VIP Class Notes (Nicholas) [S + W]

Why is modern art so ugly? Tell me why…

Original + Correction

On my next trip I’d like to go to Europe for more than a month. I have never been to Europe because I always think that Europe is a place where full of civilization(文明） and culture, and it takes a long time to fly, but I know it’s a place full of civilization and culture — I hope I can have more time to experience many things there instead of just looking around it. Also I like European architecture, it is pretty, ancient, and spectacular(壮观）, especially Prague, I think it is amazing. If I go to Europe, I’d like to stay in Prague for a month. I want to live like a local person, just walk around and draw some pictures. It must be I think will be a quiet and beautiful vacation.

I think in the future it would be good to listen to YouTube lectures on impressionist art.

Vocabulary

high culture / the best architecture, paintings, beautiful art usually religious, fashion

you are a creative / you are creative 

what do you do for a living / what is your job / living = money / what do you do?

e.g I’m a museum curator for a living.

artifacts from Egypt / 文物 /

to be featured / 精选 / a feature

e.g. I was featured in a magazine recently for English teachers in China — I was on the front cover.

e.g. Angela Baby was this month’s “featured actress” in China’s movies.

e.g. What are you featuring this evening (at the restaurant)? What are the special foods tonight.

e.g. And now for our featured presentation…

to ban / to not allow, to say you can’t do

perspective / another point of view / I see things in a different way

e.g. I come from another perspective

e.g. My perspective is a Chinese man born in America. Your perspective is a Chinese woman born in China.

gullible / easily fooled / easy to fool them / to be stupid

e.g Children are usually very gullible — they’ll believe anything.

a free press / the press “the news” is “free” from government control

e.g. Does free press truly exist?

truly / is it real – usually comes before a verb

e.g. Do you truly love me?

e.g. Is this truly the right decision?

official / the trusted version the real version

trust vs. distrust

kind of like / similar to

e.g. Nicholas’ lessons are kind of like listening to a talkative teenager.

e.g. Nicholas’ lessons are similar to listening to a talkative teenager.

e.g. What’s Yannis like? Oh she’s very quiet, and nice, and thoughtful and great!

in the same way / 

e.g. Children need their parents and in the same way patients need their doctors.

shambles / a very bad condition

e.g. Venezuela is in shambles.

to spark something / to start something

e.g. When Yannis saw a movie in English it sparked her interest to learn English.

Pronunciation

can’t / CAHNT / can’t

First I don’t like Chinese policy about these things because now we actually can’t (P) know every real things in China.

First, I’m not a fan of Chinese policy when it comes to these issues because we really don’t know what’s truly going on in China.

Maybe (PERHAPS) you can see the TV news everyday, they just said “China is the best” economic is the best our life is more and more better everyday they just say the same.

Perhaps you have seen the news recently, they always say “china is the best…our economy is the best…our lives are getting better and better everyday”: they just repeat this over and over.

I don’t know why maybe the govt want everyone to support them but I think if we want to the country better we must know all about things in world maybe something is not good, something is good, we want to see other country what happen now.

I don’t know why…perhaps the gov’t just wants everyone to support them — but I think if we want the country to improve we must know all we can about the world. Maybe somethings are bad, maybe somethings are good, but we want to see what’s happening in other countries right now.

And we can see something like govt is not good in the website it is not allowed. It’s terrible I think. I hope we can — maybe we can look Google.

Saying bad things about the gov’t is not allowed on websites. I think it’s terrible. I hope we can look at websites like Google one day.

But if you haven’t VPN, you  still like it?

But if you don’t have a VPN, would you still like it?

If you have not some relationship in govt you can’t do business.

If you don’t have some govt relationships you can’t do business.

**HAVE NOT = DON’T HAVE**

Grammar

he don’t know / he doesn’t know

if it is not enough good / if it’s not good enough