Forum

http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/


The website is as same as BBC English.

You can ask some questions to their teachers as long as you register to be their member.

Some good websites again. ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/user/duncaninchina

"Misterduncan in England" is a fun and interesting website.


The teacher teaches you English through videos.

He is from England.

He classified learning English videos into several different topics.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F467B6C12B713A0

I download one piece of video to give you for example.

The topic is "Say Sorry."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_BtrCuSOeE&feature=related

I think it is beneficial for us to learn English through watching videos.

Hope you enjoy it as well.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

The website posts a lot of postcards.

Those postcards were sent to the webiste by many people.

Some write about their secretes, others writes about their particular things.

It is also interesting to learn English through reading those strange postcards.

Some useful English websites

http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/ (Students of the World)
“Penpals of the world”只要填寫一些基本資料、E-mail等等，不用註冊，如果有筆友看到你的自我介紹等等，然後對你有興趣，就會直接點擊E-mail，寫信給你，你們就可以直接互相來信。

You can be friends with foreigners.

http://www.ehow.com/ (e-How)
這個網站你可以問很多有關How to …，就會有很多不同網友寫的步驟提供給我們參考，有時候對寫作英文有幫助，可以知道一件東西如何按照步驟做成的。

It can improve your English writing.

http://www.dilbert.com/ (The official Dilbert website with Scott Adams' color comic strips, animation, mashups and more!)
也是漫畫英文，他們也有把漫畫做成動畫，還有提供三格漫畫，然後自己可以填台詞在漫畫中。

English Comics is fun for you to learn English.

http://www.nataliedee.com/
這是圖片式的英文，旁邊有很多，以月份去分類，那些圖片主要是印在衣服上面，但有些圖片上的英文還是可以拿來作學習，而且那些圖畫很可愛!

Those pictures is cute.

http://storynory.com/
有很多長篇的經典故事等，有Mp3語音檔可以下載，還有一些影音檔可以看。

Improving your listening is essemtial on this website.

Assignment11:BBC Discussion

Purple color is my comment
Red color is my questions
Blue color is teacher's answers



My commemt about BBC discussion

I didn't mean to post the assignmet deleyed.

I have tried hard to figure out some questions which I really didn't know,
not just ask quesitions about some certain situations.

I've got answers in previous days, but I hope I can post more questions.

I thought the deadline was on Sunday, so I didn't post my questions and comments.

( = .............. = ")



I post four questions on the BBC.

One question is about phonetics, but no one answer this question.

I really want to know the answer.



The first quesition

I have a queation about phonetics.

Does British English use r-colored when they pronunce the words such as board and poor nowadays?

In the past, living in the rural producing r-colored is much more than living in the urban?
Is it right?

Using r-colored is living in the high class or low class?

Thank you.




The second question

It has the same meaning in the some day and some day,

but "some day" really doesn't have a different meaning if some become an adjective?

(!!!!????)

"some day" and "someday"

What is mean between the two words?

I want to know how to use the two words?

Do they have different usages in a sentence?

posted by AussieLexie (U13880784)

Hello WuDonna, someday? and some day? ave the same meaning

(at some time in the future even though you do not know when)

and same usage but are sometimes written as one word and sometimes as two.

AL





The third question

The sentence I've read is from an English magazine which is called ALL+

The teacher said the sentence is wrong, so I didn't know if it is true or not.

(!!!!????)

"Many of the foods chocolate is in should only be enjoyed in moderation.

"Does someone know the structure of the sentence?

is in should only be?????

Thank You.


posted by Dan Slavonic Grumblebum (U8054546) ,

Not one of the author's brightest moments, I dare say.

Try reading the sentence like this;

"Many of the foods that contain chocolate should only be enjoyed in moderation."




The forth question

I ususally get confused when I am writing a piece of an article.

So I ask a question to know the exact usage in writing.

I think the definition is good for me.

in the end of: means finally, after a period of time... It is similar to eventually...

at the end of: I guess this phrase usually comes with OF something.


I want to know the usage of "in the end" and "at the end"?

Do they have different usage in a sentence?

Thank You.

posted by Low Flyer (U2221553) -networker

Hi WuDonna,

"In the end" tells you what happened after some thought, or uncertainty or change:

In the end, you'll just have to pay your debts.

I couldn't decide whether to have chocolate cake or mouse, so in the end I had both!"

At the end" just tells you where or when something is:

I go on holiday at the end of the week. My house is at the end of the street.

