The following story uses words from GRE Word Group Set 1   Bold are corrections made by a native English speaker (Tommy).

   
    At the beginning of the school year, students receive a syllabus at the first meeting for each class.  Usually, the professor will give an abridged lecture about the class structure and the main goal for the class.  
    In English class, students will be required to read and analyze many books and have discussions during class time.  Some students give a cursory read through the book and pick up some pieces of the content while others just go online and search the popular synopsis compendiums to find information about their assigned books.  These synopses are generally very short and contain a complete collection of facts about the books.
Sometimes, students might complain about the heavy study workload.  If they are lucky, their professor might curtail some of the reading material.  If not, they might receive professor's terse reply.

Biting (as in wit or Temperament) 尖锐刺人的; 辛辣的; 刺痛的; 嘲讽的

acerbic: 辛辣的; 尖酸的; 苦涩的

• criticizing someone or something in a clever but cruel way

acidulous: 微酸的; 尖刻的; 带酸味的; 带讽刺意味的

• somewhat acid or harsh in taste or manner

acrimonious: 刻薄的; 辛辣的; 严厉的; 激烈的

• an acrimonious meeting or discussion is one in which people argue a lot and get very angry

Bilious: 胆汁质的, 坏脾气的
•    very unpleasant


Dudgeon: 生气, 不高兴
•    in high dudgeon in an angry or offended way - often used humorously


Irascible: 易怒的; 暴躁的
•    easily becoming angry

Abbreviated Communication

Abridge: 縮短; 限制; 刪節
•    an abridged book, play etc has been made shorter but keeps its basic structure and meaning


Compendium:大要, 概略
•    a book that contains a complete collection of facts, drawings etc on a particular subject


Cursory:匆匆忙忙的, 粗略的, 草率的
•    done very quickly without much attention to details