VIP Class Notes (Vicki)

Pope Francis has said gossiping is worse than COVID-19. He said gossip is a danger that divides communities. He added that the devil is the “biggest gossiper” who is seeking to create division with his lies. The Pope spoke about the dangers of gossiping during his weekly blessing at the Vatican. He said: “Please brothers and sisters, let’s try to not gossip. Gossip is a plague worse than COVID. Worse. Let’s make a big effort. No gossiping.” The Pope has regularly spoken about the dangers of gossiping, especially on social media. He advises people not to listen to Internet trolls, saying: “If something goes wrong, offer silence and prayer for the brother or sister who make a mistake, but never gossip.”

The Pope was making his first public audience since the pandemic started. His latest speech on gossip is not the first time he has made strong remarks on the topic. In 2016, he warned people not to “fuel the terrorism of gossip”. He urged people to resist the temptation to spread gossip. He said: “If you get an urge to say something against a brother or a sister, to drop a gossip bomb, bite your tongue. Hard.” Two years later he brought the subject up again. He told worshippers in St Peter’s Square that gossip is lethal “because the tongue kills, like a knife”. A visitor to the Vatican agreed. She said: “Gossips are nothing but scandalmongers and busybodies.”

Vocabulary

confront (v.) – be in their face and speak up about sth.

confrontation (n.) – the act of speaking up to the person

Vatican – fan di gang

plague – deadly disease

troll – someone who always has something negative to say

Internet troll – jian pan xia

worshipper – admirer

lethal – poison

scandalmonger – someone who likes to gossip

busybody – someone who likes to meddle

standstill – a situation where no one wants to make the first move

botox – bo niao suan

face lift

A: Can you tell me about one piece of good advice or comment someone had told you?

The person i think would be the one i looked down quite tiny before, we had lots of arguments about work and we had a chance to talk about the opinions about each other and she told me I was a little bit direct and unlikely to accept other’s opinions. And she advised me to be more patient to listen to other people’s opinion and express my thinking gently. She give me some examples like we had a meeting with others and the situation we had faced and she showed me a different way to talk about my opinion.

Revised:
The person i think would be the one i looked down quite tiny before, The person I want to talk about is someone I used to look down at quite a lot before, we had lots of arguments about work and we had a chance to talk about the opinions about/of each other and she told me that I was a little bit direct and unlikely to accept other’s opinions. And she advised me to be more patient to listen to other people’s opinion and express my thinking thoughts more gently. She gave me some examples like different ways to talk about my opinions in different situations such as meetings.  we had a meeting with others and the situation we had faced and she showed me a different way to talk about my opinion.

A: Which do you think is better, advice from one’s family members or advice from one’s friends?

I think advice from friends is better. Because friends is always have the common experience or interest. We can share our values more than parents and we can talk about lots of things without a gap. Moreover, friends will are more care about different possibilities and have spirit to try. However parents might give us opinions base on their self experience which may be a little bit old.

Revised:
I think advice from friends is better. Because friends is always have the common experience or interest. We can share our values more than parents and we can talk about lots of things nonstop / without a pause without a gap. Moreover, friends will are care more about different possibilities and are mostly adventurous have spirit to try. However, parents might give us opinions based on their self own experience which may be a little bit old.

A: On what topics do you think young people might ask their friends for advice?

About friends, I think most people talk with friends about their relationship and their work. For example, girls always talk with their friends about their boyfriend. Friends share their worries and the relationship development. And one more topic is about career, what we should do for the future and the thing we are doing currently is ready benefit for our future. And we also talk about health, and skin care about anti-age.

Revised:
About friends, I think most people talk with friends about their relationships and their job/work. For example, girls always talk with their friends about their boyfriends. Friends share their worries and help them to decide the relationship development. And one more topic is about career, we discuss what we should do for the future and if the thing we are doing currently is really beneficial for our future. And we also talk about health, about skin care, and about anti-age.

the sooner we start anti-aging, the better our skin will be in the future

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