Will tourists go to Jamaica for marijuana "tastings"?

How to use this resource:

This 'blog' has some amazing news articles and vocabulary words.  If you go through one or two articles each day (in the archives) your reading vocabulary will definitely increase and the better your vocabulary is, the better your speaking skills will be. 

Go through the vocabulary list first and read the definitions in simple English. Then read the article.  If you do this each day (there are about 150 articles with vocabulary words that are defined), your English will get better and better.

Please enjoy this resource and please share it with your friends.  It is completely free.  I created this for my own private students, but I am happy when I learn that others around the world are using it.
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Some farmers in Jamaica are taking advantage of an ineffective government and police department - they are offering to take tourists (illegally) to locations where they can sample some of the best marijuana on the island.

Marijuana is a type of drug which is smoked and which can make a person feel peaceful or happy, although sometimes the drug makes a person feel anxious (nervous) or paranoid (the person feels threatened and thinks others want to hurt him/her).  The main ingredient of the drug is tetra hydrocannabinol (THC).

The article:

http://news.yahoo.com/jamaica-twist-wine-tours-pot-lovers-071003206.html

Vocabulary to help you understand the article:

a twist on wine tours - when there is a 'twist' on something, this means there is 'a different version' of something or a new thing that is kind of like an old thing.  Let's say that someone makes a movie and you ask me what kind of movie it is.  I might say, "It's a horror film.  In fact, it's a twist on 'Dracula.'"  That would mean that the film starts with the basic Dracula idea but changes it a bit.  So here, you have marijuana tastings, which are a twist on the idea of wine tastings.

pot - a slang term for marijuana

Napa and Sonoma - these are valleys in California where you can see the vineyards (where the grapes are grown) and you can taste some of the wine.

to flock to - if tourists flock to a location they all go to that location.  A flock is, literally, a group of birds.  Birds tend to flock together - travel together - to places.

a connoisseur - someone who really values or appreciates something

ganja - a slang term for marijuana

mystical - dealing with the religious

cannabis plantations - cannabis is a name for the marijuana plant. A plantation is a large farm.

a strain - in this case, a type of marijuana plant

reggae - a type of music

verdant - green, lush, filled with plant life

dreadlocks -   

mystique - here this word means reputation; a mystique is a very good reputation bordering almost on a 'myth'

weed - another term for marijuana

sinsemilla, chocolate skunk - types of marijuana

his plot - his area of land

a legalization drive - an attempt to make something legal

an advocate - something who believes in something and speaks in favor of it

a struggling economy - a economy which is not doing well; it is not a healthful economy

a boost - a rise, an increase

sprinters - runners like Usain Bolt

dynamic - if something is dynamic, it changes or is exciting

evolving - moving forward

in light of - because of, or due to

this hemisphere - the western hemisphere; since some US states and one South American country have legalized marijuana, Jamaica might do it as well

decriminalize - make it legal

to regulate pot - to establish some standards and laws concerning it

reform - any type of reform means positive change

prospects for - the chances of something happening.  i.e.  There is a 50/50 chance (prospect) it will rain tomorrow.  That means a 50% chance.

commercialization - the selling of something

laid-back - casual, informal

conservative - a conservative person does not like to take chances or see things change

Rasta - this refers to a religion that uses marijuana as part of its ceremony

pervasive - all over the place

illicit - illegal

a crop - this is what is grown on a farm: a crop of potatoes, a crop of corn etc.

enthusiastically - eagerly

rolling paper - it's the paper used to make marijuana cigarettes

a caveat - a warning.

a spliff - a type of marijuana cigarette

presumably - apparently

culturally entrenched - a deep part of the culture.  A trench is a deep hole in the ground. If you are entrenched somewhere, it is as if you have dug a hole and are in the hole to defend yourself from an enemy.

cast off - eliminate, get rid of

a prominent - famous

glaucoma - an eye disease which can be made better by using that person's drug

a hub - a place where people flock to

indentured servants - they were almost like slaves.  They worked for 7 years without pay before receiving their freedom.

alleviate - make something better.  Aspirin alleviates pain (gets rid of, eliminates, makes a person feel less pain)

a remedy - a cure

Vocabulary review for the California wildfire article

The vocabulary words in this exercise come from this posting:

http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-california-wildfire-has-reached.html

Please read the posting before you attempt the exercise.

Vocabulary words:

a blaze, to flee, a reservoir, evacuation, teeming, rugged, peak season

Many people who have lived in New York City hate walking through the Times Square area.  This area is always _____________ with tourists and it is difficult to walk quickly through the area.

Is there a _____________ for tourism in New York City?  Some people might say it's the summer because people take vacations at that time and come to the Big Apple.  Some people think most tourists come here around Christmas time because of the amazing Christmas atmosphere in New York.

Although it started as a small fire, it soon became a ___________ because the house was made of very old and dry wood.

Some people like riding their bicycles in the city, but I like more ___________ terrain and so I like going mountain biking.

