Online Class Notes (Tibo)

Shanghai has a new virus.
Recently the adults also get the disease.
A lot of my workmate they got severe symptoms so we worked at home to avoid infecting other people.
Symptoms are a bit like Covid, fever and cough.

I have a throat ache and a runny nose.
At first I think it is just my throat chronic issue. At first I didn’t take care but after 3 days it got worse -> I first I thought it was the chronic issue I have with my throat and didn’t pay much attention to it and it got worse

I took a medicine for 3 days but it cannot be taken for too many days so I stopped / I took a medicine for 3 days but you cannot keep taking it long term so I stopped and now just wait for it to heal.

Our company is doing a renovation so we can choose to work from home.

my office is a tall building and the tall buildings cannot open the windows to avoid trash to beat a passerby -> My office is in a skyscraper and we are not allowed to open windows as things may fall and hurt people on the ground.

I plan to have 2 days off to enjoy my annual leave and maybe I will choose to go back home.
If IT thinks it is OK and business doesn’t perform well… it seems the business didn’t reach the targets. / sometimes when IT performs well it is not a good thing for business it means there is not enough traffic.

We have a lot of brands who face challenges about that. I heard a lot of brands didn’t reach their targets during 11/11 and the whole year didn’t perform very well. Maybe it is because a lot of national brands … -> it is a difficult economic situations, many companies didn’t reach their targets during 11/11 nor their annual targets.

I work for a french companies and now many national brands/domestic brands are growing and people choose to buy their products to show their support for the national corporations  / and many people choose to buy their products by patriotism  / many patriots prefer to buy domestic brands.
It has become a challenge.

When Japan poured the nuclear waste water in the sea people stopped using Japanese things. / when Japan discharged the contaminated nuclear waste water in the ocean people started to boycott Japanese products in protest
A lot of people didn’t choose our products because we have a factory in Japan.

we have to earn a lot of money for our kids and to take care of our parents so the patriotism may not carry a lot of weight for them. they don’t have much energy to concern about that  -> they already have too much to worry about.

People will forget it and return to buy their products quickly.

Recently I started to boycott Japanese products because I am worried about contaminated water but I know in the end it is useless the water will go everywhere. But I want to boycott products to protest against what they did to the environment.

I have a workmate from Taiwan and he went back to Taiwan to be a soldier and he told me every boy in Taiwan must to be a soldier when they become an adult but in China we have a lot of people and after the entrance exam we have to do a physical test and only a few people can be become soldiers for 2 years to enter the army. ->
I have a colleage from Taiwan and he went back to Taiwan to do his compulsory military service / Taiwan has compulsory military service for boys before they reach a certain age.
but in China  we have a large population and after the entrance exam we have to do a physical test and only a few people enlist for 2 years in the army.

Some people choose to drink a lot to be unhealthy before the test . It is the best way to fail the test and avoid going to the army. / some people try to be as unhealthy as possible to fail the physical test and avoid going to the army.

My guide told me if a boy doesn’t do his military service only one reason is that he has terrible health and his ID car will show it. -> my guide told me that the only reason a boy could avoid compulsory military service is for poor health and that it will be written on his ID.
He had a joke that girls will not choose boys who didn’t serve in the military.

A lot of local governments will promote the idea that serving the country is an honor.

There are priority lanes for soldiers in train stations.

We have one week of military training.
We try to encourage women to join the army, some students were like army students and served as soldiers and also studied.
A lot of girls choose this and after their graduation the army will give them a proper position like in a state owned company  / the army offers solutions for people who want to go to university but may not be able to pay the tuition.

I heard a lot of people although they get the army training they do a lot of bad things when they become civilians again.

It is a philosophical question are people naturally good or do they learn to be good?

Vocabulary

civilian (n) people in the normal society / not soldiers
In war, soldiers are not supposed to hit civilians

boycott (v/n) stop using / buying products because you disagree with something that happened
Some Chinese people started to boycott Japanese products
The boycott is hurting Japanese companies

patriotism (n) love for one’s country
We try to teach patriotism by teaching young kids about the history of the country

patriotic (adj)
He started singing a patriotic song

patriot (n) someone who loves his/her country
Tom is a patriot

skyscraper (n) very tall building
The Shanghai tower is the second tallest skyscraper in the world

chronic disease (n) a disease that keeps coming back
I often have a sore throat it seems to be a chronic disease.

Pronunciation

discipline