F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Go to www.breakingnewsenglish.com, choose an article and write a paragraph about it.

Vocabulary

Moldy (adj): 1- covered in mold.
E.g.: The inside of the bamboo straw is slightly moldy.

Adversarial (adj): 1- involving people opposing or disagreeing with each other:
E.g.: In the old days of two-party adversarial politics, voting was easy.

Minor (adj): 1- having little importance, influence, or effect, especially when compared with other things of the same type.
E.g.: It’s only a minor problem.
E.g.: There’s been an increase in minor offenses, such as traffic violations and petty theft.
E.g.: She suffered only minor injuries.

Major (adj): 1- more important, bigger, or more serious than others of the same type.
E.g.: All of her major plays have been translated into English.
E.g.: Sugar is a major cause of tooth decay.
E.g.: There are two problems with this situation, one major, one minor.

Minority (n): 1-  a smaller number or part. 2- any small group in society that is different from the rest because of their race, religion, or political beliefs, or a person who belongs to such a group (ethnic/religious minorities, etc.)
E.g.: It’s only a tiny minority of people who are causing the problem.
E.g.: Children with single parents at my school were very much in the minority (= there were very few).
E.g.: The plan was designed to help women and minorities overcome discrimination in the workplace.

Majority (n): 1- the larger number or part of something.
E.g.: The majority of the employees have university degrees.
E.g.: In Britain women are in the majority.

Harsh (adj): 1- unpleasant, unkind, cruel, or more severe than is necessary.
E.g.: We thought the punishment was rather harsh for such a minor offense.
E.g.: “There is no alternative,” she said in a harsh voice.
E.g.: He said some harsh words (= spoke unkindly) about his brother.

Upbringing (n): 1- the way in which you are treated and educated when young, especially by your parents, especially in relation to the effect that this has on how you behave and make moral decisions
E.g.: The children had had a harsh upbringing.

Acronym (n): 1- an abbreviation consisting of the first letters of each word in the name of something, pronounced as a word.
E.g.: UN is an acronym for “United Nations”

Coordinates (n): 1- one of a pair of numbers and/or letters that show the exact position of a point on a map or graph
E.g.: The captain gave his coordinates and asked for help.

Archipelago (n)L 1- a group of small islands or an area of sea in which there are many small islands.
E.g.: Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago.

Grammar

50% items – 50% of the items

The another 50%. – The other 50%.

I want you happy. – I want to make you happy.

My meaning is – I mean 

Indonesia has started counting its islands. It wants to locate and name 1,700 islands in time for a UN conference on geographical names in August. Indonesia wants the islands and fishing rights surrounding them so its neighbors can’t claim them. Indonesia says illegal fishing is costing billions of dollars in lost money each year. A spokeswoman said 60% of islands in Indonesia don’t have a name or legal status, so other countries can easily take them.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. In 2012, it registered 13,466 islands but there could be 17,508. The UN says an island is, “a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is still exposed at high tide”. It is a big job to count the islands. A spokesman said: “We have to visit every one of these islands, and then we note the coordinates, the name, the meaning of the name…and describe the landscape and its geographical history.”

Pronunciation

Superficial: /ˌsuː.pɚˈfɪʃ.əl/

Minority: /maɪˈnɔːr.ə.t̬i/

Majority: /məˈdʒɑː.rə.t̬i/ 

Geographical: /ˌdʒi.əˈɡræf.ɪ.kəl

Status: /ˈsteɪ.t̬əs/

Archipelago: /ˌɑːr.kəˈpel.ə.ɡoʊ/

Registered: /ˈredʒ.ə.stɚd/