In the movie China Town, politicians who have been bribed (have taken money illegally) by certain businessmen let water run out of the city's ______________ so that they can make it seem as if there is a water shortage.  They do this because they want farmers to fail and sell their land cheaply to the businessmen.

Every day thousands of people are ____________ from Syria into neighboring countries.

During Hurricane Sandy, people in certain parts of New York City and new Jersey were told there might have to be an __________________ in their areas.  They were assisted in moving to a safer location. 

Answers are below:







Answers:

1. teeming
2. peak season
3. blaze
4. rugged
5. reservoir
6. fleeing
7. evacuation

Test your vocabulary from the Mapuche story

The vocabulary for this exercise was taken from this posting:

http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-mapuche-indians-and-their-struggle.html

Please review the meanings of the vocabulary words there before attempting the exercise:

a raid, a blaze, sporadic, conspicuously, to sabotage, to escalate, prompt, arbitrary, a dispute

1.  It is common knowledge that President John Kennedy was the first president to send soldiers to Vietnam in 1961.  However, it was President Lyndon Johnson who chose to _____________ the American involvement in that war.

2.  Although they are allies, for many years now Korea and Japan have engaged in a ___________ over who possesses an island between the two countries.  Korea calls the island Dokdo and Japan calls it Takeshima.

3.  After 10 years of searching for Osama bin Laden, he was located in Pakistan and the Obama administration launched a _____________ to execute him in his compound (the place where he lived).

4.  "Due process" is a legal term which means that if a person is accused of doing something wrong, the process by which he is judged must not be ______________.  There have to be well-established and fair procedures which will be followed.

5.  At first the pain in my back was ___________.  Later the pain would not seem to go away and I had to go to the doctor for help.

6.  The ___________ which was started in the World Trade Center tower was so intense that it was able to melt the steel structure of the building.

7.  During World War II the French underground fighters against the Nazis often _______________ German military equipment or even railroad track systems.

8.  I believe it is important for me to be ___________ for any appointment.  Indeed, I usually show up well ahead of time.

9.  When people buy designer goods, they often wear the brand label _____________ on the item as a sign of prestige. (something prestigious is something that makes others admire you).

Answers are below:





Answers:

1.  escalate
2.  dispute
3.  raid
4.  arbitrary
5.  sporadic
6.  blaze
7.  sabotaged
8.  prompt
9.  conspicuously

Test your vocabulary - 14 useful intermediate level words in English

These 14 words are taken from the last two articles posted on this blog. Please review the vocabulary from these entries before you try to do the exercises:

http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/07/does-world-bank-care-enough-about-human.html

http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/07/detroit-declares-bankruptcy-us.html

remote, detrimental to, no strings attached, bleak, to clamor for, to document something, bipartisan, to enhance, insolvency, due diligence, to mitigate, a constraint, an appetite, an advocate,


1.  According to the United States Constitution (the chief document concerning how the government will be run), The Congress is supposed to be a ____________ to the power of the president.  Otherwise, the President of the United States might become a dictator (someone with unlimited power who does not care about the rights of the people).

2.  Some people are talking about the possibility of building colonies on the moon or the planet Mars.  Yet, I am not so sure I would want to live in such a __________ place.

3.  When Bob was a child, his parents wanted to treat him very well, so they often bought him lots of soda and other sugary drinks.  At that time, people did not know how ______________ such drinks could be to a person's health.

4.  By continually reviewing the vocabulary in the various postings on this blog, you can greatly ______________ your vocabulary and fluency.

5.  Many professional people, who often work hard for high salaries, enjoy doing volunteer work and helping others with _____________.

6.  Although Bob was very angry when Debra did not show up for their date, his anger was ______________ when he learned that Debra really wasn't feeling well that night.  He was still a little upset, but not as much as he had been.

7.  The chances for economic recovery in Detroit look so ____________ that the city has been forced to declare bankruptcy.

8.  Although Bob believed that his supervisor was engaged in tax fraud, he was not able to _____________ this, and so he never filed a formal complaint to the government.

9.  One part of the Congress of the United States is now dominated by the Republican Party, while the other is dominated by the Democratic Party.  There are very few ______________ decisions.

10.  Every landlord (a person who rents rooms or apartments) has an obligation to practice _______________ and to make sure his/her tenants are safe and living in good conditions.

11.  After several long years of ridiculous and badly managed wars, the American people seem to have lost their ____________ for more fighting.

12.  Even though Zimmerman was found not guilty of murder, many people in America are upset and are ________________ the US government to arrest Zimmerman again for a different crime.

13.  Cesar Chavez was an amazing American hero.  During a period of time when most Americans did not know or care about Mexican migrant farm workers (poor Mexicans who would come to the USA and travel around California picking fruits and vegetables for farm owners) he became an ______________ for these folks and tried to help them gain their rights.

14.  The USA has very liberal bankruptcy laws, but you have to prove that you are close to or experiencing _____________ before you are given the opportunity to declare bankruptcy.


