VIP Class Notes (Vicki)

Vocabulary

not very often – bu jing chang

vaccine – shots to prevent sickness

manufacturer – a place or a person who produces something
i.e. Zhong Shanshan is the manufacturer of Nongfu Spring water.
i.e. The bottle water is produced in the manufacturer.

giant (in the context of business) – a huge global corporation

branch (v.) – going to a different direction
i.e. Zhong Shanshan is branching to the pharmaceutical industry.
branch out – spread out resource

branch (n.) – a part of a tree

emerge – come out/ appear

tap water – zi lai shui

sink – shui chi

nasal (adj.) – nose

lone wolf – someone who likes to keep to themselves

take over – to control

wide / broad

dictatorship – total control

layout – the organization of everything

home appliance – jia dian

digital currency – virtual money

purchase (v./n.) – the act of buying

live on the edge

Reading

A businessman who sells bottled water is now the richest man in China. The business magazine Bloomberg named Mr Zhong Shanshan as China’s richest man in its latest Billionaires Index. The magazine said Mr Zhong is worth over $58 billion. This makes him $2 billion richer than the previous number one, Jack Ma. Mr Ma founded the retail Internet giant Alibaba. Mr Zhong made his wealth from his Nongfu Spring bottled water company. He then branched out into making vaccines. He is the chairman of a vaccine manufacturer called the Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy. Mr Zhong is now 17th on the global rich list. It seems that he will move up that list in the future.

Zhong Shanshan, 66, was a construction worker before he got into business. He started his Nongfu Spring company in 1996. This was just as China’s market for bottled water was emerging. Bottled water is now a huge industry in China. Most people who live in China prefer drinking bottled water to tap water for health reasons. They prefer not to trust tap water. Zhong’s pharmaceutical company is also helping in the fight against COVID-19. It is developing a nasal-spray vaccine with the help of researchers from a top university. Chinese media call Mr Zhong a “lone wolf” because he is rarely seen in public. He rarely gives interviews and he likes to keep himself to himself.

Grammar

watch vs. look vs. read 

watch -> sth that moves
i.e. watch a video
i.e. watch a musical

look -> general action of seeing
i.e. I look at the comments of this product
i.e. I look at you

read -> sth with words or characters
i.e. read a book
i.e. read a comic book
i.e. read the comments