2xOnline Class Notes (Mike)

Who do you count as your friends? From our BFF to a work mate, it’s good to have someone to chew the fat with or offer comfort and support. But when it comes to friendship, is it more important to have quantity or quality?

The recent isolation we have endured due to the coronavirus pandemic has made some of us question our friendships. We’ve fallen out of touch with friends and acquaintances, and it may feel awkward, but do we actually have to rekindle every relationship we once had? It might be time to take stock and think about who you kept in touch with, who you missed talking to, and who you didn’t. In short, maybe it’s time to reset your list of real mates.

There’s no obligation to stay friends, and writing for BBC Worklife, Bryan Lufkin says: “While people have known for years that friendships are unquestionably good for your health, experts say it’s only natural for acquaintances and even friends to fall by the wayside as time goes on – and it’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

Of course, it can be hard to choose who’s in your friendship circle. This is what Suzanne Degges-White, professor of counselling at Northern Illinois University, calls our ‘friendscape’. She says, “in life, as we go through certain stages and ages, our attention shifts, and we want to be around people who are like us.”

So, changing friends is normal, but we still need those special pals who’ve known us long term. These are friendships we invest time in. According to Robin Dunbar, a professor of evolutionary psychology at the University of Oxford, these are your inner circle of friends – your “shoulders to cry on” – and you have to see them at least once a week to keep them in that circle. He adds that the friends that do drift are mostly “friendships of convenience”. But the advice for maintaining a good friendship is to share how you feel with someone you trust – this can help strengthen your friendship as well as giving you both a chance to support each other.

in/on/at

Vocabulary

sound (n) 声音
The sound of wind.
The sound of music.
voice (n) 嗓音，人声

hear (v) 听到，听说
I heard from the news that there is a Covid outbreak (新冠爆发) in SH.
listen (v) 听
listen to music 听音乐

last (v) 持续
go on (v) 进行，发生

lock down
lockdown (n) 封城

everyday (adj.) 每一天的
everyday life 日常生活
every day (n) 每天

clean
(v) 清洁（垃圾）
(adj.) 干净的
clear
(v)扫除（障碍）
(adj.) 清楚的，清晰的

meme (n) 表情包

takeaway (n) 外带
food delivery (n) 食物外卖
order (v) 点

Grammar

动名词短语： Ving + 名词

Buying things online is convenient.
Eating at restaurants can be expensive. 
Traveling to Japan was a great experience.
Studying/Learning English is difficult.
Cooking Chinese food is easy.

sometime
sometimes (adv.) 有时候
some time 有一段时间
some times 有几次

As 表示跟…一样：
I am as tall as him.
I am not as tall as him.
He is tall, I am not as tall.

D:Hi,Chen. Sound news there is Covid-19 in SH.
–I heard from the news that there is a Covid outbreak (新冠爆发) in SH.
I heard that you are leaving SH.

C:Yes.Covid-19 has been two months.
The lockdown in SH has been going on for two months.
I have been eating noodles for two months.
The lockdown lasted for two months.

D:Now, is Covid-19 bad/serious?
Are things bad?/How bad are things? 

C:In the beginning, there are thousands of confirmed case every day. Now, the number has fell to a few hundred every day. Now , the situation is under control. / The situation is (much) better now. 

D: How about you? 那你的呢？/那你呢？
How are you? 你怎么样？你好吗？
How are things with you? / How is everything? 一切都好吗？ 事情/情况怎么样？ 

C:  A cleaner in my company tested positive (测出阳性) in early April. I met her. So I had to quarantine for 14 days at a hotel. After that, I have been staying at home. The community was locked down. Fortunately, I could work from home. (居家办公)

a while ago 前一阵子

D: Bought thing expediently? How solve you meals?

Is buying things convenient?
is it convenient to buy things? How do you solve your meals? 
It is convenient to buy things.
How do you study English?
How do you cook Chinese food?

C:  It is inconvenient. At hotel, they provided us 3 meals a day for free. At home, in the beginning I ordered food delivery every meal. Then I joined group buying for meat and vegetables on WeChat and cooked for myself.

D: I’m glad to hear everything is well. Have you been vaccinated?

C:Yes. I am fully vaccinated.

D: How long unlock up? When will the lockdown be over? When will you be free? 

C: It’s uncertain/unclear, the government haven’t told us.

D:How often do you do Covid test?

C:Every day. Sometimes, I would do Covid test in a long line, sometimes it’s home antigen test.

