VIP Class Notes (Vicki)

Vocabulary

probation period

review

vaccine – shots we get to prevent getting sick

pharmacy – a place you get medicine

branch (v.) – go to a different direction

branch (n.) – the arm of a tree

giant (in the context of business) – a very large corporation

emerge – come out / appear

tap water – zi lai shui

pharmaceutical (adj.) – related to medicine

nasal (adj.) – nose

nasal-spray – sth we spray in our nose

lone wolf – sb who likes to keep to themselves

feature – function/ specialty

variety – different kinds of things

prominent – popular and important

knock-off – sth fake

home appliance – jia dian

live on the edge – lives carelessly and free

reputation – kou bei

inhumane – not human

risky – dangerous

Grammar

You didn’t have plans to go travel?
do have plans -> yes, I did
don’t have plans -> no, I didn’t

Don’t you like chocolate?
No, I don’t like

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.