VIP Class Notes (Nick) [W]

Review articles (“a” and “the”).

Tell me a story about something you did this weekend, and be very careful with your articles.

Vocabulary

Articles – “the”  and “a”
— These tell us how specific something is.
— “A” basically means one, but not a specific one; any one
— “the” tells us that we are thinking about one that we know, a specific, particular one
— Without an article, it is just a general idea
e.g. I want a chocolate cake (any cake, as long as it was made with chocolate)
e.g. I want the chocolate cake! (there is only one cake that is chocolate-flavored, made with chocolate, and that ONE cake is the cake that I want)
e.g. I like chocolate (I am not thinking about any chocolate, but ALL chocolate)

Explanation – when someone tells you how something works
e.g. I understand your explanation of articles.

Type – a kind of thing
e.g. This is a special kind of Chinese painting paper.

Inheritance – what you receive from the people who lived before you, especially your parents and grandparents (the verb is “inherit”)
e.g. When my friend’s grandfather died, he received a large inheritance and hasn’t worked since.
e.g. I inherited this beautiful desk from my mother.
e.g.  This rock color style of painting was inherited by the Japanese when Chinese artists were living in Japan (from the culture generally)

General – not in one place, but everywhere (opposite is “specific”)
e.g. In general, I like chocolate cake.
e.g. In general I do not like banana-flavored candy, but this specific candy is actually very good.

Survive – to not die, especially if you really might have died
e.g. He was in a very serious car crash, but he survived (he is still alive even though he could have died)

Develop – to change over time, to grow; to mature
e.g. Rock color painting in China developed from the traditional murals in Xinjiang or Dunhuang.
e.g. He was not a well-behaved child, but he has developed into a very responsible adult.

International – 国际

Scholar – someone who is well educated, a master of some kind of learning, someone who has studied a lot
e.g. He is a scholar in the area of rock color painting. He knows all about its history and techniques.

Technique – a way of doing something specific
e.g. Here is a technique for drawing very realistic eye shapes.

Grammar

To describe an adjective, we have to use an adverb.
e.g. He is really famous (really tells us that he is more than a “usual, normal” famous)

Different with – different from/to

The same with – the same as

(Discussed some important points from an email service about rock color painting and its history.)

Pronunciation

Mural – myur – al