F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Today we focused on:

Vocabulary and pronunciation.

Vocabulary

Appliance (n): 1- a device, machine, or piece of equipment, especially an electrical one that is used in the house, such as a cooker or washing machine:
E.g.: electric/domestic/household appliances

Severe (adj): 1- causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, damage, etc.; very serious:
E.g.: He had a severe toothache.
E.g.: This is a school for children with severe learning difficulties.
E.g.: There is expected to be a severe storm tonight.
E.g.: Severe cuts in public spending have been announced.

Headline (n): 1- the title of a news article.
E.g.: The headline immediately attracted his attention.

Journal (n): 1- a serious magazine or newspaper that is published regularly about a particular subject.
E.g.: He became editor of the famous Irish journal ‘The Bell’.
E.g.: He’s had several articles published in scientific journals.
E.g.: The library subscribes to all the major science journals.

Vast (adj): 1- extremely big.
E.g.: A vast audience watched the broadcast.
E.g.: The amount of detail the book contains is vast.
E.g.: The people who have taken our advice have saved themselves vast amounts of money.

Suggestive (adj): 1- If something is suggestive of something else, it makes you think about it.
E.g.: His tired face was suggestive of the stress he was going through at work.

Eel (n): 1- 鳗鱼

Socket电插座

Reading

World’s most electrifying eel found in Amazon
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1909/190914-electric-eel.html)

Scientists have discovered a new species of electric eel that is truly shocking. In fact, it is the most shocking creature in the world. The new eel was discovered in the Amazon. It is capable of giving someone an electric shock that is nearly eight times stronger than the electricity found in the wall socket of an American home. The eel is 2.4 meters long, weighs 45kgs, and can discharge a shock of 860 volts. Appliances in American homes need just 110 volts of electricity. The eel has enough power to give a human a severe electric shock. It is possible the shock could kill a human. The scientists wrote in the journal Nature Communications that the eel is “the strongest living bio-electricity generator”.

Scientists have named the new eel Electrophorus voltai. The team of researchers actually found two new species of electric eel, but Electrophorus voltai is grabbing the headlines because of its electrical power. Up until the two recent discoveries, scientists believed there was only one electric eel in existence. Lead researcher Dr David de Santana said he would not be surprised to find more new species. He wrote: “If you can discover a new 2.4m-long fish after 250 years of exploration, can you imagine what remains to be discovered in that region?” He added: “The discovery…in Amazonia, one of the planet’s biodiversity hot spots, is suggestive of the vast amount of species that remain to be discovered in nature.”

Grammar

I had a long time meeting. – I had a long meeting. / I had a meeting that lasted a long time. 

Twice once a week. – Twice a week.

Pronunciation

Fatigue: /fəˈtiːɡ//fa.tea.g/

Depression:  /dɪˈpreʃ.ən//dee.pre.shun/