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Hi teachers,...and the predictable cycle of high expectations followed by mild cynicism has begun anew.1.  Would you please explain to me what the slanted part means?2.  In the sentence, which comes first and which comes second?Thank you.Tinanam

Free_spirit · Accepted Answer

...and the predictable cycle of high expectations followed by mild cynicism has begun anew.

1. predictable - something you can guess, forecast, or divine (a prediction, to predict). Predictable generally has the connotation that there is no surprise.

cycle - something that continues to occur with a regular pattern (the seasons come and go in a cycle - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring... etc) The cycle in this case is the high expectations followed by mild cynicism.

high expectations - An expectation is something you believe should happen. People expect to be paid to compensate them for the time spent working. A high expectation is an expectation that can be difficult or impossible to live up to. For instance, some parents have the high expectations that their child will always get straight A-grades in school. That can be difficult or impossible for a child to achieve.

So,the sentence means a certain cycle of behaviour (the "high expectations" in this case) are predictable - really that it is not surprising in any way, because it happens frequently (in a cycle). It could perhaps be reworded:

"...the high expectations followed by mild cynicism are not surprising."

It is a little difficult to be more specific without knowing the entire context.

2. In the sentence, which comes first and which comes second?

I am not sure what you mean by this question. "which" needs to relate to something. The only thing I can guess here is that high expectations come first, followed by mild cynicism (second).

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi free_spirt,

Thank you for helping me breakdown the sentence. It now all makes sense to me.

Have a great day.

Tinanam

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