Online Class Notes (Ally)[R]

Vocabulary

surveillance: 监控
ie. With the surveillance by the Chinese government, the hospital can be completed very quickly.

ideological:big idea 概念上的
ie. Ideologically, we don’t think the infringement(触犯) on liberty is a big problem for the current situation.

cabin fever: 闷出的病
ie. Working from home for another two weeks will result in cabin fever./I will have cabin fever if I have to work from home for another two weeks.

confined: 被禁锢的
ie. Even though we stayed at home, our spirit cannot be confined.

claustrophobia:幽闭恐惧症
ie. Some people have a disease called claustrophobia, so they’re scared to take the lift.

take its toll (on):create problems/ make someone crazy
ie. Working seven days a week can take its toll on someone’s personal life.

windowsill: 窗台
ie. He has a lot of plants on his window sill.

commute(noun and verb):通勤
ie. We miss the commute time in the past.

(this is the/it is just the …)cabin fever talking… : cabin fever 使得我
ie. Cecily, you don’t really want to go out with that guy. It’s just your loneliness talking.
ie. I don’t want to cook – it’s just my hunger talking.

Speaking exercise

last last Sunday: the Sunday before the last/ two sundays before

broken: broke out

missing: used for 错过/丢失,not so much for 想念 – use “miss”

Reading

“Sometimes I get cabin fever, but I already did the fire escape up-and-down walk and we have 43 floors here.”

While Jeffrey Broer is enjoying working from home as he gets to spend more time with his young daughter Dansha, it’s beginning to take its toll.

A self-employed investment adviser and lecturer at Hong Kong University, he has been working from home full time since the Lunar New Year holiday as companies take measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

While he has been conducting video sessions with his students from his home office, he misses the face-to-face contact and networking.

“That’s almost impossible now. The windowsill is my friend,” he says.

While at first he didn’t miss the 20-minute commute into work every day, his attitude has changed. “I am looking forward to it again, although that might be the cabin fever talking,” he joked.

to be cont’d:

Millions of people have been working from home across China and further afield, as the government introduces more measures to contain the deadly virus.

Many are enjoying the opportunity to spend time with their families or catch up with old friends online, and some are finding it a more productive way of working.

Shanghai-based Henry Chang is a big fan of working from home and is using video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Meet to collaborate with his colleagues in the UK.

“It’s quite good actually,” says the China market manager for language learning site Lingumi. “Without colleagues to chat around, you actually spend more time concentrating on work if you clearly know what needs to be done.

His colleague Fan Yi is also enjoying working from home in the city, but has sympathy for those not so fortunate.

“I worry more about people who are impacted by this virus, especially people in Wuhan, after I read the news. I feel lucky to just be stuck indoors, compared to their panic and things they’re suffering,” she says.

Work-life balance

Rajashree Basu, who works at a language school in Wuxi, about 135km from Shanghai, struggled at first with the lack of contact with her students. But she too has turned to video conferencing tools and says they work well.

“Initially it was challenging, but now as time goes on, everyone is getting charged up as they see the digital platforms work and provide similar results to face-to-face classrooms.

“Sometimes I feel I’m able to get more done in this mode and give more support to students and teachers.”

Ms Basu is currently stuck in her home city of Kolkata, India, after returning during the Chinese New Year break. Her major issues have been internet usage, connectivity and working out time differences when calling colleagues.

“Setting a work-life balance while working from home sometimes is challenging as well,” she adds.

Chinese officials have told schools not to re-open until at least March, although Ms Basu fears “it might take another extra month or so”.

Alvin Foo is working from his apartment in Shanghai and relishes the freedom it gives him.

“Almost anything can be done remotely, the issue is really on the effectiveness,” says the managing director of advertising agency IPG Mediabrands Reprise.

Technology is playing a major role in helping him connect with his team so they can still hold meetings remotely.

“The positive thing about this working from home experiment is that it will help us to collaborate better and develop future strategies to work from anywhere for the company,” he says.

“With the proliferation of faster internet through 5G, it will game-change the future of work.”

Another positive he sees from working from home is being able to spend quality time with loved ones.

“Besides my family, I keep myself busy with reading and reaching out to old friends that I haven’t been in touch with for years.

“The extra time has definitely created an opportunity for families to be closer together and to catch up on lost time.”