Online Class Notes (Nick)

Vocabulary

Signature vs. Signal – a signature is when you sign your name on a formal paper; signal is the ability of something to connect to something, or to communicate
e.g. To finish this contract, we just have to put our signature on this line.
e.g. The signal is not so good for this call.

Golf Course – a place where you play golf, with long areas of grass and holes at the end
e.g. In Missouri, there is a nice

Theme Park – a large park built around some idea, like Disney characters, etc. often with big rides and places to have fun, 主题公园
e.g. Disney World is famous theme park in Orlando, in the US. Six Flags is a famous chain of theme parks.

Ship – a very large boat
Warship – a ship used to do battle with other militaries

Blow-up Castle / Balloon Castle – a small building that is filled with air so that, especially kids, can jump and play inside 气垫床
e.g. At Oriental Park they have some blow-up castles that are very fun for kids.

Camping – to sleep outside in a tent
e.g. At Oriental Park, they rent out tents for camping, and you cannot use your own.

Unpredictable – when something can change very quickly, when you cannot know beforehand what it will be like
e.g. The weather in the area of the Siguniang mountains is rather unpredictable.

Must-see (n) – something that you cannot miss when you go to a place
e.g. In Shanghai, the Bund is a must-see; in Sichuan, Emei Mountain is a must-see.

Scenic Place / Point / Location – a place you go to see when you travel because it is beautiful or interesting
e.g. 金顶 is the most famous scenic point on Emei Mountain.

Grammar

Too many peoples in here – too many people there
— “People” is almost always without “s” (without “s” it already means “many”)
— “Persons” and “peoples” do exist, but they are pretty uncommon uses; “persons” is a formal, sort of legal word that really focuses on individuals; “peoples” refers to different groups of people, like Chinese, Indians, etc.
— “In here” is usually only used for rooms, houses, cars – limited places; for a city, we just say “here” or “there”
— Also, since you are not in Zhujiajiao now, it is better to use “there”

My means – my meaning / what I mean is . . .

I didn’t pay by myself – I didn’t pay for myself; the company paid for us

It’s worth to go there – It’s worth it / worth the trouble to go there
— This just works as a single phrase, and so you need to include “it” at the end

He is very like camping – He really likes camping

Foreigner countries – foreign countries
— A “foreigner” is a person; “foreign” is the adjective

Pronunciation

Theme – theem