The Pep Talk - 1100 Words You Ne

Lackluster Caustic 

The original paragraph

“If there’s one thing I loathe,” the coach said, “it’s a quitter.” He had good reason to reprimand us at half-time, because the scoreboard revealed that we were losing 45-20. Our lackluster performance indicated to him that we had forgotten the rudimentary aspect of basketball. He caustic remarks fired us up, however, and we dashed out, determined to wrest control of the game from our rivals.

Lackluster adj. dull lacking in vitality

Caustic adj. sarcastic, biting

Paragraph paraphrase

I hate the quitters, said the coach. He had every right to scold us at half time, while the scoreboard indicated that we were losing 45-20. Our dull performance showed to him that we did not remember the very basic aspect of basketball. His sharp remarks motivated us. We rushed to the field, fully charged to wrest control of the game from our rivals.