F2F Class Notes 11th May (Peter)

Vocabulary 词汇

Renew – similar in meaning to “refresh,” used to describe a feeling of relief from stress

Ex. After going on a run this morning I feel completely renewed.

Socialism – a system of governing in which all goods and property are public, rather than private or government-owned

Ex. Socialism and Communism are often difficult to distinguish (tell apart) because in practice (in reality), they look similar.

Practice – to do, the act of doing something

Ex. The practice of volunteering at homeless shelters during the Christmas season is something that my parents passed down to me.

Connotation – the feeling of a word

Denotation – the definition of a word

Ex. Although the words “fat” and “overweight” have the same denotations, the connotation of the word “fat” is much more negative.

Expatriate – a person who does not live in the country that they are from

Ex. Foreigners often call themselves “expats” because the word “foreigner” has a negative connotation in some places.

Tackle – to push down forcefully, normally used in the following two cases: football and problems.

Ex. Because American Football involves tackling, which can be very dangerous, most High School choose to offer a safer version that forbids tackling and uses flags.

Ex. In order to tackle poverty, the government decided to provide housing for everyone in the city.

Paraphrase – to rewrite something in your own words

Ex. In formal papers, you have to admit where you found information, even if you only paraphrased it rather than copying it directly.

Enroll – to sign up for, similar in meaning to the word “reserve,” but only used for the long-term

Ex.  After graduating high school, I enrolled at the local university.

Ex. I decided to enroll my daughter in painting classes so that she would stop drawing on the walls.

Affiliated – used to describe a relationship between two institutions, such as companies or schools

Ex. New York University’s Shanghai campus is affiliated with East China Normal University.

Expressions 成语

The expression “bells and whistles” to comment on how fancy, modern, or upgraded a product is. For example, let’s say a car salesman is trying to sell you a brand new car that has many expensive additions (such as a GPS, backseat TV’s, seat warmers, etc.). You could tell him, “I don’t need all the bells and whistles, I just want something basic that can get me from point A to point B.”