F2F Class Notes (Whitney) [S]

Original

Many people think that I’m very lucky working in a state-owned company like UnionPay, but actually the working conditions are not very flexible. My dream job was to become a university professor, but I discovered that I prefer to teach over doing research. The university industry is very competitive, especially in my major of History; there are only 5 universities in Shanghai with this department. Because I was born in Shanghai, I don’t wish to work in second or third-tier cities, despite their high demand for professors. The average career path for a university professor can span at least 10-20 years; if you’re not an established professor, it would be hard to secure employment in the future. If money is no issue, I would want to live in Japan. Other Western cultures may be too difficult and different for me to adapt to, but I feel that Japan is an advanced society, but technologically and environmentally. In the future, I hope to work a variety of developing countries as I enjoy challenges and being out of my comfort zone.

Correction

Many people think that I’m very lucky working in a state-owned company like UnionPay, but actually the working conditions are not very flexible. My dream job was to become a university professor, but I discovered that I prefer to teach over doing research. The university industry is very competitive, especially in my major of History; there are only 5 universities in Shanghai with this department. Because I was born in Shanghai, I don’t wish to work in second or third-tier cities, despite their high demand for professors. The average career path for a university professor can span at least 10-20 years; if you’re not an established professor, it would be hard to secure employment in the future. If money is no issue, I would want to live in Japan. Other Western cultures may be too difficult and different for me to adapt to, but I feel that Japan is an advanced society, but both technologically and environmentally. In the future, I hope to work in a variety of developing countries as I enjoy challenges and being out of my comfort zone.

Pronunciation Review:

competitive – com-pe-ti-tive

New Vocabulary: 

second-tier or third-tier city: 二三线城市

another way of referring to the developing cities around China.

New Topic: Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh and the #metoo movement

Original

I’m not too sure about this case, but I’m not sure why President Trump would nominate him for this position. If I was President Trump, I would temporarily cease the nomination and wait for the investigation to be completed. I can’t say that the nomination of him is true or false but its not very correct to nominate a controversial person. So I think the choice would be first to cease the nomination, and second to wait for the federal investigation to move forward. I think its not very smart for him to nominate him so quickly.

Correction + Upgrading

I’m not too sure about this case, but I’m not sure why President Trump would nominate him for this position. If I was were President Trump, I would temporarily cease the nomination and wait for the investigation to be completed. I can’t say that the nomination of him whether this accusation is true or false but it is not very correct (good/fair) to nominate a controversial person. So I think the choice would firstly be to  be first to  cease the nomination, and secondly to wait for the federal investigation to move forward. I think its not very smart (wise/politically correct/fair) for him (Trump/the President) to nominate him (Kavanaugh) so quickly.

New Vocabulary:

nominee (n) – someone who is nominated for a job, position or an award.

e.g. The nominees for this year’s Acadmy Award are…

social media – say this instead of “self media”

e.g. I use social media a lot. I look at Facebook 15 times a day.

Explaining New Phrases: (based off an excerpt from USA Today)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/05/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-we-urge-senators-vote-no-editorials-debates/1527514002/

Keep emotions in check – control your emotions

Be calm amidst the storm – remain calm

Acting as a partisan – not have too strong of an opinion on anything in particular

Orchestrated Political Hit – orchestrated, is like planned or plotted

Political Hit – something you do to make your opponent look bad

A fair shake – a fair go

Inconclusive – no outcome or no answer

1. Review the corrected and upgraded speaking section about your opinion on President Trump and Brett Kavanaugh

1. Continue to talk about the politically based topics that Michael is interested in
2. Find a simple article in English about the #metoo movement to work through with Michael to test understanding, vocabulary and speaking abilities.