F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Read an article from www.breakingnewsenglish.com and write a paragraph about it.

Vocabulary

Usual (adj): 1- normal; happening, done, or used most often.
E.g.: I went to bed at my usual time.
E.g.: There was more rainfall than usual this summer in the mountain areas.
E.g.: He was late, as usual!

Role (n): 1- an actor’s part in a film or play (角色). 2- the position or purpose that someone or something has in a situation, organization, society, or relationship.
E.g.: She’s got a leading role in the school play.
E.g.: She plays the role of a lawyer.
E.g.: What is his role in this project?
E.g.: Schools play an important role in society.

Role play (n): 1- pretending to be someone else.
E.g.: Role-play is used in training courses and language-learning

Earn (v): 1- to receive money as payment for work that you do.
E.g.: I earn $80,000 a year.
E.g.: How much do you earn, if you don’t mind me asking?

Kung Fu (n): 1- 功夫

Swordsman (n): 1- 剑客

Chinese women spend $30 million on virtual boyfriends
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1802/180205-dating-app-2.html)

A dating app in China is very popular with women. They are spending $30 million a month on it. It is a little different from usual dating apps because the four single men on the app are virtual boyfriends. Users role-play dating the virtual guys. They buy “Purple Diamonds” from the app and spend them in the app to go on dates and keep their relationships going. The app is called Love and Producer. It is now the biggest money earner on Apple’s China App Store. Players spent over 200 million Chinese Yuan ($30 million) on the app last month.

A research company said the app has over two million daily active users. Most of these are women in their early 20s. They love the idea of romance and fun. A 19-year-old university student explained why she liked the app: “It’s like a romantic novel with fascinating voices. It’s more real than reading a novel.” She loved the “delicate drawings” and the “great voices”. Another young woman said: “I don’t have a boyfriend, so I’m happy to have a relationship with a “paper partner”. She also liked getting e-mail and chat messages from her virtual boyfriends.

Grammar

Yesterday night – Last night

I can know this article. – I can understand this article.

Pronunciation

Read (present): /riːd/ 

Read: (past): /red/

Minus: /ˈmaɪ.nəs/

Equal: /ˈiː.kwəl/

Spring: /sprɪŋ/

Million: /ˈmɪl.jən/

Woman: /ˈwʊm.ən/ 

Women: /ˈwɪmɪn/ 

Virtual: /ˈvɝː.tʃu.əl/

Usual:/ˈjuː.ʒu.əl/

Earn: /ɝːn/

This: /ðɪs/

These: /ðiːz/

Kung Fu: /ˌkʌŋ ˈfuː/

Swordsman: /ˈsɔːrdz.mən/

Fascinating: /ˈfæs.ə.neɪ.tɪŋ/

20s = Twenties: /ˈtwen.t̬iz/