2xOnline Class Notes (Mike)

You and a friend watched a film at your house recently. Write a letter to another friend in which you:

–  Say what film you watched.
–  Give your personal opinion of the film.
–  Mention something else you did on that occasion.
–  Suggest an activity to do with the friend you are writing to.

Gratitude is more than just saying ‘thank you’ to someone who has helped us or given us a gift. Gratitude is a deeper appreciation for someone or something that makes us feel a positive emotion. And this positive emotion can be good for our health – our emotional and physical health, as well as the health of our relationships.

Let’s start by looking at the emotional or mental health benefits of expressing gratitude. There have been many studies, as described in a 2018 paper from the Greater Good Science Center titled ‘The Science of Gratitude’ , showing that writing a gratitude letter to another person or writing in a gratitude journal, if done regularly, improves mental health. One reason for this, is that gratitude stops us from ruminating on toxic, negative emotions, and writing a ‘thank you’ letter, for example, shifts our attention so that we focus on positive emotions. But even if we don’t share our writing with anyone, like in a journal, the act of completing the exercise alone makes us happier and more satisfied with life. And this gets better with time. As we are essentially training our brain to be more in tune with noticing the positive, after several weeks or months, this becomes more intuitive. And so, the more we express gratitude, the more positive we feel.

Gratitude can also make us feel good in our bodies. There are studies linking a gratitude practice to better sleep quality, better eating habits, and reduced inflammation in people who have had heart problems. So gratitude is clearly good for us, but is it also good for the people in our lives?

The simple answer is ‘yes’. When shared – spoken or written – gratitude is about feeling valued and helping others feel valued too. Feeling valued can help build stronger relationships – be it with family, partners, friends or even colleagues. And that’s on top of all the other ways gratitude is clearly good for us. Maybe we should all stop counting sheep or counting calories and start counting our blessings instead?

Online fame

Surely blogging or vlogging must be one of the easiest ways of finding fame and fortune? All you need is a computer and a hobby to talk about, don’t you? Well, although it looks simple, being a success in the blogosphere is actually a lot more difficult than it seems.

Kate Ross has been advising brands on how to work with bloggers and vloggers, and believes that if you start a blog or vlog just to earn money, it isn’t going to work. Kate says you need to be passionate about your topic and you need to provide your readers or viewers with interesting content. If you don’t, your vlog or blog isn’t going to get positive feedback and attract subscribers.

You also need to be aware that cash isn’t going to come rolling in overnight. Seventeen-year-old Rosie Bea, who has a YouTube fashion channel, says her blog only started attracting the attention of advertisers after she had put in months and months of unpaid work and built up a big fan base. Rosie was also combining her vlog work with her law studies, and she advises vloggers in the same position to make sure that they plan carefully so that they have time to do both things properly.

So, while the tabloid press often talks about the instant success of young bloggers and vloggers, it isn’t really instant at all. The people who are successful have done well because they are hard-working and passionate about what they do, and it is this dedication and passion that attracts subscribers and advertisers to them. The press is only interested in them once they are in the public eye, but they have achieved their celebrity status through hours and hours of hard work.

SY have been 2500 years history is a ancient city.The city call Bao Qing before. There is a ancient wall, if you have time, you can see. In the city, there were much famous people,such as Yuan Wei, E Cai etc.

The city’s public transport is only buses and no subway,of course you can take a taxi. Also, there are motors in bus station and train.

There are two train stations.One of them in city centre, but the other is far from city centre, is very inconvenient. I never go there.

SY is a city with 2500 years of history. The city was called Baoqing before. There is an ancient wall, if you have time, you should go see it. The most famous people from SY were A and B, who were both generals and fought in many wars.

The city’s main public transportation is bus. Of course you can take a taxi or illegal motors.

There are two train stations. One of them is in the city centre. The other one is far from the city centre and takes more than 1 hours to get there. I’ve never been there.

SY is known for a famous dish called “Pig Blood Ball”, it is made of tofu, pig blood and fatty meat.

Since I came to SH, I realized how inconvenient life in SY is, especially the transportation. 

I realized life in SY is inconvenient.

The Kardashians are currently one of the USA’s most well-known families. They are often in the news, and Americans follow their lives in the papers and celebrity magazines. The Kardashians are reality TV stars, with their own family show called Keeping up with the Kardashians.

