F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Read the article below one more time and write a paragraph giving your opinion on the issue.

Vocabulary

Pedestrian (n): 1- a person who is walking, especially in an area where vehicles go:
E.g.: A few pedestrians sheltered from the rain in doorways.
E.g.: The death rate for pedestrians hit by cars is unacceptably high.

Transgender (n): 1-used to describe someone who feels that they are not the same gender (= sex) as the physical body they were born with, or who does not fit easily into being either a male or a female. 2- 变性人
E.g.: Society has become more understanding of people who are transgender.

Modification (n): 1- a change to something.
E.g.: Modification of the engine to run on lead-free fuel is fairly simple.
E.g.: A couple of modifications and the speech will be perfect.

Personnel (n): 1- the people who are employed in a company, organization, or one of the armed forces.
E.g.: The new director is likely to make major changes in personnel.

Implement (v): 1- to start using a plan or system. (n: Implementation)
E.g.: The changes to the national health system will be implemented next year.
E.g.: We expect to start the implementation of the new rules by the end of the month.

Guidance (n): 1- help and advice about how to do something or about how to deal with problems.
E.g.: I’ve always looked to my father for guidance in these matters.

Decisive (adj): 1- able to make decisions quickly and confidently.
E.g.: You need to be more decisive.

Overwhelming (adj): 1- difficult to fight against. 2- very great or very large.
E.g.: She felt an overwhelming need to tell someone about what had happened.
E.g.: An overwhelming majority has voted in favor of the proposal.

Burden (n): 1- a heavy load that you carry.
E.g.: The little donkey struggled under its heavy burden.
E.g.: The issue has been a burden to the government.

Tremendous (adj): 1- very great in amount or level, or extremely good.
E.g.: They were making a tremendous amount of noise last night.
E.g.: She’s been a tremendous (= very great) help to me over the last few months.

Disruption (n): 1- an interruption (中断) in the usual way that a system, process, or event works.
E.g.: It would cause a tremendous disruption to our work schedule to install a different computer system.

Entail (v): 1- to make something necessary, or to involve something.
E.g.: Such a large investment always entails some risk.
E.g.: Repairing the roof will entail spending a lot of money.

Readiness (n): 1- the state of being ready or prepared for something.
E.g.: The company has declared its readiness to fight a challenge in the courts.

Military (n): 1- 军队

The Pentagon (n): 1- 五角大楼

Debate Over US Military Transgender Policy
(Source: breakingnewsenglish.com/1707/170729-transgender.html)

President Donald Trump’s desire to ban transgender people from serving in the USA military has already run into problems. Senior military bosses at the Pentagon have said that there will be “no modifications” to its policy of allowing transgender people to serve until it receives more formal notification from the White House. Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford said in a statement: “In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect.” He added: “There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidance.”

President Trump made his announcement in a surprise tweet on Wednesday. It said: “The United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” The decision reversed a policy that was approved by the Defense Department under President Barack Obama. Republican John McCain disagreed with Mr Trump. He said: “Any American who meets current medical and readiness standards should be allowed to continue serving.”

Pronunciation

Pedestrian: /pəˈdes.tri.ən/

Personnel: /ˌpɝː.sənˈel/

Decisive: /dɪˈsaɪ.sɪv/

Overwhelming: /oʊ.vɚˈwel.mɪŋ/

Tremendous:  /trɪˈmen.dəs/

Disruption: /dɪsˈrʌpʃən/

Entail: /ɪnˈteɪl/