F2F Class Notes 4th March (Joseph) (Ben)

Vocabulary

Stereotype – when you think you know something about someone or something because of what you have heard from other people or in the media. ( e.g. One common stereotype is that all Chinese people are good at maths.)

Edited version

What does it take to be good parents? You need to be patient, supportive and caring. Sometimes you have to be the strictest of teachers and sometimes the best of friends. If you think it is too difficult (to do this), at the very least, you should be careful and keep your children away from danger.

(Don’t forget the comma after “every day”)
Every day, there are tragedies in the news caused by negligent parenting, but two accidents happened this week that still astonish me to say the least.

In Shanghai, a 5-year-old boy fell off from the balcony of his apartment which was on the 6th floor, while his babysitter was picking up something from downstairs. On the same day, in Tianjin, a 5-year-old boy and his younger 2-year-old sister fell off (from) the 4th floor in a shopping mall. After the family had eaten dinner, the mother went downstairs alone to buy something and the children begged their father to help them look for her. Then the father did something (which) he will regret for the rest of his life. He lifted them off the ground and leaned against a security rail to try to locate her in the crowd. As a result, both children slipped over and fell to their deaths off (from) the 4th floor.

The former incident is an accident, but the latter sounds to me like it is a manslaughter. As a parent, you should have basic knowledge to predict danger and keep your children away from it. For example, if he could have predicted that it was dangerous to lean against the rail, he wouldn’t have lost (both) his children. Being a parent is the most important and demanding job in this world, but it does not even require a license. It is ironic that a lot of parents move heaven and earth to offer their children good material conditions but they don’t realize that what’s more important is to make them happy and safe.

Now that the one-child-policy has been cancelled [abrogated], every family wants a second child. As for me, I will definitely not bring another little creature to this world until I’m good to go.

eat  / ate / eaten

ate = 时间明确 (usually finished) = this morning, yesterday, 2 weeks ago, when I lived in Chongqing, as a child

have eaten = 时间不明确 (usually unfinished) = already, never, until now, so far

(“have eaten” is the result of “ate”)

I ate this morning, now I have eaten.

He opened the door, and now, the door is opened / has been opened.

All the food in the fridge has been eaten. I guess the cat ate it.

The policy was cancelled last year. Now it has been cancelled.

Original version

What does it take to be good parents? You need to be patient, supportive and caring. Sometimes you are strict teachers of your children and sometimes you are their lovely friends. If you think it is too difficult to do these, you should at least be careful and keep your children away from danger.

Every day there are tragedy news caused by negligent custody, but two accidents happened this week still astonished me very much to say the least. In Shanghai, a 5-year-old boy fell off from the balcony of his apartment which is on the 6th floor when the babysitter was picking up something from downstairs. On the same day, in Tianjin, a 5-year-old boy and his younger sister, a 2-year-old girl fell off from the 4th floor in a shopping mall. This family was having dinner on the 4th floor. The mother went to underground to buy something and the children begged their farther to take them looking for their mother. This father did something which makes him regret for the rest of his life. He held his children and leaned against the rail , as a result, both children fell off to underground.

The former incident is an accident, but the latter, sounds to me like it is a manslaughter. As a parent, you should have basic knowledge to predict danger and keep your children away from it. For example, if he could had predicted that it is dangerous to lean against the rail he wouldn’t have lost his children. Being a parent is the most important and demanding job in this world, but it does not even request a license. It is ironic that a lot of parents move heaven and earth to offer their children good material condition but they haven’t realized that what’s more important is to make them happy and safe. After the one-child-policy was canceled, every family wants a second child. For me, I will definitely not bring another little creature to this world until I’m good to go.

one of us 我们其中之一

one of them 他们其中之一

the best mom = the best of moms

At SE, Jesse is the richest of teachers.

Ben is the most patient of teachers. = 老师中最有耐心的

To be a parent you have to be the strictest of teachers = the strictest teacher

/!\ Be careful with commas, they can change the meaning of the sentence

每个 新闻里看得见悲剧的天。。。我感觉很感动

Every day there are tragedies in the news, I feel moved.

每天，新闻里看得见悲剧。

Every day, there are tragedies in the news.

There aren’t tragedies in the news every day, but every day there are (tragedies in the news), I feel moved.

Every time I see Carol, I am excited.

When am I excited? = Every time I see Carol.

Do I see Carol every day? No

I don’t see Carol every day, but every day I see Carol, I am happy.

think twice= consider something very carefully

You should think twice before quitting your job.

You have a headache? Well maybe you should have thought twice before going out drinking until 4 am last night.