LF


posted by AussieLexie (U13880784) ,

Yes. 

In the end? means finally, after a period of time?

It is similar to eventually?

Use it when you are saying what happens after everything has been discussed or thought about.

I planned to go to India but in the end I stayed home.

We listened to what the students had to say and decided they were right in the end.

At the end? means the final part (of a period of time/ a distance/an event)?

It is usually at the end of?

The troll lives at the end of the road.

They shook hands at the end of the interview.

I found out who the murderer was at the end of the book.

Al

posted by katyusa (U14023907)

Dear WuDonna!

I think the two phrases have to be used differently.

1. At the end OF the story/ at the end of the day/ at the end of the lesson...

I guess this phrase usually comes with OF something.

2. In the end we went home/ We were in a hurry but in the end we managed to catch the bus...

I hope all my examples are correct and I could help you!

Have a nice evening!



http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mble/

BBC message board is useful for me to ask English questions.

Before I know the website, I usually go the "Imformation+" or "Google" to see if someone has the same English problem with me and I rarely ask a question on the Internet, but I think the website can get teacher's answers and it is raletively more accurate than other people's anwers on the other websites. Teachers is fun and interesting. I think I will use the website if I have any questions about English.

Assignment 10: MIT Open Courseware

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Foreign-Languages-and-Literatures/21F-223Fall-2004/CourseHome/index.htm





Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation-Fall 2004


Course Description

This course is designed for high-intermediate ESL students who need to develop better listening comprehension and oral skills, which will primarily be achieved by detailed instructions on pronunciation. Our focus will be on

(1) producing accurate and intelligible English,

(2) becoming more comfortable listening to rapidly spoken English, and

(3) learning common expressions, gambits, and idioms used in both formal and informal contexts.



Lecture Notes
During the fall of 2004, four sessions of 21F.224 were recorded especially for OpenCourseWare. In these sessions, Professor Yoo works with students on some of the exercises covered in the handouts. The videos capture typical dynamics of the classroom, including the professor's lectures, students working together in small groups, and students participating in a classroom debate. Below are links to the videos.



Session 1 Lecture 18: Word Stress (cont.); Stress in Compounds.


Session 2 Lecture 19: Stress in Compounds (cont.); Sentence Stress and

Rhythm.


Session 3 Lecture 20: Rhythm (cont.); Prominence.


Session 4 Lecture 21: Prominence (cont.); Student Debate.

Comment:

Since it was about my course which I study, I choose the topic to watch.

Although the teacher wasn't an English teacher, still I could learn something which I didn't know before.

The teacher taught you how to pronouce words. Which place should stress and which place should become schwa, etc.

I think if one wants to improve his or her accent, I suggest they must watch the videos because it is worth it.

Here is some of my notes:

prepotsition doesn't get any stress

She was 'looking (at me).

She 'looked 'away (from me).

Verb.+Prepositions

He called (on the phone).

She turned (on a red light). (Schwa)

Verb+ Particle

She called off (the meeting).

She turned on (a red light).

Turn it on.---it can move

That's talk about the problem.(Particle)

That's talk the problem about. (X)

Assignment9: Radio

Website: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=39&agg=1
Radio:World Cafe (World)
http://radiotime.com/WebTuner.aspx?StationId=31574&ProgramId=26&
Radio Playing on: WVRU 89.9
Radio Location: Philadelphia, PA
Language: English
Genres: World&Talk
Host: David Dye
Program: Since 1991, host David Dye has been exploring the frontiers of contemporary music for his listeners on a daily basis. Featuring live performance and interviews with established and emerging artists from across the musical spectrum, World Café is public radio's most popular program of popular music.


Comment:
Actually, I listen to some radios, but I rarely catch their speed on their talk.
I listen to news. Only some news I can get little imformation. Those news is from npr. The radio play news and music and talks. It isn't so far boring. Through those radios, I can receive a lot of nice music and if I understand what they are talking about the news which interests me, I will search for the news and read it. It ralatively impresses on me.

