F2F Class Notes 22nd March (Tanya)

Vocabulary

chores – things you have to do, usually around the house

e.g. My chores include cleaning the house and cooking dinner.

apocalypse – the end of the world, a huge huge disaster

e.g. I forgot to make my homework for tomorrow! The apocalypse is near!

fictional – not true, made-up

e.g. That story about me going to outer space is completely fictional

fiction – a story that is fictional

e.g. The Harry Potter books are fiction.

physics – the study of matter 物理

e.g. My friend studies physics, he knows everything about gravity.

hypothetically – “what if”, used to express something about an imaginary situation

e.g. Hypothetically, if zombies existed on planet Earth, I wouldn’t live very long.

e.g. Carol’s homework assignment for today is based on a hypothetical question.

scenario – situation

e.g. In this scenario (this scenario being zombies exist), I wouldn’t live very long. I have no survival skills.

mutual – when two people both have something

e.g. Our mutual friend is Ben.

Correction

I think in China it’s kind of traditional for women to take care of the children. I think fathers in Western countries do much better than fathers in Asian countries. It’s not only what I heard. It’s because in a lot of Asian countries, people think fathers’ responsibilities are to earn money and support their family. Mothers’ major job is taking care of the children and taking care of the house.

In China, both mothers and fathers go to work. I think the younger generations, don’t always behave according to tradition. They just do what they think is right. I guess your dad must have spent a lot of time with you when you were young.

My husband and I, we both spend a lot of time working. It is my mother who mainly takes care of my son. My mom is doing a really good job. Most of the time, they get along with each other very well but sometimes my son drives my mother crazy. He is hyperactive. When kids turn two, they start to refuse to do anything. Sometimes I force him to do something such as eating or sleeping, sometimes I just let him do what he wants to do. At this age they dont understand why I do this. They can’t understand.

In my generation, it didn’t happen, but now I think… Next to my previous apartment, there is a middle school. On my way home, I always saw student couples. They were very young and I thought: “Do they really know what they’re doing?”

I would ask him the reason he likes that girl. Once I know the reason I would probably give him some positive advice. I think the reason teenagers like other boys or girls is that they have some qualities that are attractive to them… For example: they can sing and dance and play basketball very well.

Tip 1: Never try to forbid your teenager from doing something

Tip 2: Always give them choices. For example: if you don’t want them to do no. 3, you give them no. 1 and no. 2.

Because my husband doesn’t cook, I always cook but he can do laundry and he can do the dishes. If you tell them directly “You should do this”, they probably won’t want to. But if they have choices, they always choose one.

Original

I think in China it’s kind of tradition for women to take care of children. I think fathers in Western countries do much better than fathers in Asian countries. It’s not only what I heard. It’s because in a lot of Asian countries, people think fathers’ responsibilities is to earn money and support their family. Mothers’ major job is taking care of children and taking care of the house.

In China, both mothers and fathers go to work. I think younger generation, not always do according to the tradition. They just do what they think is right. I guess your dad must spend a lot of time with you when you’re young.

My husband and I we both spend a lot of time on working. It is my mother who mainly takes care of my son. My mom is doing a really good job. Most time, they get along with each other very well but sometimes my son drives my mother crazy. He is hyperactive. When kids turn to two, they refuse to do anything. Sometimes I force him to do something such as eating or sleeping, sometimes I just let him do what he wants to do. At this age they dont understand why I do this. They can’t understand.

In my generation, it didn’t happen, but now I think… Besides my previous apartment, there is a middle school. On my way home, I always saw student couples. They are very young and I think: “Do they really know what they’re doing?”

I would ask him the reason why he likes that girl. One of the reasons why I would probably guide him to the right direction. I think the reason why teenagers like other boys or girls, probably because they have some qualities that is attractive… For example: they can sing and dance and play basketball very well.

Tip 1: Never try to forbidden your teenage children doing something

Tip 2: Always give them choices. For example: if you don’t want them to do no. 3, you give them no. 1 and no. 2.

Because my husband doesn’t cook, so I always cook but he can do laundry and he can do the dishes. If you tell them directly “You should do this”, they probably won’t want to. But if they have choices, they always choose one.

Homework solutions http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1703/170301-sleep-5.html

Why do the mothers sleep less? 

Having children in the house is the main reason mothers sleep less.

Why is it bad to not sleep? 

Because it increases the risk of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Why do you think the fathers didn’t sleep less? (writing exercise) 

Because every father thinks mothers will take good care of their children and it’s not the father’s job.

Prepare for the zombie apocalypse

What would you do in case of a worldwide zombie apocalypse? There’s a small group of survivors but you don’t know where they are. There’s no “safe” city. It’s all over the world. Their bites are infectious. They’re very aggressive. No medicine, no cure. (min. 10 sentences)

• What are your weapons?
• Where will you live?
• What are your survival skills?
• What will you eat?
• Will you stay in Shanghai?
• …