VIP Class Notes (Jesse)

Grammar

friends with benefits

so many moneyso much money

they bought them very cheaply

Vocabulary

surplus – to have too much of sth so you can sell it
eg. we have a surplus of manufactured products

investment – tou zi
eg. we are investing in Africa and we hope to get a return on our investment in the future.

public infrastructure / facilities 

structure – the part of sth that keeps it up / good / strong / safe.
eg. good sentence structure makes your English sound more native
eg2. if the structure of the building is bad, the building will fall down

it’s worth the money
eg. it’s worth spending 1 hour on your homework so you can do it well
eg2. it’s worth the effort to get a job

on (the) one hand…. on the other hand. 

overtake them – chao guo
eg. Ivan’s Porsche overtakes the BMW easily!

they are conflicted – I’m confused and I don’t know what to do (fighting with my own thoughts)

US and China have a conflict – war
Jesse and Judy had a conflict – argument

benefits / positives < > negatives
eg. if the positives outweigh the negatives, they will do it.

The Soviet Union collapsed – su lian si le
eg. when the USSR collapsed America bought a lot of Russian possessions / assets

Putin came to power in 1995 – became president

fight – oppose – be against
eg. the US opposes China’s Belt and Road plan

14,000,000 square kilometers – 14 million

jail / prison – the place you go when you do something wrong and the police find you
eg. Ma was worried he would go to jail so he did a deal with the government

rare (hen shao) < > common

union – groups that control industries and separate them from government and companies

How do they feel about China these days?