Online Class Notes (Mike)

Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, is a powerful story of friendship, betrayal and suffering. It is set in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in the seventies, then a relatively liberal and open-minded city.

Although the novel describes dramatic political events, it is Amir’s close friendship with Hassan, the son of his father’s servant, which catches our attention. Hassan serves his friend breakfast every morning and then stays to clean the house while Amir is driven to school. Hassan does not resent his friend’s much more comfortable life and he is a loyal companion. However, Amir betrays him, an act that will make Amir feel guilty even when he and his father have escaped to America and left Hassan and the war behind. It is a journey that takes him back to his home country and forces him to face the suffering that the people he left behind have to live with.

Hosseini describes Afghanistan is a way that brings the country to life, and his writing style is always clear and easy to follow. The story moves along at a fast pace and takes us on an incredibly exciting journey from the joy and happiness of the boys’ youth to the anxiety and fear of the war. Hosseini has demonstrated great skill in managing to take such a complicated theme and produce a novel that readers all over the world find hard to put down.

The Kite Runner is a dramatic novel that is full of action and emotion and that, despite the war that erupts and destroys people’s lives, offers hope. Much of the story is set in a country that has suffered greatly, but the ending suggests that there might be a better future both for the characters and for Afghanistan. One can only hope that this is the case.

A   I am in a supermarket, doing my best to look like any other shopper browsing the shelves. My opinion on this trip is to buy something I fancy from the bakery, which means I’ll have to interact with the person at the counter. I’m hoping to pass off the handwritten notes I’m carrying as a shopping list, because no one must know why I am here. I have to keep my identity secret because I am a mystery shopper.

Vocabulary

motivation (n) 动力
I am losing my motivation to study English.
I am losing my motivation for English.

motivate (v) 刺激，激励，给予动力
What motivates you to get up in the morning?

currently = now = presently = at present 当下，现在
I am currently in Tibet. 

well-known
MJ is a well-known singer/dancer/star.
MPDF is a well-known dish in SC. 

celebrity (n) 名人

live (v) 住
life (n) – lives
Live (n)直播
live streamer 直播主播

reality (n) 现实，真实

own: one’s own
I have my own company.

series (n) 系列
a series of events/programs/
serious (adj.) 严肃的，庄重的，严重的

main (adj.) 主要的

extrovert (adj./n) 外向的
introvert (adj/n) 内向的

personality (n) 性格
What is your personality type?

run (v) 运营，经营
I am running a small business.

Furthermore 除此之外，还有

since 自….起
I have been studying English at SE since 2021.
I have been in SH since 2016.

fame (n) 名声，名望

establish (v) 建立，树立
PRC was established in 1949.

careers (n) 职业生涯

industry 行业，工业
I work in the education/IT/finance industry.

laugh (v) – laughter (n)
launch (v) launch a rocket 发射
launch

several (adj.) 若干个，好几个

collect (v) 收集，典藏
collect stamps 集邮，
collection (n) 

mobile (n) 

Although 尽管，虽然
Although they are poor, but they are happy.
Although they are poor, they are happy.
Although my grandmother is very old, she is still energetic. 有能量的，活跃的

critic (n) 批评，批评家
criticize (v) 批评
My father criticized me for breaking the glass.

irritate (v) 恼怒，恼火，激怒

desire (v/n) 欲望 

mean (v) 意味着，意思是….
This gesture means no. 这个手势的意思是不
What does the word “launch” mean?
What do you mean?
What do you mean by that?

meaning (n) 意思，意义
What is the meaning of life?
What’s the meaning of me doing all this?
What is the meaning of the word “launch”?

meaningful (adj.) 有意义的
a meaningful conversation/movie/gift
meaningless (adj.) 没有意义的，无意义的 = pointless
What you did is meaningless.

mind (v) 介意: mind doing sth
Do you mind smoking outside?
(n) 思维
I am losing my mind 我要疯了
All the Covid tests are making me losing my mind！
never mind 不介意，算了吧，没事的，不重要

browse (v) 浏览
browser (n) 浏览器

I will do my best to finish my homework.

opinion (n) 意见

interact with sb 与…互动

counter (n) 柜台

identity (n) 身份 = ID card
Can I see some ID, please?
My new identity as a mother 

mystery (n) 神秘的

The Kardashians are currently one of the USA’s most well-known families. They are often in the news, and Americans follow their lives in the papers and celebrity magazines.  The Kardashians are reality TV stars, with their own family show called Keeping up with the Kardashians.

It all started in 2007 when the family was asked by an American channel to make a TV series about their lives. The show focused on mother Kris and her four children. Their father was lawyer Robert Kardashian, who died a few years earlier. The show became a success in its first season, mainly because of the three sisters and their extrovert personalities.

Since then, there have been eight more seasons and the show is still running. Two of the sisters got married on the show. Kim got married twice! And two of the sisters are now parents. Furthermore, the three sisters have used their fame to establish careers in the fashion industry. They have opened clothes shops and launched several clothing collections and perfumes. Kim has even launched a successful mobile phone game called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

Although the show has many fans, it also has many critics. They are irritated by the sisters’ desire for fame and fortune, and think the show is meaningless. The Kardashians are only ‘famous for being famous’, (为了出名而出名) but they don’t mind because it has made them rich.

Grammar

2007: two thousand and seven
2022: twenty twenty-two