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

Vocabulary

Deficit (n): 1- the amount by which something, especially an amount of money, is smaller than it should be:
E.g.: The government reported a USD50-billion budget deficit last year.
E.g.: There is a deficit of trust between the customer and the banks.

Let (v): 1- to allow something to happen or someone to do something by not doing anything to stop an action or by giving your permission:
E.g.: She wanted to go but her parents wouldn’t let her.
E.g.: He decided to let his hair grow long.
E.g.: Let your shoes dry completely before putting them on.
E.g.: I’m letting you stay up late, just this once.
E.g.: Don’t let it worry you.

Insist (v): 1-  to demand that something happen or that someone do something. 2- to say (something) in a way that is very forceful and does not allow disagreement.
E.g.: I didn’t want to go, but she insisted.
E.g.: “Come on, let’s go.” “Oh, all right, if/since you insist.”
E.g.: She insisted that I (should) go.
E.g.: The source for my story insisted that I not reveal his/her name.
E.g.: She insists the money is hers.
E.g.: She kept insisting that she was right.
E.g.: He insists that these problems are not his fault.
E.g.: Both men insist that they are innocent.

Persist (v): 1- to continue to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop. 2- to continue to occur or exist beyond the usual, expected, or normal time.
E.g.: She had turned him down for a date before, but he persisted and asked her again.
E.g.: The reporter persisted with his questioning.
E.g.: If you persist with this behavior, you will be punished.
E.g.: If the pain persists, see a doctor.
E.g.: Doubts about the his story have persisted for some time now.
E.g.: Rumors persist that they are dating.

Bilingual (adj): 1- able to speak two languages.
E.g.: She works as a bilingual secretary for an insurance company.

Make up (v): 1- to use as a replacement for something missing, lost, or lacking:
E.g.: Some of these horses have cost me a lot of money, but other ones have made up for it.
E.g.: For all the skiers yet to make a trip to the mountains this winter, this is the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time (= do what you did not have an opportunity to do earlier).

Diabetes (n): 1- 糖尿病

Original:

Mother’s Day
On Mother’s Day morning, I got up earlier than usual. Aftrer breastfast, I and my son went to my work place. I did my experiment in the lab and my son did his homework in my office. When I finished my work, I bought a pair of shoes for my mother as a gift for Mother’s Day. At noon, I called my mother to have lunch with us outside. My son promised he paid the lunch using his New Year’s money. After that, I took my mother to have a perm, which would take about three hours. So I took my son to see a film, the Avengers 3. On the way home, my son insisted on buying a carnation for me and said to me, “Happy Mother’s Day, I love you.”, which let me happy. After arriving home, I began to prepare something for my son to live on Jinshan school for the next day.

Edited:

Mother’s Day
On Mother’s Day morning, I got up earlier than usual. After breakfast, me and my son / my son and I went to my work place. I did my experiment in the lab and my son did his homework in my office. When I finished my work, I bought a pair of shoes for my mother as a gift for Mother’s Day. At noon, I called my mother to have lunch with us outside. My son promised he would pay for it using his New Year’s money. After that, I took my mother to have a perm but, as that would take about three hours, I took my son to see a film, the Avengers 3. On the way home, he insisted on buying a carnation for me and said to me, “Happy Mother’s Day, I love you.”, which made me happy. After arriving home, I began to prepare some things for my son to take to Jinshan school the next day.

Best to learn a new language before age of 10
(Source: www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1805/180504-language-learning-5.html)

New research suggests that to achieve native-like proficiency in a new language, people should start learning before the age of ten. Researchers said children up to the age of 18 remain skilled at learning grammar. Unfortunately, those who want to pick up a new language beyond their late teens are past the “critical period” when language-learning ability starts to decline. A researcher said: “As far as a child is concerned, it’s quite easy to become bilingual….That’s when you’re best at learning languages. It’s not really something that you can make up later.”

The research was based on the results of 670,000 people taking a 10-minute online grammar quiz. Researchers measured the grammatical ability of people who started learning a language at different points in their life. The test had grammar rules that were likely to confuse non-native speakers. These measured a person’s proficiency. Another researcher suggested older people might be too busy to learn a language. He said after 17 or 18, people leave home, go to university or start work. All of these could affect how well someone learns a language.

Pronunciation

Diabetes: /ˌdaɪ.əˈbiː.tiːz/

Symptom: /ˈsɪmp.təm/

Vomit: /ˈvɑː.mɪt/

Neurology: /nʊˈrɑː.lə.dʒi/

Allow: /əˈlaʊ/

Clothes:  /kloʊðz/

Bilingual: /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/