Assignment8: Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

1974 1977




You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qneh8eJTcas

Wonderful Tonight
Artist: Eric Clapton Album: Slowhand Released: 1977
It's late in the evening

She's wondering what clothes to wear

She puts on her make-up

And brushes her long blonde hair

And then she asks me

Do I look alright

And I say yes, you look wonderful tonight

We go a party

And everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady

That's walking around with me

And then she asks me

Do you feel alright

And I say yes, I feel wonderful tonight

I feel wonderful

Because I see the love light in your eyes

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize

How much I love you

It's time to go home now

And I've got an aching head

So I give her the car keys

She helps me to bed

And then I tell her

As I turn out the light

I say my darling, you were wonderful tonight

Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight

今晚真美　　　　
已是傍晚時分
她心想：該穿哪件衣服好呢？
她略施脂粉
梳了梳金色的長髮
然後問我：「我看起來如何？」
我答道：「你今晚看起來真美！」

我們到了宴會場合
每個人都轉過頭來
盯著這位走在我身旁的美女
然後，她問我：「你覺得還好嗎？」
我回答說：「我今晚覺得好極了！」

我感覺很好
是因為我看到了你眼裡愛的光芒
而且最棒的是
你並不了解我有多麼愛你

是回家的時候了
我的頭有點痛
於是，我把汽車鑰匙交給她
是她送我回家上床休息的
熄燈時，我告訴她
我說：「親愛的，你今晚真美！
　　　　噢，親愛的，你今晚真美！」

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, I am going to introduce Eric Clapton who is an English blues-rockguitarist, singer, songwriter and composer.

He is good at playing guitar (you can see how well the performance of guitar he has in the beginning of the video) and he was called "Slowhand."

Because whenever Clapton broke a guitar string during a concert, he would stay on stage and replace it, the audiences would wait out the delay by doing.

The song "Wonderful Tonight" is my favorite song.

I heard the song from one of my brothers. He taught me how to play guitar when I was in the senior high. Although I finally gave up leaning the chores of the guitar, I still remember how my feelings are when he was singing with his guitar playing in front of me. After I went home, I quickly search the lyrics of the song and music videos.

I think the song is so beautiful that I can't help to start to imagine a lot of romantic scenes where I encounter a boy in a ball. : )

The song isn't just some words that put together, it seems like a man and a woman who are talking to each other in a wonderful night. We can see some of Chinese songs are also like that. The song makes me feel real and ususal and the scene of the song probably will happen to some of people. Isn't it romantic?

Also, I am fond of a boy who can sing love song plays guitar.

Do you think it will fascinate girls whatever the boy looks like?

> / / / <

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following information is from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1373

Clapton wrote this in 1976 while waiting for his girlfriend (and future wife) Pattie to get ready for a night out.

(Eric Clapton ans Pattie Boyd)

They were going to a Buddy Holly tribute that Paul McCartney put together, and Clapton was in the familiar position of waiting while she tried on clothes

Pattie was married to George Harrison when Clapton expressed his love for her on the song "Layla."

Clapton and Harrison remained good friends, and Harrison even played at their wedding in 1979 (Pattie married Eric after Harrison).

Pattie inspired a lot of great songs. George Harrison wrote "Something" and "For You Blue" for her, while she inspired Clapton to write this, "Layla," "Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad," and "Forever Man," among others.

The day after they were married, Clapton brought Pattie on stage and sang thisto her at his show in Tucson, Arizona.

Pattie Boyd recalled to The Guardian December 13, 2008 that Clapton "was sitting round playing his guitar while I was trying on dresses upstairs. I was taking so long and I was panicking about my hair, my clothes, everything, and I came downstairs expecting him to really berate (scold) me but he said, "Listen to this!" In the time she had taken to get ready Clapton had written this song.

Eric and Pattie divorced in 1988. Their divorce was granted on grounds of "infidelity (disloyalty) and unreasonable behaviour (his affair with Italian model Lori Del Santo, who gave birth to their son Conor in August 1986)."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More information about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Clapton

Clapton's close friendship with George Harrison had brought him into contact with Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd, with whom he became deeply infatuated(fascinated).

The Story of Layla and Majnun, a copy of which his friend Ian Dallas had givenhim. The book moved Clapton profoundly as it was the tale of a young man whofell hopelessly in love with a beautiful, unavailable woman and who went crazy because he could not marry her.

The two parts of "Layla" were recorded in separate sessions: the opening guitarsection was recorded first, and for the second section, laid down several monthslater, drummer Jim Gordon composed and played the elegiac (mournful) piano part.

In 1974, now partnered with Pattie (they would not actually marry until 1979)and no longer using heroin (although starting to drink heavily).

In 1984, while still married to Pattie Boyd, Clapton began a year-long relationship with Yvonne Kelly. The two had a daughter, Ruth, in January 1985. Clapton and Kelly did not make any public announcement about the birth of their daughter, and she was not publicly revealed as his child until 1991.

