VIP Class Notes (Ally)[S/W]

Vocabulary

bald: tu tou (adj)
ie. You will become bald/go bald if you keep messing around with your hair.
ie. …. unless you stop messing around with your hair.

supposed to: according to plan/schedule/ should
ie. Ally is supposed to work on Thursdays but she’s absent (for talking to boss/or school)today./not here today.

absent-minded (adj): xin bu zai yan
ie. Today Ally keeps talking/chatting absent-mindedly.
ie. An absent-minded (adj) Ally just kept going on and on.

brainstorm (v): think of ideas / idea-mapping
ie. Brainstorming is important to/for writing formal documents.
ie. … is an important step to writing formal documents.
ie. Brainstorming is important before writing…

brainless(adj): wu nao
ie. He is a brainless idiot so just break up with him already.

confident(adj): zi xin (n)confidence
ie. Mavis should be more confident when she speaks English.
ie. Mavis needs more confidence when she speaks English.
ie. Mavis should speak English with more confidence.

credit(n): gong lao
ie. I did all the work but my boss gave her all the credit.
ie. She took the credit for my hard work.
ie. I won’t give her all the credit because/since/as I have been working on this project for days.

keep her company: pei ban
ie. Ally came to SH to keep Lily company.
ie. My mother kept me company when I was sick.
ie. I’m not very good company these days because I’m feeling blue/down myself.

accompany: pei (for event)
ie. Would you like to accompany me to my family dinner?

discipline (v): guan jiao (n) ji lv
ie. You should not discipline your children in public.
ie. The army has very strict disciplines.

Grammar

some: only “yi xie” when counting
ie. I buy some bread. I see some children.

in + idea/concept
at+specific location
ie. I’m in the hospital. -> I’m sick
ie. I’m at the hospital. -> I’m there (maybe to visit a friend?)

“you don’t give yourself enough credit”  = You’re better than you think

“correct(v) me if I’m wrong” = I’m going to say something that might be wrong

My work was my goal in my life before but now it became my biggest obstacle.
My work used to be/was my goal in life but now it has become my biggest obstacle. 

Q: Tell me about someone who’s important in your life.
A: My best friend who is a beautiful and rich girl. She is a three years old younger than me. I met her at a class about psychology. In the year of last year, I divorced and she accompanied me for a long time. We always talked about some events in our daily lives. In those days, she supported me. So I think she is the important person for me.

A: My best friend is a beautiful and rich girl./My best friend, who is a beautiful and rich girl, is an important person for me./an important person in my life/is important to me. She is three years younger than I am. I met her in a class about psychology. In the year before last year, I divorced(v) my ex-husband/I got a divorce(n)/I got divorced and she kept me company for a long time. We always talked about (the) events in our daily lives. In those days, she supported me/she was always there for me. So I think she is the important person for me. 

The theme for a homework this week is talking about someone I admire. When I was doing the homework, I thought about it all afternoon. I’m sorry that I don’t have anyone to admire, because I always think no one is perfect. I can find both advantages and disadvantages in different persons. I use their advantages as a model for learning, while their disadvantages as a warning. For example, I learn self-discipline(look up) and concentration from one of my friends, and I learn social skills from another.I reflect on (look up)whether I have the same problems through someone’s disadvantages. So there’s no one I admire.

The theme for the/my homework this week is talking about someone I admire. When I was working on this topic, I kept thinking all afternoon. It’s unfortunate that/I’m sorry that I don’t have anyone to admire, because I think/imo, no one is perfect. I can find both strengths and weaknesses/ advantages and disadvantages in everybody. I use their advantages/strengths as a role model/gold standard for learning, while I use/and their disadvantages/weaknesses as a warning. For example, I learned self-discipline(look up) and concentration from one of my friends, and I learned social skills from another. I use my knowledge of them to my advantage. I reflect on (look up) whether I have the same problems through someone else’s disadvantages. So there’s no one I admire.

Pronunciation

admire: ad+my+er

advantage: ad+van+tage, not adventage

obstacle = ob+ste+cal

brainless= brane+less