Kardashians一家是美国目前著名的家庭之一。他们经常出现在新闻中，美国人在报纸和名人杂志中关注他们的生活。Kardashians 一家是电视上的真人秀明星，他们自己的家庭节目叫Keeping up with the Kardashians。

It all started in 2007 when the family was asked by an American channel to make a TV series about their lives. The show focused on mother Kris and her four children.  Their father was lawyer Robert Kardashian, who died a few years earlier. The show became a success in its first season, mainly because of the three sisters and their extrovert personalities.

一切开始于2007年他们家庭请求提过美国的渠道拍关于他们生活的电视连续剧。这个节目重点关注妈妈Kris 和她的四个孩子。他们的爸爸是Robert Kardashian律师，死于几年以前。这个节目在第一季成名了，大部分是因为三个姐妹和她们外向的性格。

Since then, there have been eight more seasons and the show is still running.  Two of the sisters got married on the show. Kim got married twice! And two of the sisters are now parents. Furthermore, the three sisters have used their fame to establish careers in the fashion industry. They have opened clothes shops and launched several clothing collections and perfumes. Kim has even launched a successful mobile phone game called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

从那以后，这个节目持续了八季并且一直在更新。姐妹中的两个在节目中结婚了。Kim 结婚了两次。姐妹中的两个现在是父母。此外，三姐妹用他们的名气在时尚行业来站稳跟脚。她们开了服装店，发起几个全套服装合集和香水业务。Kim 甚至启动了一个成功的叫Kim Kardashian: Hollywood的手机游戏。

在职业生涯中站稳跟脚/为职业生涯打下根基

Although the show has many fans, it also has many critics.  They are irritated by the sisters’ desire for fame and fortune, and think the show is meaningless. The Kardashians are only ‘famous for being famous’, but they don’t mind because it has made them rich.

尽管节目有许多粉丝但也有许多批评者。他们恼怒姐妹们为了名誉和财富的欲望，认为这个节目是毫无意义的。Kardashians 一家仅仅为了著名而著名，但是他们不介意因为节目使他们富有。

Pronunciation

knit (v)编织
knight (n) 骑士，
knife (n) 餐具刀
knee (n) 膝盖

practice

Vocabulary

fight (v) 打仗，对抗，抗争，打架，斗争

general (n) 将军
(adj.) 一般的，大概的，整体的
Generally speaking, people get married at the age of around 30 in SH.

be called “….”
We call him “boss”

previous (adj.) 以前的
My previous company is ….
My previous experience tells me that I can’t believe what they are saying. /what they said.
Previously, this company was in the IT industry.
I don’t have any previous experience in sales.

follow (v) 关注，跟随
follower (n) 粉丝，关注者
I have only 30 followers on Weibo.

browse (v) – browser (n) 浏览器
What browser do you use?

church (n) 教堂

department store (n) 百货商场

politics (n) 政治
office politics 办公室政治
political (adj.) 政治的
Political reform 改革
politician (n) 政客，政治家
Nancy Pelosi is an American politician.

barber (n) 理发师

suit (n) 西装

What do you enjoy doing?

I enjoy eating delicious/Sichuan food.

What else?

I also enjoy taking walks after dinner.

dislike
I don’t like eating SH food.

What do you avoid doing?
I usually avoid the sun by using an umbrella./by staying at home.

habit (n)习惯
develop a habit
My two-month old son developed the habit of sucking his hand recently.

suck (v) 吮吸

gossip (v) 八卦，流言蜚语，小道消息，说长道短的话
gossipy (adj.)

rumor (n) 谣言

interrupt (v) 中断，打断，插话

break (v) – broke – broken
brake (n) 刹车

critical (adj.) 批评的

novel (n)
note (n) 笔记

(My bad habit is) (reading novels) 

I read novels when I have spare/free time.

envy (v) 羡慕

retire (v) 退休
retirement age 退休年纪
tired (adj.) 人很累的
tiring (adj.) 让人很累的

vegetarian (n) 素食者

Grammar

I have never done sth
I have never had KFC.
I have never eaten KFC.
I have never written articles longer than 2000 words.
I have never been to SH.