D: Okay! Take care of yourself and be safe! 

We’ve all been there. 我们都有过这种情况

One minute you’re searching for something serious, like a recipe for dinner, or something for work, 前一秒钟你还在…..
and the next you’ve been sucked in by endless videos of cats doing funny things 在视频推荐栏看见一个标题党视频后，后一秒你就陷入了无穷无尽的猫的趣味视频
after seeing a catchy title in your suggested videos column.

They’re compelling, engrossing and captivating, and you can end up spending hours watching kittens make funny noises or mistiming jumps. But why do these videos so often end up going viral? What makes them so enthralling? And why are they more popular than dog videos?

有有说服力的，引人入胜的，迷人的，你能最后花几个小时看小猫发出有趣的声音或者不在点子上的跳跃。但是为什么做的这些视频在最终通常疯狂传播？什么使他们如此迷人？为什么它们比狗的视频更受欢迎。

First, let’s talk about stereotypes. When many of us think about dogs, we imagine them rolling over onto their backs, tongues hanging out, or making a mess. They seem trusting and innocent – and they do silly things.

首先，让我们谈论刻板印象。当我们大多数人谈论狗时，我们想像他们在肚皮朝天滚动，舌头吐出，或者制造出一团乱麻。它们似乎是信任的和天真的–他们做愚蠢的事。

expression (n) 特定的表达，固定表达

get one over on （v） 戏弄
Cats, on the other hand, seem somewhat more refined and independent. There’s a reason we have an expression ‘cool cat’. In short, cats seem more serious – and savvy. If we can get one over on a cat and make them do something like get in a box that slides down a hill, it’s comical. But with a dog, it’s not as funny because they trust you – and it’s easier. Tricking a cat, due to their wiliness, has more payoff.

猫，与狗相反，似乎有些更文雅和独立。我们有“cool cat ”这个短语是有原因的。简而言之，猫似乎更严肃和精明。如果我们能够让他们作出A（在箱子里滑下小山丘）这样的事，那就是滑稽的。但是狗就没那么有趣 ，因为它们很容易信任你。戏弄一只猫，由于它们狡猾，会有更多的结果/回报。

The internet is filled with videos of cats making funny faces or reacting strangely. But why are they so funny? Well, simply – it’s unexpected. If you saw a cat walking down （沿着街走）the street coolly or observing and preparing to attack a mouse, it wouldn’t be funny. But if that cat was walking sideways, wearing a silly costume, or becoming best friends with the mouse, suddenly we might start to laugh. Watching a cat that is normally majestic walk clunkily or pull a bizarre face is hilarious because it’s not something we would normally associate with that animal. It’s like watching someone who is normally very serious get the giggles. In some ways, we’re all laughing at their fall from grace. （失态）

网上充满猫做有趣的脸或者奇怪的反应的视频。但是为什么它们是如此有趣？很简单，是因为出乎意料/不可预测。如果你看见一只猫冷静地沿着街道走，或观察和准备去攻击一只老鼠，它不会有趣。但是如果那只猫是侧着走，穿着一个滑稽的服装，或是和老鼠成为最好的朋友，出乎意料地我们也许开始发笑。看一只平日威严的猫笨拙地走路或是做鬼脸，是很滑稽的，因为我们不会和那些动物一起联想。就像看一个平常严肃地人发出咯咯的笑声。 在某些方面，我们总是在嘲笑他们的失态。

So the next time you see one of those many memes of cats in awkward situations or videos that make you chuckle, try to remember why it’s so funny. And spare a thought （在脑海里留有一席余地）for all those dogs that are trying to entertain us too.

因此下次你看到猫在尴尬的情况下的表情包，或者看到让你笑的视频，尝试去记住它为什么如此有趣。给那些想要娱乐我们的狗留一些余地。

suck in 陷入
compelling 引人入胜的
engrossing 非常有趣的
captivating 令人着迷的
viral （在网络上）迅速传播的
enthralling 吸引人的
stereotype 成见
refined 优雅的
cool cat 时尚的人
savvy 精明的
get one over on 捉弄
trick 戏弄
wiliness 狡猾
unexpected 意想不到的
majestic 高贵的，有威严的
clunkily 笨拙地
pull a face 做鬼脸
the giggles 咯咯傻笑，笑个不停
fall from grace 失态
meme （用当下流行文化素材配上文字的）自制表情包