F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Today we did some reading, focusing on new vocabulary.

Quarter-final (n): 1- any of the four games in a competition that decides which players or teams will play in the two semifinals.
E.g.: The team got beat / eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Amid (prep): 1- in the middle of or surrounded by; among.
E.g.: We camped that night in a shallow valley amid low hills.

Escalate (v): 1- to become or make something become greater or more serious:
E.g.: His financial problems escalated after he became unemployed.

Committee (n): 1- a group of people chosen from a larger group to act on or consider matters of a particular kind:
E.g.: She sits on the city’s finance committee.

Militaristic (adj): 1- supporting the idea of having powerful armed forces in a country:
E.g.: a militaristic policy/government
E.g.: America has a very militaristic idea of power.
E.g.: This is a symbol of the country’s militaristic past.

Humble (adj): 1- not proud or not believing that you are important:
E.g.: He’s very humble about his success.
E.g.: Please accept our humble apologies for the mistake.
E.g.: In my humble opinion we should never have bought the car in the first place.

Embroil (v): 1- to cause someone to become involved in an argument or a difficult situation. 2- 卷入
E.g.: She didn’t want embroil herself in a lawsuit with the newspaper.
E.g.: The United Nations doesn’t want to get its forces embroiled in civil war.

Retaliation (n): 1- the act of hurting someone or doing something harmful to someone because they have done or said something harmful to you. 2- 报复
The bomb attack was in retaliation for the recent arrest of two well-known terrorists.
She suffered severe retaliation for writing articles for the newspapers.

Boycott (v/n): 1- 抵制

South Korea wants 2020 Olympics Rising Sun flag ban
(Source: wwww.breakingnewsenglish.com/1909/190908-rising-sun-flag.html)

Amid escalating tensions between South Korea and Japan, the South Korean government has called on Japan to ban any displaying of the Rising Sun flag at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This follows a statement by Japan’s Olympics organising committee that it sees no problem with the flag. The committee said: “The Rising Sun flag is widely used in Japan and it is not considered to be a political statement, so it is not viewed as a prohibited item.” A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “The Japanese know full well that their neighbours regard the Rising Sun flag as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic and imperial past. Japan needs to be more humble about owning up to its historical legacy.”

Relations between the two east-Asian nations have taken a downturn in the past few months. They are currently embroiled in a bitter trade war that has seen people in Korea burning Japanese products. Many South Koreans are shunning Japan as a tourist destination, leading to Japanese carriers slashing the number of flights to South Korea. Last month, Japan removed South Korea from its “white list” of trusted trade partners. This led to delays in the exports of items like car parts and household electronics to South Korea. In retaliation, Koreans have been boycotting Japanese beer, clothing brands and other products. The spat poses a threat to the global supply chain of semi-conductors.