F2F Class Notes (Raph)[R]

Next class: Continue working on the article and on the definition of the remaining words.

Vocabulary

Research (v/n): 1- a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new) understanding.
E.g.: They are doing some research on the language of dolphins (海豚).
E.g.: His researches in the field of disease prevention produced unexpected results.
E.g.: He has dedicated his life to scientific research.

Researcher (n): 1- a person who conducts a research.
E.g.: She is a leading researcher in the field.

Contagious (adj): 1- contagious disease can be caught by touching someone who has the disease or a piece of infected clothing. (adv: Contagiously)
E.g.: The infection is highly contagious, so don’t let anyone else use your towel.

Unstoppable (adj): 1- unable to be stopped or prevented from developing. (≠ Stoppable)
E.g.: The band has enjoyed an unstoppable rise in popularity.

Reaction (n): 1-  behavior, a feeling or an action that is a direct result of something else.
E.g.: I love to watch people’s reactions when I say who I am.
E.g.: There has been an immediate reaction against the government’s proposed tax (税) increases.
E.g.: Reactions to the proposal so far have been mixed.

Automatic (adj): 1- something that works without people having to control it.
E.g.: This is the best automatic camera out.
E.g.: They have just installed new automatic lights in my building.

Urge (n): 1- a strong wish, especially one that is difficult or impossible to control:
E.g.: The two of them seem unable to control their sexual urges.
E.g.: The urge to steal is very strong in some of these young men.
E.g.: She felt a very strong urge to tell someone about what had happened.

Professor (n): 1- a high level teacher who works at a university.
E.g.: She’s a professor of Law at Fudan University.

Volunteer (n): 1- a person who does something, especially helping other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it.
E.g.: As a volunteer on the childcare project, I really saw life.
E.g.: We’re saving money by using volunteers.
E.g.: Raph used to work as a volunteer teacher in Indonesia

Clip (n): 1- a short part of a film or television programme:
E.g.: I’ve seen a clip from the movie.

Monitor (v): 1- to watch and check a situation carefully for a period of time in order to discover something about it:
E.g.: The new findings suggest that women ought to monitor their cholesterol levels.
E.g.: The CIA were monitoring (= secretly listening to) his phone calls.

Treat (v): 1- to use drugs, exercises, etc. to cure a person of a disease or heal an injury:
E.g.: He is being treated for a rare skin disease.
E.g.: The farmer called the vet out to treat a sick cow.

Potential (n): 1- the capacity to become or develop into something better in the future.
E.g.: The region has enormous potential for economic development.
E.g.: I don’t feel I’m achieving my full potential in my present job.
E.g.: You have the potential to reach the top of your profession.

Brain (n): 1- 脑

Tourette Syndrome (n): 1-  图雷特综合征

Dementia (n): 1- 痴呆

Epilepsy (n): 1-  癫痫患者

TBC

Effective (adj): 1-  (adv: Effectively)

Effectiveness  (n): 1- 

Imbalance (n): 1-  

Balance (n): 1-  

Why do people yawn?
(Source: breakingnewsenglish.com/1709/170903-yawning.html)

Do you ever wonder why we yawn? Do you always yawn when you see other people yawn? A new study from Nottingham University in the UK has done research on this. Researchers found that yawning is contagious. It is a powerful and unstoppable reaction. People automatically want to yawn when they see other people yawning. The researchers said people actually yawn more when they try to stop yawning. The researchers also found that some people have a much stronger urge to yawn than other people. Lead researcher Professor Stephen Jackson said that even reading about yawning could be enough to make people yawn. You might even want to yawn right now.

The researchers studied the reactions and brain activity of 36 adult volunteers. The volunteers looked at video clips of other people yawning. They then had two choices – either to stop themselves yawning or to allow themselves to do it. The volunteers were videoed as they yawned or tried not to yawn. The researchers also monitored the brain activity of the volunteers and checked how strong their feeling to want to yawn was. Jackson said understanding more about yawning will help to treat conditions such as dementia, epilepsy and Tourettes. He said: “We are looking for potential non-drug, personalized treatments…that might be effective in [changing] imbalances in the brain.”

Pronunciation

Contagious: /kənˈteɪ.dʒəs/ 

Dolphin: /ˈdɑːl.fɪn/

Unstoppable: /ʌnˈstɑː.pə.bəl/

Automatic: /ˌɑː.t̬əˈmæt̬.ɪk/

Brain: /breɪn/

Clip: /klɪp/

Proud: /praʊd/

Cambridge Dictionary
www.dictionary.cambridge.org