F2F Class Notes (Nick)

Vocabulary

I can’t complain! – a way to respond to the question “how are you?” which means that you are doing well
e.g. How are you today? Well, I certainly can’t complain! (like “pretty good”)

Humid – when there is a lot of water in the air, 潮湿
e.g. It rained this afternoon, and so it is very humid.

Backflip – when you jump up in the air and move your feet over your head and then land on your feet again, when you roll backwards in the air, 反转

Gymnastics – part of the Olympic games where you run, jump, flip, spin, swing, and sometimes dance, 体操

Sword – a sharp piece of metal used to fight, 剑
e.g. Moganshan is famous for a general who made a sword.

Bed and Breakfast –  like a small hotel, usually more personal and smaller than a hotel, often owned by a family who lives there
e.g. We stayed in a nice bed and breakfast, very homey and comfortable, near Moganshan.

Decorations – the way you color a place and the things you put in it, decorate
e.g. The decorations in the bed and breakfast were very beautiful / tasteful.

Tasteful – to do something carefully and with good style, elegantly e.g. with decorations, or clothes
e.g. This house is fancy, but still tasteful.
(Be careful not to confuse it with “tasty,” which means delicious.)

Bamboo Steamer – a traditional sort of plate for steaming 包子, 蒸笼

Grammar

There were many bamboos – there was a lot of bamboo
— With a type of plant, we don’t use the plural when we speak generally.
— To speak about a specific plant or area you need a measure word, like “plant,” or “stand”
e.g. There was a large stand of bamboo near the house (an area with many bamboo plants)
e.g. This is a very tall bamboo plant.

It was mainly incomes – it was the main (source of) income
— When a word has “ly” it is usually an adverb, and so it has to describe a verb or adjective.

We don’t have so big place – We don’t have such a big place