VIP Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Vocabulary

Siren (n): 1- a device for making a loud warning noise:
E.g.: We could hear police sirens somewhere in the neighborhood.

Absent (adj): 1- not present; not in the place where you are expected to be, especially at school or work.
E.g.: John has been absent from work for three days now.
E.g.: If a child is absent, the teacher notes it down in the class register.

Flood (n): 1- a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry.
E.g.: After the flood it took weeks for the water level to go down.
E.g.: The river is in flood (= water has flowed over its banks) again.

Flood (v): 1- to cause to fill or become covered with water, especially in a way that causes problems. 2- to fill or enter a place in large numbers or amounts.
E.g.: Our washing machine broke down yesterday and flooded the kitchen.
E.g.: The whole town flooded when the river flowed over its banks.
E.g.: Donations are flooding into the homeless shelter.
E.g.: She drew back the curtains and the sunlight came flooding in.
E.g.: Japanese cars have flooded the market (= a lot of them are on sale).

Pastor (n): 1- a religious leader in certain Protestant (新教) Christian Churches
E.g.: Her father was a pastor, so they were always very traditional.

Inspire (v): 1- to make someone feel that they want to do something and that they can do it.
E.g.: His confident leadership inspired his followers.
E.g.: After her trip to Venezuela (委内瑞拉), she felt inspired to learn Spanish.

Liaison (n): 1- someone who works as a link of communication, helping different groups to work effectively with each other.
E.g.: She served as a liaison between the different groups.

Awe (n): 1- a feeling of great respect sometimes mixed with fear or surprise.
E.g.: I’ve always held musicians in awe.
E.g.: As children we were rather in awe of our grandfather.
E.g.: You can’t help but stand in awe of (= respect greatly and fear slightly) powerful people.

Awesome (adj): 1- very great, extremely good. 2- causing feelings of great admiration, respect, or fear.
E.g.: You look totally awesome in that dress.
E.g.: An awesome challenge is ahead of them.

Religion (n): 1- 宗教

Christian (adj/n): 1- 基督教

A school in the USA was surprised after getting many volunteers to be absent fathers. The school asked for 50 male volunteers to be substitute fathers at its “Breakfast with Dads” event. It was flooded with replies. Nearly 600 men turned up at the event. The school’s very first “Breakfast with Dads” event was to help community spirit. Most of the children come from poorer families. Many of them did not have a father who could go to the breakfast.

The school said the breakfast event was part of plans to improve education. Community leaders and organizations worked on projects to increase test scores. Their efforts worked. A local pastor said: “When a young person sees someone other than their teacher take interest in them, it inspires them.” A school liaison officer said: “The look of awe, even disbelief, in students’ eyes as they made their way through the crowd of “Dads” was astonishing.”

Grammar

I always don’t – I never do.

Pronunciation

Read (Present): /riːd/

Read (Past): /red/

Over: /ˈoʊ.vɚ/

Siren: /ˈsaɪr.ən/

Escape: /ɪˈskeɪp/

Male:  /meɪl/

Substitute: /ˈsʌb.stɪ.tʃuːt/

Event: /ɪˈvent/

Hundred: /ˈhʌn.drəd/

Increase: /ɪnˈkriːs/

Project (n): /ˈprɑː.dʒekt/

Project (v): /prəˈdʒekt/

Buddhism: /ˈbʊd.ɪ.zəm/

Interest: /ˈɪn.trɪst/

Inspire: /ɪnˈspaɪr/

Venezuela: /ˌven.əˈzweɪ.lə/

Liaison: /liˈeɪ.zɑːn/

Awe: /ɑː/