VIP Class Notes (Nicholas) [W]

Demo StudentJoyce

Vocabulary

volatile 易å˜çš„ = going up and down, like crazy

e.g. The stock market is very volatile because the prices of companies goes up and down very quickly everyday.

e.g. Many people don’t like to invest or give their money to the stock market because it’s too volatile.

e.g. Sometimes a man’s emotions are too volatile.

high school sweetheart = your highschool girlfriend/boyfriend whom you marry.

“lost his mind” = he went crazy and made very bad decisions.

e.g. Sometimes very old people will lose their mind and forget who they are, they will forget their family members.

“in the making” = was being planned for a long time

e.g. My marriage proposal was many years in the making.

“I’m sorry I threw you under the bus” (责备) = this is a phrase and it means I blamed you for something = very often in a work place, if you have two employees and the boss comes in, and the boss is angry and wants to know “who is to blame”…sometimes one employee will throw their friend under the bus = “oh, sorry boss, that was her fault, not my fault”.

Reading

There’s a very simple reason why the resurgent Microsoft is threatening to overtake the slumping Apple

Matt Weinberger
  • Microsoft and Apple are jockeying for position as the world’s most valuable tech company.
  • It’s easy to chalk this up to Apple’s weakness – but don’t sleep on the fact that it’s also because of Microsoft’s strength.
  • Where Apple has to deal with fickle consumers in a volatile market, Microsoft’s focus on enterprise software and services is less exciting, but could be more durable and stable.
  • Plus, Apple has to deal with the possibility that the iPhone will face tariffs from the Trump administration, whereas Microsoft does not.
  • Finally, while Microsoft and Apple do go head-to-head on laptops and other devices, Microsoft is far less reliant on its gadget business.

Reading

Dead Missionary Planned Trip for Years and ‘Lost His Mind a Little,’ Says Friend

John Allen Chau’s ill-fated and fatal trip to North Sentinel Island was several years in the making.

Before stepping foot on the remote island, where he was allegedly killed by the Sentinelese people after attempting to convert them to Christianity earlier this month, Chau, 26, spent much of his time studying the group — who have little to no contact with the outside world.

According to The Washington Post, Chau first arrived on India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands— groups of land including North Sentinel Island, in 2016 when he began taking scuba diving lessons at friend Remco Snoeji’s shop on Havelock Island.

Snoeji told The Post he remembers Chau taking a “keen interest in researching and knowing more†about the tribespeople.

Worried for what Chau might do, Snoeji explained he warned the young missionary that the island was off-limits and even told him stories about two fishermen who traveled to the island in 2006 and were strangled by the Sentinelese. However, that didn’t stop Chau’s curiosity.

“He lost his mind, definitely,†Snoeji told the newspaper. “But ask any adventurer. You have to lose your mind a little bit, otherwise, you don’t do it.â€

Grammar

He went to an Indian island / good

but he was killed by the people in the island / on the island

because they are isolated  / good

and maybe [perhaps] they do not know laws / good

i think he is very brave but i think it is very dangerous to do this / good

he went to the island in a very hard way / ..in a very difficult manner.

I’m not sure because I don’t believe / good

No, but I think the people in the isolated island maybe they don’t know laws / good

It’s OK to be by yourself because I think these are their choices so we need to respect them

keep his secret / keep her secret

but the second person don’t do that / but the second person didn’t do that

and told the truth to the owner / good

Writing exercise

Give me your opinion on…marriage. The older generation believes that it’s best for people to get married quickly, when they are young. Usually Chinese parents will pressure their children into getting married in their early 20s. But, as you know, many Chinese people are waiting until their early 30s to get married. Some of them won’t get married at all. What is your opinion? Is it better to get married when you are young? Or are their advantages to getting married when you are older?

Original

I think it’s someone’s choice to marry at a young or old age. And it’s both ok to marry at any age. Someone will marry in their early 20s because they find another part very quickly and someelse may get married later because they enjoy their single life or they are just not prepared for a marriage. I don’t care about marriage age and I know in shanghai people marry later and later in the past years. The marriage age is growing with the economic development.

Correction

I think whether someone wants to get married at a young age or old age is up to them. It’s OK to marry at any age. Some will marry in their early 20s because they may find a partner very quickly. Someone else may get married later because they enjoy their single life or they are just not prepared for marriage yet. I don’t about about marriage age and I know in Shanghai people tend (usually) to marry later in recent years. The marriage age is increasing as the economy develops.