VIP Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Vocabulary

Effective (adj): 1- successful or achieving the results that you want. (≠ Ineffective)
E.g.: This is an extremely effective cure for a headache.
E.g.: Yoga is a very effective technique for combating stress.
E.g.: They made an ineffective attempt to get the rules changed.
E.g.: The army has proved ineffective in protecting the population.

Efficient (adj): 1- working in the best way possible; operating quickly and effectively in an organized way. (≠ Inefficient)
E.g.: The city’s transport system is one of the most efficient in Europe.
E.g.: We need someone really efficient who can organize the office and make it run smoothly.
E.g.: The company’s methods of production are expensive and inefficient.
E.g.: I’m very inefficient at fixing things.

Contaminate (v): 1- to make something less pure or make it poisonous.
E.g.: Much of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste.
E.g.: The food which had been contaminated was destroyed.

Lecture (n): 1- a formal talk on a serious subject given to a group of people, especially students:
E.g.: We went to a lecture on Italian art.
E.g.: Who’s giving the lecture this afternoon?

Well-wisher (n): 1- a person who encourages or supports you.
E.g.: He was happy to be surrounded by fans and well-wishers.

Intrigue (v): 1- to interest someone a lot, especially by being strange, unusual, or mysterious:
E.g.: Throughout history, people have been intrigued by the question of whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

Satisfaction (n): 1- a pleasant feeling that you get when you receive something you wanted, or when you have done something you wanted to do:
E.g.: She looked at the finished painting with satisfaction.
E.g.: She derived/obtained great satisfaction from/out of helping other people.
E.g.: For me, job satisfaction is more important than the money.
E.g.: She had the satisfaction of knowing that she’d done everything she could.

Disprove (v): 1- to prove that something is not true.
E.g.: The allegations have been disproved.

Physics (n): 1- 物理

We should tune the instrument to make sure it’s in the right tone.

Time Travelers Invited To Stephen Hawking Memorial
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1805/180516-time-travel.html)

Time travelers have been invited to attend the memorial service for Professor Stephen Hawking. The legendary physicist, cosmologist and author died on March 14. Thousands of fans and well-wishers lined the streets in Cambridge, England for his funeral two weeks later. His family has now arranged a special ceremony to allow people to remember and celebrate his life, and time travelers have been invited. Hawking famously wrote in his book “A Brief History of Time” that: “If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?” Now they have the opportunity to travel back in time. The online entry form for the memorial allows people with birth dates up to December 31, 2038 to take part.

The concept of time travel had fascinated and intrigued Professor Hawking over the decades. In 2009, he staged a glitzy party for time travelers at Cambridge University. He arranged champagne and snacks, and a banner saying: “Welcome time travelers”. No one from the future attended that particular event. A spokesman for the Stephen Hawking Foundation, which is organizing the memorial service, said he had yet to receive a response from any time travelers to attend the memorial service. The deadline to reserve a place at the June 15 event at London’s Westminster Abbey is today. The spokesman said it was still possible. He said: “We cannot exclude the possibility of time travel as it has not been disproven to our satisfaction.”

Grammar

Eight or eight plus five hours. – Eight or eight and a half hours.

She invite me go to this lecture – She invited me to go to this lecture

Pronunciation

Effective: /əˈfek.tɪv/

Efficient: /ɪˈfɪʃ.ənt/

Contaminate: /kənˈtæm.ə.neɪt/

Debris: /dəˈbriː/

Consequence: /ˈkɑːn.sə.kwəns/

Repercussion: /ˌriː.pɚˈkʌʃ.ən/

Ramification: /ˌræm.ə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃənz/

Lecture: /ˈlek.tʃɚ/

Lecturer: /ˈlek.tʃɚ.ɚ/

Ton: /tʌn/

Tone: /toʊn/

Tune: /tuːn/

Legendary: /ˈledʒ.ən.dri/

Physicist: /ˈfɪz.ɪ.sɪst/

Decade: /ˈdek.eɪd/

Decay: /dɪˈkeɪ/

Snack: /snæk/

Snake: /sneɪk/

Champagne: /ʃæmˈpeɪn/

Satisfaction: /ˌsæt̬.ɪsˈfæk.ʃən/

Movie: Interstellar (2014)

Song: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones