly clean’, ‘there's something amuck with this cake’.