Learningexpress Vocabulary Spelling Success 4e

Across

4 imbroglio

7 élan

9 ingénue

11naïve

12vignette

14vendetta

17fait-accompli

18epitome

19malaise

20debut

Down

1cliché

2bourgeois

3blasé

5gauche

6avant-garde

8laissez-faire

10 nonsequitur

13 entrepreneur

15aficionado

16rendezvous

arbitrage ( ar·bə·tra zh)

(noun)

the buying of “paper”—stocks, bonds, and securities—to resell for a quick profit

, the buying of bonds and other securities to sell at a higher price, is a risky business.

arbitration (ar·bə· tra¯ ·shən)

(noun)

the process by which disputes are settled by a third party

They decided to resolve the matter through

; that is, they gave the decisionmaking power to an independent person.

beneficiary (ben·nə·fi·she¯ ·er·e¯)

(noun)

one who will benefit from something

He is the sole of her estate. He will be given all the property when the old woman dies.

capital ( ka·pə·təl)

(noun)

accumulated wealth, used to gain more wealth She put some money in the bank and would only

spend the interest she earned on the initial investment or .

collusion (kə· lu·zhen)

(noun)

a secret agreement for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose, conspiracy

At the poker game, Sarah and Tom made a

to cheat together so Sarah would win the game and then they could share the winnings.

consortium (kən· sor·she¯ ·em)

(noun)

a joining of two or more businesses for a specific purpose

The joining of the three companies into one made for a powerful that would dominate the industry.

deduction (di· dək·shən)

(noun)

the subtraction of a cost from income

He took his children as a tax so that he could subtract the cost of their care from his taxes.

discrimination (dis·kri·mə· na¯ ·shən)

(noun)

the act of making distinctions, the act of distinguishing between one group of people and another and treating people differently as a result, prejudiced actions or treatment

Many workers still face in workplaces that choose not to hire or promote employees based on their sex, skin color, or ethnic background.

entitlement (in· t¯·təl·mənt)

(noun)

special privilege or benefit allowed to a group of people

In our society, the elderly have an to healthcare and money for food and shelter.

equity ( e-kwə·te¯)

(noun)

fairness or evenness of treatment, or the value of property after all claims have been made against it

Though she was accused of being unfair in her demands, she claimed she only wanted

in what was owed her.

exempt (i · zem(p)t)

(adj.)

excused from some rule or job

She was from duty that day; she was excused because she had been injured.

fiscal ( fis·kəl)

(adj.)

pertaining to money or finance

At the end of a company’s , or financial, year, the company usually announces the amount it earned in that year.

franchise ( fran·ch¯z)

(noun)

a business that is owned by a parent company but run by independent operators under rules set by the parent company

McDonald’s is a because it is independently owned, but it still operates under rules set out by the parent company.

harassment (hə· ras·mənt)

(noun)

the act of irritating or annoying persistently; sexual harassment

(noun)

unwelcome physical or verbal conduct directed at an employee because of his or her sex

There are many laws today that protect workers from sexual by their employer.

jargon ( jar· ən)

(noun)

the specialized vocabulary of an industry or interest group

Learning the , or language, of a particular interest or job is an important part of learning about the workplace.

nepotism ( ne·pə·ti·zəm)

(noun)

the employment or promotion of friends and family members

Many public employment arenas have been accused of , because workers related to persons in authority are given preference in hiring.

perquisite ( pər·kwə·zet)

(noun)

a privilege or bonus given in addition to regular salary

Many companies give stock options as a in addition to an employee’s salary.

prospectus (prə· spek·təs)

(noun)

a published report of a business and its plans for a program or offering

The company published a to offer details of its plan for expansion. This plan offers potential investors pertinent information about the plan and the company.

subsidy ( səb·sə·de¯)

(noun)

a grant of money for a particular purpose

The state gave several school districts a to rebuild the schools in those districts.

tenure ( ten·yər)

(noun)

the state or period of holding a particular position, or a guarantee of employment to teachers who have met particular standards

Even faculty with at colleges and universities are losing the security promised by their guarantee of permanent employment.

Words in Context

The following exercise will help you figure out the meaning of some words from Vocabulary List 6 by reading context clues. After you have read and understood the paragraph, explain the context clues that helped you with the meaning of the vocabulary word. Refer to the answer section at the end of this chapter for an explanation of the clues.

When she took the job as the manager of a Wendy’s franchise, Sarah quickly learned many things about the business world.

On her first day of work, she read the discrimination policy that stated that Wendy’s does not discriminate against race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or people with disabilities when hiring employees. Then she read Wendy’s policy on sexual harassment and was glad to see that they were very strict about creating a comfortable working environment for all of the employees. Her boss explained that flirting of any kind was not tolerated at work. Next she was asked to fill out many forms, including a life insurance policy. She had to pick someone to be the beneficiary on the policy in the event of her death, so she picked her son, Michael. After she was done with all of the paperwork, Sarah followed her boss into the back room and he showed her the various systems they used and began to teach her the jargon used in the fast food industry. It was important to understand these terms because many vendors and members of the Wendy’s company use this shorthand language. Sarah mentioned that her sister really wanted to work at Wendy’s as well, but her boss cautioned her against committing an act of nepotism. He explained that it was important that every potential employee had a fair chance of employment and that, as store manager, it was her responsibility to ensure that she did not give preferential treatment to her family members. At the end of the meeting, her boss told her that as a perquisite in addition to her salary, she and her family were allowed one free meal a week at Wendy’s.

Sentence Completion

Insert the correct word from Vocabulary List 6 into the following sentences.

1. Beware of those two; they are always in

with each other to sell defective products at a hefty sum.

2. They decided to settle the dispute through because they couldn’t

agree on anything amongst themselves.

3.I would love to start my own magazine, but I don’t know where I am going to get the

to fund it.

4. When employees refer to their company’s year, they are talking

about the 12-month period that the organization plans to use its funds.

5.To really understand the publishing industry, you need to become familiar with its

6.I was thinking of opening a

of my favorite ice cream store, but the parent company’s rules and regulations are too strict.

10. Now that I own a home, I can take many

on my taxes, which means I get to keep more of my income.

11. Before I bought my apartment, I read everything about the building in its .

12.Because she was wrongfully accused of

,she didn’t lose her job.

13.My daughter is the only to my life insurance policy.

15.The three companies joined together to form a

,making their presence

in the industry even stronger.

16.There is much debate about what to do with Social Security, a(n)

that many people depend on upon retirement.

17.As a child, my favorite game was “Monoply,” so it is no surprise that I ended up working in

.

18.One thing I can say about the management here is that they treat all employees with

,which makes it a very

pleasant place to work.

19. The development company depleted the

that the city had donated to build a new park, so construction has halted.

20. I can’t prove it, but I think I have been a victim of ; I am almost sure I was

let go because I am a woman.

Synonyms

The following exercise lists vocabulary words from this chapter. Each word is followed by five answer choices. Four of them are synonyms of the vocabulary word in bold. Your task is to choose the one that is NOT a synonym.

21.deduction

a.subtraction

b.to take away

c.addition

d.the cost of children on your tax forms

22.perquisite

a.privilege

b.bonus

c.reward

d.punishment

23.tenure

a.termination of employment

b.guarantee of employment

c.length of employment

d.period of employment

24.exempt

a.excused

b.forced

c.pardoned

d.set apart