F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Vocabulary

Miserable (adj): 1- very unhappy. 2- unpleasant and causing unhappiness.
E.g.: She’s miserable living on her own.
E.g.: The weather was miserable all weekend!

Elite (n): 1-  the richest, most powerful, best-educated, or best-trained group in a society:
E.g.: The country’s educated elite is trying to fight against the government’s decision.
E.g.: Brazil’s political and business elite is prepared to accept the election results.

Artificial (adj): 1- made by people, often as a copy of something natural:
E.g.: Scientists have managed to create a working artificial heart.
E.g.: The artificial lake is used to produce electricity.

Dub (v): 1- to give something or someone a name, especially describing what you think of it, him, or her:
E.g.: She was dubbed by the newspapers “the Angel of Death”.
E.g.: People have dubbed Michael Jackson the “King of Pop”.

Compartment (n): 1- a separate section of a structure or container in which certain items can be kept separate from others.
E.g.: There’s some ice cream in the freezer compartment.

Inspire (v): 1- to give someone an idea for a book, film, product, etc..
E.g.: He wrote a piece of music inspired by dolphin sounds
E.g.: The design of the car has inspired many imitations.

Groundbreaking (adj): 1- If something is groundbreaking, it is very new and a big change from other things of its type.
E.g.: His latest movie is interesting, but not groundbreaking.

Brittle (adj): 1- delicate and easily broken.
E.g.: As you get older your bones become increasingly brittle.
E.g.: The lake was covered by a brittle layer of ice.

Grip (v): 1- to hold very tightly.
E.g.: The baby gripped my finger with her tiny hand.
E.g.: His hands were all oily and he couldn’t grip the wheel properly.

Sore (adj): 1- painful and uncomfortable because of injury, infection, or too much use:
E.g.: All the dust has made my eyes sore.
E.g.: I’ve got a sore back.
E.g.: My feet were sore with all the walking.
E.g.: Last week Jason had a sore throat.

Throat (n): 1- 喉

Origami (n): 1- 折纸

Soft, Robotic Muscles 1,000 Times Stronger
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1711/171130-muscles-4.html)

Scientists from elite universities have found a new way of creating artificial muscles. They called their discovery a “soft robot”. It weighs 2.6 grams and looks like a small water-filled bag. An origami-inspired framework gives it support and strength. This means it can lift something 1,000 times its own weight. This is like a newborn baby lifting a four-wheel-drive car. The ground-breaking discovery could benefit many areas of science and medicine.

The scientists work in the area of soft robotics. Their muscle takes 10 minutes to make and costs less than a dollar. A researcher hopes to create “softer” robots that are like humans. He said: “Humans are normally soft and brittle compared to the big industrial robots….The next step is to take this system and develop it into a fully functional robot.” It could be like the human hand – strong enough to grip an object, while being soft and gentle.

Grammar

I always don’t understand – I never understand.

Last week he take an airplane from Shanghai to Japan. – Last week he took an airplane from Shanghai to Japan

Pronunciation

Miserable: /ˈmɪz.ɚ.ə.bəl/

Throat: /θroʊt/

Daily: /ˈdeɪ.li/

Robotic: /roʊˈbɑː.t̬ɪk/

Elite: /iˈliːt/

Brittle: /ˈbrɪt̬.əl/