F2F Class Notes (Li)

What’s the best invention in the past 100 years?

Vocabulary

adapt – change to fit a situation/new environment etc.

catalogue – selection of movies/books/clothes etc.

access streaming services – to use/go on

issues/problems have popped up – to show up

Grammar

articles in plural form

the – specific/countable 

ex. There are many cups on the table. The cups are mine.

ex. The children in this school live on this street.

ex. Out of the 300 educational apps released in the past six months, 20 of them are on the rankings.

nothing – general/countable + uncountable (s/p)  

ex. Time is always ticking.

ex. The buildings in this district

ex. Smartphones dominate the mobile market these days.

subject – verb – object

(noun/pronoun)

ex. I watched TV.

ex. I watched him.

Finish reading and write down your reflection

But the coronavirus pandemic has put the future of cinemas under the spotlight. Some have had to close because of reduced ticket sales. And in the UK, it’s brought about a surge in TV watching and online streaming, according to media watchdog, Ofcom. It also found that half of UK adults will keep and continue using their new streaming subscriptions.

This isn’t great news for cinemas. They rely on the release of a big blockbuster to bring the crowds back, but the launch of new films, such as James Bond: No Time To Die, are being delayed. And Disney has released its $200m blockbuster, Mulan, online instead of in movie theatres. But John Fithian, from the National Association of Theatre Owners, told Variety magazine: “This idea of waiting out the pandemic to make your movies more profitable doesn’t make sense to me. There won’t be as much of an industry left to play your movies in if you do that.”

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pandemic
(n.) /pænˈdemɪk/
A pandemic is an occurrence of a disease that affects many people over a very wide area. 流行病
ex: The pandemic was out of control as the lack of prevention.

spotlight
(n.) 聚光灯；反光灯；公众注意的中心
(v.) 聚光照明；使公众注意
ex: Today’s news report has put his lies under the spotlight.

Watchdog
(n.) A watchdog is a person or committee whose job is to make sure that companies do not act illegally or irresponsibly. 监察人；忠实的看守人
ex: This variety show cannot launch on the online streaming platform without the media watchdog’s permission.

blockbuster
(n.) A blockbuster is a film or book that is very popular and successful 大片; 畅销片
ex: The blockbuster of this year is definitely the Hollywood releases.

wait out
(n.) 等到…结束
ex: The adventures are waiting out the rainstorm in a cave.

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Writing

Nowadays, as the mobile devices become more and more popular, and the installment of applications become easier, many people watch videos on the online platforms instead of traditional television.

Online streaming platforms in China such as Tencent, Aiqiyi and Youku, provide a lot of free programs to customers. Their huge catalogue and low prices entice users to engross in them. Rather than waiting for a TV program at fixed times, people would like to plan their time/schedule flexibly/well ahead. They can steam online/access streaming services at any time or any place.

But now, other questions have popped-up/have been raised: the expense of the streaming service memberships have been raising/increasing. Some unreasonable rules have been established, people have to pay extra money for particular programs or movies even though they have paid for the membership fee. The lack of protection of user information/data results in a lot of advertisements been sent to users’ private phones and e-mails. Customer traffic becomes the most important factor/aspect, leading to the worsening quality of programs and destructive competition. People spend most of their free time watching programmes on mobile. 

As of the television age, we could watch high-quality programs at home with our family and friends, chatting with each other lively, although we didn’t have too many channels to choose from. But the television system does need to make some changes/adapt to fit modern times/consumer trends.