Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Creative Writing Example

Creative Writing Example Creative Writing on Problem Definition: Sally’s sister Sharon who lives out of the country was visiting her for a week. Since Sally lives in a small one bedroom apartment, her sister would spend the night in the same room and bed with sally. When Sharon woke up the next day, she had bumps and welts all over her neck and arms and felt a little ill which she attributed to jet lag. That night, Sharon could not sleep as she felt sensations on her face, arms and neck. Upon turning the lights on, she saw small reddish brown insects on both her arms. They looked thin, like crinkly paper with their bodies covered in short golden hairs. Some were bloated and dark red, looking like blood drops while others were flat like a piece of paper. There were some insects on the bed and while others crawled on her sister’s body. There were small eggs in crevices in the bed and clusters of colorless tiny bugs and large reddish brown bugs in many areas of the bed frame. Funny though was the fact that Sally did not have any of the bites marks on her body. When the two sisters went to the local chemist to discuss the problem, the chemist told them that he suspected that they were bedbugs. Upon inquiring regarding the characteristics of the insects, he confirmed that they were bedbugs, and he had a cure for them. He explained to them that bedbugs can be found in many places including fancy hotels, college dorms, laboratories, hospital airports and the home. They are now more common than they were before because of globalization. With people and goods travelling in greater numbers and more widely, the bugs move from place to another. Sharon wondered why they only bit her and not her sister. The pharmacist explained that there are different reactions to bed bug bites. Sally does not react to their bites while Sharon does, and that is why there are swellings and welts on her hands and face. Stink Bug Before he could prescribe any pesticide, the chemist explained to the sisters about another bug referred to as a stink bug. The stink bug is a small bug with a stick, which does not bite people but offends them by its smell. Stink bugs creep into nearly every room and smell a little like a skunk when crushed. Some people say that they stink like sweaty feet. Although they do not bite nor carry health risks, they stink terribly and cause discomforts in a home. They love to surf from one room to another and move around because they jump into suitcases and clothes. They can, therefore, be found virtually everywhere including hotel rooms, airports and homes. They have the capacity to lay about eggs at each laying round. They are a nuisance both in and outdoors and remain outdoors on warm days and indoors during the wintery periods. They sometimes re-appear in the warmer, sunny periods during winter but disappear to emerge again in springs. Stink bugs excrete from their thorax glands liquid that smells offensive. In case of an attack by predators, stink bags produce this liquid which puts off the threat from their lives. In small groups, they cause little harm to plants, but in larger numbers, they cause significant loss. Recently the bugs have proliferated Middle Atlantic states and damaged vegetables and fruits. They leave large holes in crops in places like New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy

Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy Uncouth, Unkempt, and Unwieldy By Maeve Maddox Most negative English adjectives that begin with un- have a familiar antonym. For example: unhappy / happy unlucky / lucky unsuspecting / suspecting ungenerous / generous This post is about three adjectives whose positive forms are rarely used in modern English. uncouth: Awkward and uncultured. Examples of current usage of uncouth: The Malawi government has branded  pop  star Madonna an uncouth bully who exaggerates her charitable work in the country. After considering the likes of refined English actors such as Cary Grant and David Niven, the producers cast Sean Connery as Bond in the film. Fleming was appalled at the selection of the uncouth, 31-year-old Scottish actor, considering him to be the antithesis of his character.   The adjective couth (â€Å"known, familiar†) was very common in Old English. One spoke of â€Å"couth lands† and â€Å"couth customs† meaning â€Å"known lands† and â€Å"familiar customs.† The word couth came to mean cultured, genteel. Nowadays, when speakers use the word couth, it is with the latter meaning, but with self-consciously humorous intent. The second of these two examples of current usage of couth transforms the adjective into a noun: Well, orcs arent human, and I would suppose that they arent as  couth  as humans are. Im reminded that junior high  boys  are  not  known for their  couth. unkempt: uncombed (of hair, wool, etc.); neglected, not cared for, untrimmed. Here are examples of modern usage of unkempt: How can they let [NCIS character Deek] on camera with that  unkempt  mop? The role as a loudmouth  unkempt  woman easily was her finest personal performance to date. Criminals are attracted to  neighborhoods  that appear dirty or  unkempt. In Old English, kempt was a past form of cemban, â€Å"to comb.† In modern English, kempt is occasionally used humorously to mean combed or neat, as in the following examples: Ive had more  kempt looking  pros  change  the oil in my Maserati. [The apartment] is occasionally a little  messy but  not unkempt. Semi-kempt? His plaid shirt was half-untucked, and his usually kempt  comb-over was flying wildly into the air. unwieldy: Difficult to control, guide, move, manipulate, etc., by virtue of size, shape, or weight. In modern usage, the adjective unwieldy is applied to things, like tools or weapons, but originally, it referred to people. A â€Å"wieldy person† was nimble and had the agility to handle a weapon with skill. Although wieldy doesn’t make much of a showing in COCA or the Ngram Viewer, it is used in serious contexts. Wieldy is a brand name for a line of camera accessories, and the word is at home in discussions of tools and software: Is the handle attached separately or is the whole slicer and handle cast together as one piece?  It’s all one piece, and extremely wieldy. The great thing about the SKS was it could drop people at distance but you could also get up close and do well, partly because of the high fire-rate but also because it feels extremely wieldy.   Yes, I know – it’s hard to imagine anything bigger than 10 inches to be considered wieldy enough for practical use. Of the three supposed antonyms of uncouth, unkempt, and unwieldy, couth continues to be a word that provokes amusement, wieldy sounds like a â€Å"real† word, and- judging by this example I found in a blog about wedding planning, kempt may be slipping back into serious usage: You should make sure that your facial hair is neat and  kempt. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?20 Pairs of One-Word and Two-Word FormsShore It Up