F2F Class Notes (Nick)

Describe your meeting (or meetings) with the Alibaba representatives. Did they treat you fairly?

Vocabulary

Occupancy – the maximum number

Impression – to have an effect on someone; what someone thinks about you
— By extension, in dentistry, the shape your teeth leave when you bite something soft.
e.g. He was very nice, and my Mom got a good impression.
e.g. The dentist took an impression of my teeth so that he could design a crown that will fit properly.
Mold – to give shape to something (v); the thing which is used to give shape to a material (n)
e.g. We poured the molten metal into the mold to make toy soldiers.
— A mold is a shape, and an impression is the shape left in something else by pressure.

Condescending – to look down on someone, to think you’re better
e.g. Alibaba knows that they are powerful, and so they are condescending to the representatives of smaller companies.
Supercilious – raising of the eyebrows, because you know you’re better than someone else

Overpowering – when some characteristic, action, or smell, is too strong to bear
e.g. When we entered the garbage dump, the smell was overpowering.

Imperious – like bossy, to believe that you have the right to give someone commands; literally from the word “emperor”

Cathartic – a great release of emotion, of tension
e.g. When the story finally resolved the relationship problems, it was a cathartic moment.

Grammar

Fast Train
Every train goes at some speed. What is different is that this train is faster.

This time I go – this time I will go
— The “present tense” is actually for speaking generally.
e.g. I go to the gym (I do it regularly)

They think that I am from small company – They think that because I am from a small company (they don’t have to get a meeting room)