VIP Class Notes (Raph) [S]

Vocabulary

Commute (v/n): 1- to make the same journey regularly between work and home.
E.g.: It’s exhausting commuting from Brighton to London every day.
E.g.: The commute to work takes me about an hour.

Generally (adv): 1- usually, or in most situations:
E.g.: The baby generally wakes up three times during the night.
E.g.: Generally speaking (= in most situations), it’s quicker to commute by metro in Shanghai

Robbery (n): 1– the crime of stealing from somewhere or someone.
E.g.: They admitted they had committed four recent bank robberies.
E.g.: He was accused of robbery.

Procrastination (n): 1- the act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring (v: Procrastinate)
E.g.: This is no time for procrastination – we need decisive action.
E.g.: He was supposed to go to bed early, but he ended up procrastinating and playing on his phone until 2AM.

Hypothetical (n/adj): 1- 假想

Original:

I have a procrastination. I think it is a unhealthy behavior. For example, it’s time to get up, but I still sleep, and sometimes I want to listen a VOA, I think, “oh, okay, I will listening tomorrow”. So I still can’t finish the duty on time. I want to change, but I don’t know how can I do, so I feel anxious. I think lots of people has procrastination. It is a big problem for people. Maybe I should make a plan everyday, but when I have made a plan, I can’t follow my plan. I have read lots of articles about this, but they were not useful for me.

Edited:

I have a problem with/of procrastination, and I think it is an unhealthy behavior. For example, when it’s time to get up, I still sleep/ I don’t, or sometimes I want to listen to VOA, but I think, “I will do it/listen to it tomorrow”. That means I often can’t finish my duties / tasks  on time. I want to change, but I don’t know how to do that, so I feel anxious. I think procrastination is a big problem for lots of people. Maybe I should make a daily plan / daily To Do list, but when I do that, I usually can’t follow my plan. I have read lots of articles about this, but they were not useful for me.

Grammar

Conditional Tense in English

Thinking about how to express what might happen, or what could have happened? To do this in English, we need to use the Conditional Tense. You can use the conditional tense in a number of ways to express a variety of things.

Zero Conditional:  used whenever you are describing or expressing something that is a general truth, such as a fact that you know is true. In the zero conditional form, you must always use the simple present tense. Your statement is also made up of two parts – an “if” clause that describes the condition, and the main clause, that describes the fact or result:
E.g.: If you freeze water, it turns into ice.
E.g.: If you put your hand in the fire, you will get burned.
E.g.: Water boils if it is heated to 100 degrees.

First conditional: used to describe something that will probably happen – if you do something. This means it requires an initial “if” clause to describe the condition that needs to take place, and is followed by main clause that tells you what will likely happen. You can use the first conditional to describe something that is realistically likely to take place. The first conditional uses the simple future tense to describe what will happen.
E.g.: If you miss the bus, you will be late for work.
E.g.: If you study hard, you will learn fast.

Second conditional: used to describe something that isn’t likely to happen, and describes a situation that is different from reality. To use the second conditional, the first “if” clause uses the simple past tense, and the main clause use the present conditional.
E.g.: If I were still young and single, I would drop everything to travel the world.
E.g.: If I was American, I would be interested in learning Chinese.
E.g.: If I were a man I would not be so scared of walking by myself at night.

Third conditional: used to describe something that you wished had, or hadn’t happened in the past. This form of the conditional describes something that didn’t take place, but could have given the right conditions. The “if” clause in the third conditional must use the past perfect tense, and the main clause will use the perfect conditional or perfect continuous conditional tense.
E.g.: If she had studied more often, she would have passed her exams.
E.g.: If they focused on him on time maybe he would have grown up into a healthy person

Pronunciation

Disease: /dɪˈziːz/

Generally: /ˈdʒen.^ə r.^əl.i//je.ne.ra.li/

Robery: /ˈrɑː.bɚ.i/

Calm: /kɑːm/

Court: /kɔːrt/

Hypothetical: /ˌhaɪ.pəˈθet̬.ɪ.k^əl/

Procrastination: /proʊˌkræs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | Tim Urban
(Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU)