VIP Class Notes (Mark) Chris

Pronunciation

read – present tense [REED]
read – past tense [RED]

articulated – [AR TIK YU LATED]

estimated – [ES TI MATED]

inaugural – [IN AW GYU RAL]

climate – [KLY MIT]

threat – [THRET]

overwhelming – [O VER WELL MING]

devastating – [DEV A STAY TING]

drought – [DROWT]

heartening – [HAR TEN ING]

logistics – [LAH JIST IKS]

pressure – [PRESH ER]

familiarity – [FA MILLY A RITTY]

Grammar

rise / raise – if i raise the pen, the pen rises. if i raise work efficiency, work efficiency rises.

This week, Barack Obama began his second term as president of the United States. The public swearing-in ceremony took place on Monday at the capitol building in Washington.

In a speech, Mr. Obama read from parts of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.“What makes us exceptional, what makes us American is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all man are created equal.”

Officials estimated that over one million people gathered on Washington National Mall for the inaugural ceremonies. Some came for the music performances.
But others wanted to hear how President Obama would define goals for the next four years.

In his speech, Mr. Obama said he will make climate change one of his top goals. He said that failing to deal with the threat from rising temperatures would betray the world’s children.

“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science. But none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.”

Environmental groups welcomed the President’s desire to act on climate change. The Sierra Club called his comments” heartening” It said global warming is an urgent issue for the whole world. But many opponents of Mr. Obama’s policies disagree. They said it would cost too much for the American economy to move away from using oil and fossil fuels.

Speaking exercise

My job is to make sure our sunroofs can deliver to our customer on time, which means I need to improve my process every time.
My job is to make sure (ensure) (guarantee) our sunroofs can be delivered to our customers on time, which means I need to improve my process every time.

…put the right person on the right position.
…put the right person on in the right position.

…and rise the working efficiency.
…and raise the working efficiency.

Familiar with the product.
To be/become familiar with the product.
Familiarity with the product.

Can working under pressure.
Can working under pressure.

Homework

Read VOA in English. Write a summary in English. Then, read the same part of VOA in Chinese. Write another summary (if it is different that your first summary). If there are one or two words you don’t know, guess.