VIP Class Notes (Celeste) [S]

Copy the last paragraph of the speaking exercise below and self correct your grammar. Upload it as an email service or homework. 

The pros are the tasty treats and the cons are if someone is on a diet or losing weight the bakery is a obstacle.

change my sheets vs. make my bed

came across = stumbled upon
eg. I stumbled across a new Japanese bakery on my way to work.

stuff / food / products / goods / goodies or treats
eg. All the goodies are on promotion because it’s a new store!
eg. At night they have a discount BOGO!

BOGO = buy one, get one

How long were you home for? vs. How long did it take you to get home?

better than my expectations vs. better than what I expected

croissant is a choice which can never make mistake – croissants are a classic, you can never go wrong with a croissant and americano / latte / cappuccino

I’m not addicted to sth = I don’t crave that sth

Grammar

They have been used to it for a long time. – They got used to it a long time ago / a couple years ago.

Tell me a fond memory that you have of your hometown, Harbin. 

My hometown is Harbin, a city in northeast of China. It is also called ice city or little Paris or oriental Paris, it’s like a small paris because of the architecture. Harbin is very close to Russia so the architecture is very similar. The architecture in Russia influence us very much. I was born and raised in Harbin and also I finished my study in Harbin as well. When I was young I like Harbin very much especially in winter. It often snowed very often and I like playing in the snow very much with my classmates, my friends, we often run after each other and throwed the snowball to each other it was quite fun. I remembered that one day after class in winter we found it snowed heavily in the day time and after school we just ran very happily/freely in the snow on the playground, it was quite happy. I remembered when I went back home my clothes are wet but I didn’t feel cold at all in the open air. In winter we have a very good heat system the room was quite warm inside. I could wear tshirt, eat ice cream. But now, I thnk Harbin is a city far behind the time, it developed too slow, I think. The economy is not very good and people like stable life, people are tend to like stable life, they don’t want to have a challenge or change. In conclusion, I like it because it is my hometown and I will never forget it but maybe I will not return to my hometown because I begin to feel uncomfortable living there. The weather, the space, the pace of life/the lifestyle and the opportunity is… that’s all.

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My hometown is Harbin, a city in northeast China. It is also called Ice City or Little Paris or Oriental Paris, it’s like Paris because of the architecture. Harbin is very close to Russia so the architecture is very similar. The architecture in Russia greatly influences Harbin’s architecture/style/buildings. I was born and raised in Harbin and also I finished my studies/I graduated from university/I got my bachelor’s in Harbin as well.

When I was young I liked Harbin very much especially in winter. It often snowed very heavily and I liked playing in the snow very much with my classmates and my friends, we often ran/chased after and threw snowballs at each other, it was quite fun.

I remember one winter day when we were in class it snowed heavily but we didn’t notice until we walked out the school doors to go home. We were so surprised that we just ran into the snow on the playground, we were very/extremely happy at that time.

I remember when I went back home my clothes were / jacket / snow gear / parka / down jacket was all wet but I didn’t feel cold at all in the open air. In winter we had a very good heating system so the house/apartment was quite warm inside.

TBC = to be continued

I could wear tshirt, eat ice cream. But now, I thnk Harbin is a city far behind the time, it developed too slow, I think. The economy is not very good and people like stable life, people are tend to like stable life, they don’t want to have a challenge or change. In conclusion, I like it because it is my hometown and I will never forget it but maybe I will not return to my hometown because I begin to feel uncomfortable living there. The weather, the space, the pace of life/the lifestyle and the opportunity is… that’s all.