F2F Class Notes (Ben) [W]

Vocabulary

make ends meet = make just enough money to survive

When you work as a janitor, it’s sometimes hard to make ends meet.

a janitor = someone who cleans the area, cleaning personnel

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lightness = the state of being light

The lightness of fenjiu makes it easy to drink / to get drunk on.

The lightness of fenjiu makes me forget where the line is.

The lightness of new smartphones comes from smaller components.

French food is known for its lightness- it’s never spicy.

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Having a wonderful trip and traveling with a travel agency is incompatible . I will never travel with a tour group for a personal trip. However, speaking of company trip, I don’t have a choice.

We have a company trip every year ， and this year we went to Shanxi at the second weekend of May. It took more than 13 hours by train from SH to SX, so we were on the train over night on day 1. There were more than 20 of us and everyone was happy and excited and it looked like we were having a mobile party.

We reached Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi, in the morning of day 2. Immediately after we got off the train, we got on a bus in which our travel agency was waiting for us. We were told it would take another 4 hours to get to the scenic spot, Mont Wutai, where is a famous sacred place in Buddhism and attracts a huge amount of believers to come to worship every year. When we finally reached the foot of the mountain after a long and boring trip, the excitement was starting to wear off. It was already 2:00pm when we had lunch and when the foods were served on table we were like a pack of wolves.

Traveling with a travel agency , everyone need to hustle. In the following 2 days, we spent 4-5 hours each day on the bus , being too busy from one scenic spot to another. What’s more, we needed to eat what the agency prepared for us and we didn’t even have a chance to try popular local foods. It is just a trip on which we took photos to prove we used to be there.

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Having a wonderful trip and traveling with a travel agency are incompatible. I would never travel with a tour group for a personal trip. However, when it comes to company trips, I don’t really have the choice.

We have a company trip every year, and this year we went to Shanxi at the second weekend of May. It took more than 13 hours by train from SH to SX, so we got on the overnight train on Day 1. There were more than 20 of us and everyone was happy and excited and it looked like we were having a mobile party.

We reached Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi, in the morning of Day 2. Immediately after we got off the train, we got on a bus in which our tour guide was waiting for us / where our tour guide was waiting for us.

We were told it would take another 4 hours to get to the scenic spot called Mount Wutai, which is a famous sacred place in Buddhism and (which) attracts a huge amount of believers who come to worship every year. When we finally reached the foot of the mountain after a long and boring trip, the excitement was starting to wear off. It was already 2 pm when we had lunch and when the foods were served on the table, we were like a pack of wolves.

When traveling with a travel agency, everyone needs to hustle. In the following 2 days, we spent 4 to 5 hours each day on the bus, rushing from one scenic spot to another. What’s more, we needed to eat what the agency prepared for us and we didn’t even have a chance to try popular local dishes. It was just a trip on which we took photos to prove we were there.

(a trip on which = a trip where)

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It was a lot of fun.

“speaking of” = when you change the topic by using a word that was just pronounced by someone

• I love Beijing and I often have trips there.
• Speaking of trips, did I tell you my mom was coming to see me next week?

If we had traveled by ourselves, it would have taken us 5 days.

Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?
Without any hesitation,I choose the former. The reasons are as below.

Firstly, being in somewhere which is big enough so that nobody knows you, makes it easier to get success. Because anonymity makes you not be afraid of falling flat on your face and helps you get back on your feet . By this way, from nobody, you may become somebody.

Secondly, being together with better others makes you a better person. People always say:”If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” Congratulations if people around you are smarter than you, because you can learn by talking to them and watching their behavior patterns, even replicate their patterns of success.

Finally, “big pond “usually has a overall faster rhythm of life which makes you leave the comfortable zone and gives you the belief that “Don’t rest on your laurels and go get more successes!”

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Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?
Without any hesitation, I would choose the former. The reasons are as below.

Firstly, being in somewhere which is big enough so that nobody knows you makes it easier to get success, because anonymity makes you not be afraid of falling flat on your face and helps you get back on your feet. This way, from a nobody, you may become a somebody.

Secondly, being together with people better than you makes you a better person. People always say: “If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” Congratulations if people around you are smarter than you, because you can learn by talking to them and watching their behavior patterns and even replicate their patterns of success.

Finally, a “big pond “usually has an overall faster rhythm of life, which often makes you leave your comfort zone and gives you the mindset of not resting on your laurels and going for more successes instead.