F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R][W]

Vocabulary

Tweak (v/n): 1- to change or adjust something slightly, especially in order to make it more correct, effective, or suitable.
E.g.: The report is pretty much done – it just needs a little tweaking.
E.g.: You just need to tweak the last paragraph and then it’s done.

Viral (adj): 1- used to describe something that quickly becomes very popular or well known by being published on the internet or sent from person to person by email, phone, etc..
E.g.: Here’s a list of the top ten viral videos this week.
E.g.: Within days the film clip went viral.

Heart-wrenching (adj): 1- extremely sad or distressing.
E.g.: This heart-wrenching drama revisits the early days of the crisis
E.g.: It was heart-wrenching to watch her suffer so much!

Revisit (v): 1- to go to a place again. 2- to talk or think about something again, with the intention of improving it or changing it.
E.g.: I revisited Prague last month.
E.g.: Gun laws need to be revisited.

Video of Starving Polar Bear Goes Viral
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1712/171212-polar-bear-5.html)

A video of a starving polar bear collapsing in Canada’s wilderness has gone viral on the Internet. The bear is in search of food. It looks in rusty waste containers as it wanders across land with no snow. The bear is nothing but skin and bones. It is too weak to support its own body weight and has difficulty standing. A photographer stated that the polar bear’s condition was a clear sign of the terrible impact of climate change. He said filming the animal was heart-wrenching. His team were, “pushing through their tears and emotions while documenting this dying polar bear”.

The photographer’s team was in Canada to shoot a documentary on conservation. The bear they filmed was not old. It probably died within hours. He said: “This is what starvation looks like….It’s a slow, painful death.” He blamed the bear’s sad condition on global warming. He said: “As temperatures rise and sea ice melts, polar bears lose access to the main staple of their diets – seals.” Climate change is the biggest threat to the world’s 26,000 polar bears. Bears are starving, and running out of energy. They have to go into areas where humans live to look for food.

Original:

When I was in primary school I attended a drawing class. Some of my classmates were also in that class including a boy. He was quite good at drawing. I am also not bad. We had a lot to talk during the break time and also after class. I felt funny to talk with him and our homes were not far away. Then naturally we went to school and left school together. Some classmates laughed at us but it didn’t matter to us. I can’t remember exactly how long it lasted, maybe almost 1 year. It seems like that we didn’t talk that much anymore after back to school after 2nd summer vocation. Maybe because we didn’t attend that class any more. Based on my experience, kids’ crush could not last for long time.

Edited:

When I was in primary school I attended a drawing class. Some of my classmates were also in that class including a boy. He was quite good at drawing, and I was not bad either. We had a lot to talk about during breaks and also after class. I felt funny while talking with him and our homes were not far apart, so naturally we went to school and left school together. Some classmates laughed at us but it didn’t matter to us. I can’t remember exactly how long it lasted, maybe almost 1 year. If I remember correctly, we didn’t talk that much anymore after we went back to school from our 2nd summer vacation, maybe because we didn’t attend that class anymore. Based on my experience, kids’ crushes do not last for long time.

Grammar

The girl don’t have feeling with him. – The girl doesn’t have feelings for him.

Pronunciation

Reciprocate: /rɪˈsɪp.rə.keɪt/

Tummy: /ˈtʌm.i/

Giggle: /ˈɡɪɡ.əl/

Photographer: /ˈfoʊ.t̬oʊ.ɡræf/

Access: /ˈæk.ses/

Wilderness: /ˈwɪl.dɚ.nəs/