F2F Class Notes (Nicholas) [S + W]

Next Class Focus

Review the speaking section for corrections and lead off the class with a speaking exercise because we didn’t do too much speaking this class.

Homework

Give me your opinion on world population. A big challenge is that the world has too many people. China has dealt with this responsibility and restricts the number of children its citizens can have. No other country does this. India has over 1 billion people. Africa will have billions of people within 30 years. But only one country is willing to control its population willingly. What do you think the rest of the world should do with regard to population control. Tell me about this topic. And maybe even argue for something.

Writing exercise

Original + Corrected

Today, I am looking to talk aboutĀ something regarding my lovely daughter.

She was born on April 6, 2016. Fortunately, she wasn’t born on Apr 4 or Apr 5 as it’s the Tomb-sweeping Day which is an inauspicious date by traditional notion standards.

For DuringĀ the 1st year of her coming life, my sleep quality declined to aĀ minimum level and my hair lost went away atĀ in an incredible speed as I needed to wake up 3-5 times per night to look after herĀ for various situations. Furthermore my wife was very anxious during this period so I neededĀ to take care of her emotions / emotionally and encourage her, so that she continues toĀ contribute to the familyĀ contributions for the whole family. It was a disaster for me in both physically and mentally.

Nevertheless, I always believe things will wouldĀ get better and better. When my daughter can could /Ā was able toĀ sleep through theĀ whole night on her 16 months, she was around 16 months old.

e.g. My daughter can sleep through the night.

e.g. My daughter could sleep through the night.

my wife and I recovered the ourĀ sleep quality. And our parents helped us a lot to take care of the little devil which released us from theĀ a chaotic life.

e.g. the chaotic life /Ā this one particular life that this one specific person had and he was very important thisĀ personĀ 

e.g a chaotic life / general, not specific life in generalĀ 

So aligned with my wife, we don’t want to have 2nd child and experience again for the terrible days.

So my wife and I are in agreement / we are aligned, we don’t want to have a 2nd child and have this terrible experience again.

Reading

VILLA DEL ROSARIO, Colombiaā€”Thousands of people stand idly about, families sitting near heaps of luggage. Groups cram into every bit of available shade, eager to ignore the shouts of salesmen hawking potatoes or medication. Nearby, bus companies promote ā€œno passportā€ travel inland.

This is what a migration crisis looks like. For more than two years, a steady stream of peopleā€”many toting little more than ragged backpacks and bagsā€”have crossed into this Colombian town and others like it, escaping their crumbling homeland, Venezuela, which has been weathering an economic collapse and, more recently, a political crisis.

Thus far, Colombia has opened its doors as millions of people have flocked to its border. Politicians here know there is no way to keep these migrants out, so instead of railing against its neighbor or raising the drawbridge, they have focused on integrating those who arrive, efforts that have been commended by aid agencies. But with almost 1.5 million Venezuelans here, equivalent to about 3 percent of Colombiaā€™s population, and more arriving every day, the country may soon be entirely overwhelmed.

Vocabulary

migration the topicĀ / migrant the personĀ / migrated past tenseĀ / to migrateĀ present tense

immigration /Ā to migrate into another country /Ā immigrantĀ the person who comes from another country /Ā to immigrate /Ā present tense verb / immigrated / past tense

politician / the person /Ā political / describing/adj /Ā Ā politics /Ā the thing or topic

e.g. Politicians are very political because they enjoy politics.

economic / adjective describingĀ somethingĀ economical / adjective that means frugal, not too expensive, saves you money /Ā economy /Ā the topic the thing

e.g. China’s economy is large. The economic engine of China is technology. People like to take a bike rather than take a taxi because it’s move economical.

Pronunciation

raising / RICE-ING / RAZE-ING

efforts / EF-FORTS/ EF-FERTS

flocked / FLOKE-D / FLAH-CKED

politicians /Ā PAUL-IT-TISH-IN

economic / good

shouts / SHOTES / XIAO-TS

crisis / CRY-SIS

crises / CRY-SEES-SES

Speaking exercise

SO far no plan because we are very tired during the last month before the CNY, because my wife and I are both (Bose) HR (reps) mthe Chinese govt changed the tax law especially for the personal tax different from the last year so we need to do a lot of things to change our salary, payment, and to fix the Chinese tax law.

So far we have no plans ā€” we have been very tired this past month before the CNY because my wife andĀ I are both HR employees. The Chinese government recently changed the tax law specifically in regard to personal taxes. So we need to do many things to change our salary,Ā payment and to comply with the newĀ Chinese tax laws.