F2F Class Notes 7th July (Peter)

Corrections

The price for hotel and something you can play – the prices for hotels and entertainment

I drived – I drove

I am alone (talking about past) – I was alone

My girlfriends and her family – my friends and their families

She’s assistant to the director* – she’s assistant manager

            *Note: the word director usually refers to the person in charge of making a movie.

We are got – we have got

Activating (ack-TIH-vuh ting) – Activating (ack-tih-VAY-ting)

Vocabulary

Jet Ski – a fast boat for one or two people, ridden like a horse (noun or verb)

Bind – to come together with, it’s usually used to describe becoming attached emotionally, physically, or legally (verb).

Ex. Carol and her pet cat have a very strong bond. (Carol cares very much about her cat)

Ex. Glue binds things together. (Glue joins things together)

Ex. The contract was legally-binding. (The signer must follow the rules in the contract or he is breaking the law).

Bond – relationship, something holding two things together (noun)

Ex. Carol and her girlfriends have a very strong bond. (Carol cares very much about her girlfriends)

Glue – 胶水 (noun or verb)

Ex. I used glue to glue the paper to the wall.

Brain – 头脑

Consume – to eat or take in (food and drink)

Consumption – eating (noun)

Ex. Not fit for consumption = do not eat this.

Celsius – the standard measuring system for temperature (C), 摄氏

Grammar

Nominalization means creating a noun by adding “-ing” to the end of a verb. We try to avoid this because it makes the noun sound weak, so we prefer to use the actual noun form of a word. For example, the noun “consumption” is stronger than the noun “consuming.”

Phrases

Using the verb “to do” in the present indicative tense usually refers to careers. For example, “what do you do” means 你做什么工作 and “what are you doing” usually means 你现在在做什么?

The phrase stuck like glue is used to refer to two people things that seem inseparable (unable to be separated).

Ex. Carol and her girlfriends are stuck like glue.

Pronunciation

Celsius (SELL-see-us)

Reading Practice

Why Alcohol Burns Your Throat

Every wonder why Alcohol tastes very certainly like pure heat? We’ve got your answer. First, let’s discuss what makes spicy food taste hot. Foods that are spicy contain a chemical called Capsaicin, and this chemical binds to taste receptors in the tongue. These receptors, called the VR1 receptors, transmit signals to the brain that a food is too hot (we should mention that Capsaicin is only neutralized with milk, which is why water, which spreads Capsaicin across the tongue, can make that curry kick a little more). Like Capsaicin, Ethanol also binds to the tongue’s VR1 receptors, but instead of directly activating a signal to the brain, Ethanol works a little differently.

The purpose of the receptors is to alarm the brain that a food’s temperature is too hot for consumption, and normally these receptors are sensitive to temperatures at or above 42 degrees Celsius. Ethanol lowers the threshold of the receptors, bringing the standard for “too hot” down to 34 degrees Celsius; the temperature of the human body is around 37 degrees. Quite literally, when encountering Ethanol, the VR1 receptors in the tongue become overly-sensitive to the temperature of the human body. So, there you have it. The higher the proof, the more your brain believes that your tongue is on fire. So it’s not the alcohol, it’s you. But we don’t advise a break-up.