VIP Class Notes (Raph)[S][R]

Today we focused on grammar and vocabulary.

Vocabulary

Queue (n/v)a line of people, usually standing or in cars, waiting for something:
E.g.: Are you in the queue for tickets?
E.g.: There was a long queue of traffic stretching down the road.
E.g.: If you want tickets you’ll have to join the queue.
E.g.: It makes me mad when someone jumps the queue (= goes straight to the front).

Ideal (adj): 1- perfect, or as good as something can be.
E.g.: The ideal job for me would be working as a go-kart driver.
E.g.: She has the ideal skills for the job.
E.g.: He is not the ideal president, but he is the one we have now.

Idealistic (adj): 1- believing that very good things can happen.
E.g.: When I was young and idealistic I believed it was possible to change the world.

Respondent (n): 1- a person who answers questions, or a request for information.
E.g.: In a recent survey, most respondents were against Donald Trump.

Well-being (n): 1- the state of feeling healthy and happy.
E.g.: People doing yoga benefit from an increased feeling of well-being.

Offspring (n): 1- a person’s children.
E.g.: Tom’s sister came over on Saturday with all her offspring (=with all of her kids)

Fatigue (n): 1- extreme tiredness. 2- 疲劳.
E.g.: The doctor said he was suffering from fatigue and stress.
E.g.: She was suffering from fatigue.

Anxiety (n): 1-  an uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about something that is happening or might happen in the future. 2- 焦虑
E.g.: Children normally feel a lot of anxiety about their first day at school.
E.g.: Her son brings her a lot of anxiety.
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Symptoms (n): 1- any feeling of illness or physical or mental change that is caused by a particular disease. 2- 症状.
E.g.: He has all the flu symptoms: a high fever, headache, and so on.
E.g.: She was has been sick for many days, but the symptoms have gotten worse today.

Depression (n): 1- a mental illness in which a person is very unhappy and anxious (= worried and nervous) for long periods and cannot have a normal life during these periods. 2- 萧条
E.g.: Tiredness, and sleeping problems are symptoms of depression.
E.g.: If you suffer from depression, you should get help.

Reversal (n): 1- the act of changing or making something change to its opposite. (v: Reverse)
E.g.: He asked the teach for a reversal of her decision.
E.g.: He asked the teach to reverse her decision.

Outweigh (v): 1- to be greater or more important than something else. 2- 超过
E.g.: The benefits outweigh the risks.
E.g.: She thinks his bad personality outweighs his good looks.
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Stave off (n): 1- to stop something bad from happening, or to keep an unwanted situation or person away, usually temporarily:
E.g.: We were hoping to stave off these difficult decisions until September.

Three Years of High School:

1st Year = Freshman Year.
2nd Year = Sophomore Year
3rd Year = Senior Year
(In the USA, High School lasts 4 years, so the 3rd year is called Junior Year, and the 4th is called Senior Year)

Parents Happier After Their Children Leave Home
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1908/190823-having-children.html)

Many of us believe that having children is the key to happiness and a perfect family life. Naturally, this idealistic image is true for some, but researchers say that in reality, children make us happiest when they fly the nest – when they have grown up and left home. Researchers in Germany looked at data from a survey of 55,000 over 50-year-olds living in Europe. The survey respondents were quizzed about their emotional wellbeing. The researchers discovered that most parents were happier with life after their offspring had left home and started making their own way in life. Researchers say this could be because raising children creates financial worry, stress, fatigue and anxiety.

The research was led by Christoph Becker at Heidelberg University. He concluded that a big reason for parents being happiest when their children leave home is that the tables are turned and the children provide more support to their parents. He said parents whose children no longer live with them suffer from fewer symptoms of depression and have a more positive outlook on life. Regarding the role reversal in providing support, Mr Becker said: “Children’s roles as caregivers, providers of financial support or simply as a means of social contact might outweigh the negative aspects of parenthood.” He added that maintaining family relationships may stave off loneliness in ageing parents.

Original:

Yesterday is my first day to start my school, so that is a very terrible day, I really tired and very hungry at that day, because my best friend and I couldn’t to have the lunch, because I’m a grade two student, and the new students is grade one, so I saw there have a lot of grade one students, so we couldn’t eat lunch and it’s very terrible. So when I went home so I ate two bottle of rice.

Edited:

Yesterday was my first day back to school, and it was a very terrible day. I was really tired and very hungry, because my best friend and I couldn’t to have lunch. I’m now a sophomore student, and there were a lot of new freshman students at the cafeteria, so we couldn’t eat lunch. It was very terrible, so when I went home so I ate two bowls of rice.

Grammar

They don’t need cook some we like food. – They don’t need to cook some food that we like.

Pronunciation

Sophomore: /ˈsɑː.fə.mɔːr//sof.e.mor/