VIP Class Notes (Ally)

Vocabulary

full-time: quan zhi
ie. Our school offers a full-time program.

delivery: kuaidi

food delivery: waimai
ie. I received my delivery this afternoon.
ie. The food delivery guy at KFC was thirty minutes late today.

take advantage of: li yong
ie. You need to take advantage of water resources.
ie. If you want to improve your English, you should take advantage of your lessons at SE.

sticky/sweaty: nian
ie. My body was very sticky after I boxed.

look after: zhao gu
ie. My grandma needs to be looked after.
ie. A mother looks after her child.

look out for: zhao ying (not always taking care of you, just helping you when you need help)
ie. I usually look out for my cousins when their parents work/are at work/are working.

cuisine: liao li
ie. I like Japanese cuisine very much.

freshman: da yi
ie. I’m a freshman at Leeds College.

financial crisis: jinrong weiji

redundancies: 裁员 or duoyu
ie. A financial crisis is very dangerous because a lot of redundancies might occur.

get by: just enough to live, no luxuries
ie. The cost of living in SH is very high, so it’s difficult even just to get by.

whatsoever:加强否定陈述
ie. I have no interest in coffee whatsoever.
ie. I don’t think Curry is the best basketball player whatsoever.

voucher/coupon: quan
ie. I received a voucher for meituan in the mail today.

Speaking exercise

Q: How (much) do you like SH? How is it compared to Henan? Which city do you like better? Why? Would you recommend SH to a newcomer?

A: I think SH not bad, because I come from Henan, and the weather in my hometown is very good, and in SH, when I first came here, it was really hot. My body was nian and I had to take my bag and a lot of things by myself. SH’s food, I think, is not suitable for me. I think Henan is best. I like Zhengzhou because I think Zhengzhou’s food is very delicious. I haven’t have this ideas three months ago but when I came to SH, I know Zhengzhou’s food is very good. Also, like Meituan waimai is always late and I usually have no time to eat.

Edited: I think SH has some advantages, like its subway and Disneyland.  I come from Henan, and the weather in my hometown is very good, but in SH, when I first came here, it was really hot. My body was sticky and I had to bring/take my bag everywhere and move/pack and unpack a lot of things by myself. The food in SH, I think, is not suitable for me. I think Henan is best. I like Zhengzhou because I think the food in Zhengzhou is very delicious. I haven’t had/didn’t have this idea three months ago but when I came to SH, I found/realized Zhengzhou’s food is very good. Also, Meituan delivery is always late and I usually have no time to eat.

Reading

When looking at Western Europe, we don’t usually think about poverty – but in fact, some people in modern-day Britain are so hard up that they can’t afford to buy food.

Back in 2008, the financial crisis caused a lot of redundancies. Then there were the cuts to the welfare system in 2013 which added to the problem – and many British people fell into debt. It’s estimated that 500,000 people in the UK have turned to food banks, just to get by.

Steph Hagen, who works in a Nottingham food bank, says: “People do not go to a food bank because it’s an open door. It’s a case of they go to it because they need to. With our food bank – we are an independent one, and we have limited stocks – everyone who comes through our door has no income whatsoever.”

There are checks and referrals to make sure nobody is abusing the system. If a doctor or a social worker thinks someone needs to use a food bank – even for a short time – they can give them vouchers. Then the people in need take the vouchers along to the food bank and they get handouts for three days.

Churches and individual donors provide most of the food in the banks. But some businesses might help out too.