Answers are below:







Answers:


1. constraint
2. remote (bleak might also work here)
3. detrimental
4. enhance
5. no strings attached
6. mitigated
7. bleak (remote might work here)
8. document
9. bipartisan
10. due diligence
11. appetite
12. clamoring for
13. advocate
14. insolvency

remote means far away, bleak means very plain - but in questions 2 and 7, either word would have worked

Test your English vocabulary :)

20 words, 10 sentences.  Let's see how good you are at understanding these verbs!!!! :)


*to abduct -  to kidnap, to illegally capture and hold against one’s will
*to absolve – to formally wipe away the guilt of another
*to bellow – to yell out, often in emotional or physical pain, in a deep voice
*to chronicle – to document, to preserve for history
*to debunk – to disprove  
*to ebb – to decrease in intensity 
*to facilitate – to make more easy 
*to grapple with – to struggle with
*to hone – to perfect, to make better, to sharpen
*to incense – to make angry 
*to laud – to praise 
*to mollify – to soften s/o's anger or other emotional response
*to nurture – to care for, to raise from infancy
*to perjure oneself – to lie in court
*to ratify – to formally agree to, to approve before establishing
*to saturate – to fill or soak completely
*to taint – to poison or corrupt
*to unveil – to reveal something  
*to vacillate – to change, to not remain certain
*to yearn for – to desire intensely


If a student wishes to really ___________ a foreign language skill, he/she should probably go to a host country and immerse him/herself in the language.

Although the CIA engaged in brutal and inhumane forms of torture against suspected terrorists, the Obama administration has chosen to ___________ these officers of guilt and to not pursue criminal trials.

In times of economic or social crisis many people seem to miss and____________ more simple days when life was easier and there was less stress.

In Nanjing, during the Japanese occupation, many foreigners began to feel helpless to stop the Japanese massacre of innocent people; all they could do was ____________ what happened in the hopes that justice would be done at a later date.

Once a person in a position of authority makes a decision, he/she sometimes feels it is not a good idea to _______________; the public can interpret that as a sign of weakness.

The smart phone market world-wide has become _______________: virtually everyone has a cell phone and it’s really tough to sell more of them.

After Somali pirates _____________ members of a ship’s crew, they usually take them to dry land and hold them as hostage.

Perhaps the most difficult yet interesting topic a psychological researcher can _________________ involves our moral judgments: what is morality, how did it evolve and what control do we have over our moral actions?

No matter how many times scientists have ___________ ESP (Extra Sensory Perception), many people still believe that mind-reading is possible and there is one guy who even claims that he can bend spoons with the power of his thoughts (Yuri Geller)!

The government of China has stated that it will soon ___________ a new type of totally electric car that nobody outside of the Chinese auto industry has yet to see.











answers:

1. hone
2. absolve
3. yearn for
4. chronicle
5. vacillate
6. saturated
7. abduct
8. grapple with
9. debunked
10. unveil

Vocabulary Review for "Update on Turkey"

The entry from which these words are taken is:

http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/06/update-on-protests-in-turkey.html

Please review the vocabulary from this entry before doing the exercise.

Words to be used (answers come after the exercise):

to defy, dense, to show restraint,
fascism, rare, unrest,
secular, to mushroom, to impose,

1.  In 2003, when George Bush was putting together his military coalition (group of nations) to attack Iraq, countries like England and South Korea did not feel they could ____________ the wishes of the USA.  Tony Blair and Roh Moo-Hyun were both liberal politicians who felt they had to do what Bush wanted.

2.  The only thing that the international community can seem to do to stop Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons is to ______________ economic sanctions (penalties) for continued nuclear development.  This seems better, to many, than the Israeli proposal of attacking their nuclear facilities.

3.  The difficult economic times in Spain have led to a great deal of social ____________, as Los Indignados often protest the lack of jobs and opportunities.

4.  In the Iranian revolution, a _____________ dictator was replaced by an ultra-religious Ayatollah.  The country, then, became a 'theocracy,' a government ruled by religious leaders according to religious laws.

5.  The traffic in Manhattan is too ____________.  It takes forever to drive a car from one part of the city to another due to the traffic jams.

6.  When dealing with annoying or confrontational individuals it is often better to ____________________ than to stoop to their level and act the way they are acting.  (a confrontational individual is someone trying to cause trouble - to stoop to their level means to lower yourself to their level)

7.  _________________ was a nationalistic political philosophy developed in Italy in the 1920s, but the term is often applied to any type of authoritarian government control.

8.  The Obama administration tried to resolve the unemployment crisis by borrowing money to stimulate the economy.  However, unemployment has not changed for the better and US debt has ________________.

9.  Having a president who was as well-liked and effective as Dwight David Eisenhower has been __________ in US history.  "Ike" (as Eisenhower was called) led the US during eight years of peace in which the economy boomed (increased) and the Civil Rights Movement began.

Answers are below:





Answers:

1. defy
2. impose
3. unrest
4. secular 
5. dense
6. show restraint
7. Fascism
8. mushroomed
9. rare