VIP Class Notes (Vicki)

Homework

Recommend a book to me

Writing exercise

Write about how you feel about certain fanatics who chase after celebrities, do you think thatā€™s normal and explain why.

It’s common to see that many fanatics chase after celebrities nowadays. At first, I didn’t understand that, but after I watched some TV series which was acted by these celebrities, maybe I can guess some of the reasons. First of all, people have a crush are crushed on the celebrities because of the TV shows , the movies or the songs , and these people can create dreams for the normal people. Also, they look handsome and beautiful, it’s rarely to see some people like them in our everyday life. Some fanatics think of them as ideal boyfriends or girlfriends so that they become crazy about them. Finally, It’s easy for fanatics to find an organization on the internet now, sometimes we call it fans club, in which people who have the same idol get together and they talked about the celebrities every day. In this way, So they can be impacted on each other and it’s also possible for the followers to do some emotional things because of the lack of rational thinking so that lack of the rational thinking. People are stressed out stressful nowadays, chasing after celebrities is one of the ways to relax. But it’s better not to stick with it all the time to avoid causing some negative influences on our normal life.

Vocabulary

gripping (adj.) – makes people feel nervous and excited
i.e. I love to read gripping detective stories.

distraction (n.) – the thing that keeps us away from our focus
i.e. I can’t study in the coffee shop because of so many distractions.

prescribe (v.) – the action of instructing a patient with medicine
i.e. My doctor prescribed this medicine for me.

remedy (n.) – solution
i.e. We can try this at home remedy to cure a headache.

tackle (v.) – to attack
i.e. He just tackled that girl.

dementia (n.) – a sickness that makes people no longer recognize their reality
i.e. Some old people may develop dementia.

artistic (adj.) – someone who is very creative and good at art
i.e. She is a very artistic person and you can see that she paints very well.

merit – value
i.e. I think I deserve some merit for doing this job.

hemisphere – sides of our brain
i.e. We use the right hemisphere of our brain for creativity and art.

ditch (v.) – to get rid of
i.e. She ditched her uncle to go to the shopping mall.

paperback – paper cover books
i.e. The paperback version will be cheaper.

boost – to elevate/increase
i.e. I need to boost my score for my test.

avid reader – book worm
i.e. She is such an avid reader.

hooked (adj.) – addicted
i.e. I was hooked on chocolate for like a month.

Reading

For many of us, thereā€™s nothing better than burying our head in a good book. Whether itā€™s aĀ grippingĀ crime storyĀ or aĀ biographyĀ of someoneā€™s amazing life, itā€™s good to read a book to switch off from the distractions of everyday life and help us relax. Maybe thatā€™s why some of them are actually being prescribed as a remedy to sickness.

It may seem obvious that reading is good for us. It can beĀ educational, and, as some say, it can ā€˜broaden the mindā€™. A goodĀ novelĀ can make us happy or sad, or make us cry as we empathise withĀ characters. The power of books was recognised a few years ago by the British charity Reading Agency, who published a list of books that doctors could offer to patients, tackling topics from depression to dementia to chronic pain. It called this ā€˜bibliotherapyā€™ and itā€™s become so successful that it’s about to be extended to children as well.

Professor Philip Davis studies the effects ofĀ literatureĀ at Liverpool University and is author of a book called Reading for Life. He studies people in reading groups and found that itā€™s reading literature ā€“ written work thought to haveĀ artistic merit, that has the best effect. He told the BBC that when reading something for pleasure, ā€œā€¦the brain begins to work from different parts, from a different hemisphere and it gets excited, it gets pre-emotional ā€“ and you can see the brain coming to life.ā€

Of course, itā€™s easy in our smartphone generation toĀ ditchĀ a good book and fiddle with our phones instead. But opening up aĀ paperbackĀ could be a simple way to help boost or maintain ourĀ mental health. It’s thought they can help you set targets and find focus. And they may allow you toĀ see that awkward situation you’ve been anxious about for weeks from someone else’sĀ perspective.

If youā€™re not anĀ avid readerĀ it can be hard to know where to begin. If the Reading Agency book list doesnā€™t appeal, you could to readĀ bookĀ reviews, visit aĀ libraryĀ or bookshop or ask a friend. Once youā€™ve found the rightĀ text, youā€™ll beĀ hooked! And if you still love your technology, you could always use anĀ e-reader.