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October 4 & 5, 2003 upbeat (UP beat) The adjective upbeat means full of hope and good feelings - in other words, full of optimism. Almost two years after the start of the United States-led campaign in Afghanistan, the American military released an upbeat progress report yesterday, saying it had suffered only 31 combat deaths and enemy forces were "desperate". With consumers remaining upbeat about the economy, builders anticipate another burst of activity in the coming months. The president's advisors were generally upbeat despite the fall in his poll numbers. Doctors and researchers are more upbeat than when the virus first broke out. October 3, 2003 enhance (in HANS) The verb enhance means to improve something's quality, value or attractiveness. Gen Chaisit said he would enhance the Army's prestige and maintain the confidence of the public. The routine security checks were enhanced after September 11th. Privatisation, they claimed, would enhance competition. The new regulation requires schools to enhance teacher quality. October 2, 2003 bestow (ba STOW) The verb bestow means to give or present someone with something. High praise was bestowed on Gen Surayud Chulanont yesterday when he handed over the supreme commander's responsibilities to Gen Somdhat Attanand. The LA Daily Times bestowed three-and-a-half stars on the movie. According to Bloomberg, the Defence Department bestowed contracts worth about $1.8 billion on the Vice President's company between 1996 and 1999. The court rejected the accusation that the gift was bestowed in order to gain political advantages. October 1, 2003 shed The verb shed means to get rid of or lose something. The women shed an average 2.57 inches of waistline in an hour, which they hoped would go down as the fastest world record for waistline reduction. In April, the typical technology mutual fund shed 13% of its value. The state enterprise remains very labour intensive with a workforce of 6,000 despite having shed 4,000 jobs in the past decade. There have been too many painful tears shed in the Edwards family lately. September 30, 2003 orgy (OR ji) The noun orgy refers to a party when people act in an uncontrolled way, especially a party which involves sexual activity, but orgy can also refer to other events where excessive behaviour takes place. The Chinese people were up in arms yesterday over an alleged three-day orgy involving a group of Japanese tourists and hundreds of local prostitutes at a hotel in southern China. The ceremony ending with a feast of food and drink followed by an orgy with members choosing their partners at random. The UN investigation concluded there was evidence that Indonesia's military supported and directed armed gangs in their orgy of killings. The team's victory in the finals set off an orgy of street parties. September 29, 2003 unruffled (un RUF uld) The adjective unruffled means to be calm and to appear to be unaffected by surprising or frightening events. Traders and tourists on Bangkok's Khao San Road say they are unruffled by reports saying that the famous backpacker haven was on Hambali's list of terrorist targets. The finance minister appears surprisingly unruffled by the personal attacks against him. The unruffled tone of the autobiography is refreshing. Under the unruffled surface of the city's high society lay a series of scandals just waiting to be discovered. Click here to see our words in the news for the previous week. Return to our home page | Comments to Terry F. at terryfrd@ksc15.th.com | |© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2003 | Last modified: October 6, 2003