F2F Class Notes (Nemo) [R]

Vocabulary

gravitation (n): 1- in science, the force that attracts all objects towards one another:
E.g.: Particles are attracted to each other by gravitation.

evolution (n): 1- the way in which living things change and develop over millions of years:
E.g.: Darwin’s theory of evolution

conquer (v): 1-to take control or possession of foreign land, or a group of people, by force:
E.g.: The Spanish conquered the New World in the 16th century.
E.g.: The English were conquered by the Normans in 1066.

conquest (n): 1-the act of conquering a country, area, or situation

thaw (v): 1-to (cause to) change from a solid, frozen state to a liquid or soft one, because of an increase in temperature:
E.g.: Allow the meat to thaw completely before cooking it.
E.g.: The sun came out and thawed the ice.
E.g.: It’s beginning to thaw (= the weather is warm enough for snow and ice to melt).

thaw(v) (BECOME FRIENDLY)-to become friendlier or more relaxed:
E.g.: The report shows that relations between the two enemies may be thawing.

peninsula (n): 1-a long piece of land that sticks out from a larger area of land into the sea or into a lake:
E.g.: the Korean/Arabian/Florida Peninsula

millennium (n): 1- a period of 1,000 years, or the time when a period of 1,000 years ends:
E.g.: The corpse had lain preserved in the soil for almost two millennia.

tie (n): 1- a situation in which two or more people finish at the same time or score the same number of points:
E.g.: It’s a tie for first place.
E.g.: They have changed the scoring system because there have been too many ties.

petition (n): 1-a document signed by a large number of people demanding or asking for some action from the government or another authority:
E.g.: I signed a petition against the proposed closure of the local hospital today.

petitioner (n): 1-a person who organizes or signs a petition

Pronunciation

thaw-/θɑː/
peninsula-/pəˈnɪn.sə.lə/

Reading

Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1801/180120-winter-olympics.html

South and North Korea have agreed to use the same flag at next month’s Winter Olympics. The Olympics will take place between the 9th and 25th of February in the South Korean city of PyeongChang. Many people were worried about what might happen when the North Korean team attended the games. Tensions between the two countries have been very high recently because North Korea has tested many missiles. However, there have been high-level talks between the North and the South. Both sides have decided to use a “unified Korea” flag at the games. In addition, they agreed to enter a joint ice hockey team. This cooperation could mean that relations between the two countries could be improving.

The thaw in relations between the two countries could open the door for more peace talks. The Korean peninsular has been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War. In the past few decades, there have been many attempts at improving ties between the two. The Winter Olympics could help this. The games mean the cross-border road will open for the first time in two years. However, not all Koreans are happy with this news. Tens of thousands of people have signed online petitions asking President Moon Jae-in to forget about the plan. South Korea’s hockey coach is not happy because he said a united hockey team could damage South Korea’s chances of winning a medal.