Online Class Notes (Joe)

We talked about your trip and the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Today’s focus was on broadening your vocabulary and giving you more ways to express different ideas.

We learned so many new words today. I think we should practice using some of them again next time. However, I hope that we will be talking about the outbreak in the past tense by then.

Choose some of the new words we learned today and make sentences with them. Make as many or as few sentences as you want. It’s up to you. Next time, you can show me what you have written and we can talk about it. This will really be a great way for you to remember the new words.

Vocabulary

hands full – to be busy

First, I used the expression “I’ve had my hands full today”. You did not know this one, but you guessed correctly that it means ‘I have been busy’.

Land curling – the sport you played at the hotel
This sport was quite unfamiliar to me until today. I do not know if many people know about land curling. You may have to explain it by saying “land curling is just like curling, but you play it on a wooden floor”

Puck – the disc used in ice hockey
I incorrectly told you that a puck was used in the sport you played.

Stone – the disc used in curling and land curling
This is another thing that may be unfamiliar to many people. You can explain it by saying ‘In land curling, the disc you have to push across the floor is called the stone’.

Curfew – the time when you should be home
I told you about the curfew we have because of COVID-19. Currently, the curfew here is between 9 P.M. and 4 A.M.

arrived at / in
We use ‘arrive at’ with small places, like ‘I arrived at the train station’
We use ‘arrive in’ with big places, like ‘I arrived in Shanghai’.

7 o clock PM – this is a little unnatural.
7 PM or 7 o clock in the evening are more natural

the strong wind – Well done for remembering that wind cannot be big. It is strong.

Person / persons / people / peoples
person – 1
The first person to die from the virus was in Wuhan.

Persons – formal way to say ‘more than 1 person’. Not used in general conversation. You may see it on warning signs like ‘Warning! No unauthorized persons allowed’.

Vaccine (countable noun) – the medicine to stop people from getting the virus
My aunt and uncle have both gotten the virus, even though they have already received the vaccine.

more safe – this is not bad. I hear people say it sometimes
safer – this is better. Most English teachers will tell you it’s correct and give examples like ‘It is safer to stay at home’.

tourist attraction – a place where tourists like to go
They have closed the tourist attraction to avoid the spread of the virus.

Crowd – a large number of people together
There are enormous crowds at that tourist attraction

Nervous – the feeling you get when you think something bad will happen.
Many people in China feel a little nervous now

Cautious – to be careful
The government closed the tourist attraction because they are really cautious.

Pronunciation

Participate – Par ti si payt
Beware of saying precipitate by accident. This is a different word

Grammar

we cannot go out – this is about now
we could not go out – this is about before

we just take some activities
we just took some activities – this is old fashioned English and not considered correct today
We just participated in activities – this is the modern way to say it

it’s begin from Nanjing
It began in Nanjing
It came from Nanjing

it didn’t be refused – You said this first but then corrected yourself and said ‘it hasn’t been controlled’. This was great. When you correct yourself like this, you can say “what I mean to say is…”. This way, people will know it’s a correction and not a new idea.

over a hundred person got the covid 19
over a hundred people got COVID-19