VIP Class Notes (Nicholas)

Write your thoughts (1-2 paragraphs) on what it means to “live a good life” and what do you think are the things that are holding you back from having this life.

Pronunciation

requires / REE-KUAI-ERS

Vocabulary

辨别

intellectuals — very smart people; this is a class of highly educated people that ask and think about important questions for our live.

e.g. Nicholas and Echo are very smart but maybe we are not intellectuals.

ancient 古代 wisdom 智慧 — very old/the knowledge or the thinking that has produced good living and good results that are given from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters.

predicted 预测 — to say that something will happen in the future.

e.g. Friedrich Nietzsche predicted that Christianity would end in Europe and that it would not have good results.

believe 相信 — to think about something, to hope for something, and to trust in something.

e.g. In European history, for over 2000 years, the people believed in Christianity.

meaning 意义 — words can have meaning, but our lives can also have meaning; what is important in your life…mroeso than money.

e.g. If your life’s meaning is all about money, maybe this won’t be the happiest life.

in old China / in ancient China

the country owners / the country leaders

very few now / very rare now (adjective)

e.g. Gold is a very rare mineral in the world.

religion — this is the thinking like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism — these are religions.

a good thing to lose some belief /

“what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”

“lost his mind”  / to become crazy

instincts 本能 / your animal thoughts

i could went back to my hometown / [I returned to my hometown] / I was able to return home

Grammar

made it popular in the ordinary people / made it popular for ordinary people

they are always confusing about what they are doing now / they struggle with life’s meaning

I have to believe myself / I have to believe in myself

I ask myself what life you want / I ask myself what life do you want