Boyd did not know of the existence of Ruth until 1991; she stated that "[what] cut deepest was that Eric had known about the child all along. While declaring undying love to me and pleading with me to go back to him, he had been paying Yvonne maintenance (means of subsistence) for the past six years."

Kelly and Ruth moved back to England, and the myth of Eric's secret daughter began as a result of newspaper articles published at the time.

Clapton and Boyd divorced in 1989 following his affair with Italian model Lori Del Santo, who gave birth to their son Conor in August 1986.

Boyd herself was never able to conceive (give birth to) children, despite attempts at in *vitro fertilization.

* 試管嬰兒胚胎植入 (In Vitro Fertilization, IVF).

* 受精後胚胎植入子宮腔者，稱為體外受精胚胎植入術
(In Vitro Fertilization Embryo Transfer, IVF-ET)

Their divorce was granted on grounds of "infidelity and unreasonable behaviour."

The early 1990s saw tragedy enter Clapton's life again. On 27 August 1990, fellow guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and two members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts.

Then, on 20 March 1991, Conor, who was four years of age, died when he fell from the 53rd-story window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment, landing on the roof of an adjacent four-story building. Clapton's grief was expressed in the song "Tears in Heaven", which was co-written by Will Jennings. He received a total of six Grammys that year for the single "Tears in Heaven" and the Unplugged album.

(Eric Clapton,Lory Del Santo, and their Son)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional Songs:

You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX5USg8_1gA

Full of excitement but comfortable, and relax.... : )

Layla
What'll you do when you get lonely
And nobody's waiting by your side?
You've been running and hiding much too long.
You know it's just your foolish pride.

Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

I tried to give you consolation
When your old man had let you down.
Like a fool, I fell in love with you,
Turned my whole world upside down.

(Chorus)
Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

Let's make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane.
Please don't say we'll never find a way
And tell me all my love's in vain.

(Chorus)
Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

(Chorus)
Layla, you've got me on my knees.
Layla, I'm begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won't you ease my worried mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g2IlaDLVLo

Tears in heaven

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would it be the same?
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven

Would you hold my hand?
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand?
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please, begging please

Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would it be the same?
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven

And I know there'll be no more tears in heaven

淚灑天堂
你還記得我的名字嗎？
如果我在天堂遇見你
我們還能像從前一樣嗎？
如果我在天堂遇見你
我必須堅強，堅持下去
因為我知道我並不屬於天堂

你會握住我的手嗎？
如果我在天堂遇見你
你會扶我起來嗎？
如果我在天堂遇見你
我會找到度過日夜的方法
因為我知道我不能留在天堂

時間使人意志消沈
時間使人屈膝臣服
時間使人傷心
你是否曾向它求饒？

跨越那道門後，我相信是一片祥和
而我知道，不會再有人淚灑天堂

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2008

Assignment7: Commercial

Hey, come here.

I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm gonna tell you.

We both know, I ordered a Pepsi cola.

And now you've insulted me and my entire family by offering me this, this whatever it is.

Being a civilized person, I'd like to make amends.

Capeesh? (means DO YOU UNDERSTAND?)

Thank You... grazzi(means THANK YOU)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I saw the commercial called "Godfather Girl" which my teacher show it on the screen in class in the last semester.

The Pepsi commercial describes a girl and her grandfather walk into a restaurant, but the girl's drink isn't the Pepsi she ordered, so in a Godfather voice she expresses how she feels.

At the beginning, the shopper said "cupcake" to the girl.

It means a cute adorable girl or boy. :)

The girl is adorable, especilly she holds her fist with a serious face.

Also, I look up for a dictionary for the meaning of a godfather.

The word has two differnt meanings.

One means a male godparent(教父), and the other means the leader of a criminal group, especially a mafia family.It can also mean your third parent(乾爹).

There are more detailed meanings on this website. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=godfather


Godfather
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I downloaded some of speeches and videos which I like from YOU TUBE.

I am grateful that I know how to store videos in that way .

Also, those which I downloded can transform videos into MP3 files.

It just takes few minutes to finish it. That is nice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the way,

The blog is not easy to use than other blogs. (= = ")

Assignment6:ESL Podcast 466

Day/Date: 2009/04/16
Title: ESL Podcast 466–Having a Good or Bad Bedside Manner
http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=6743057#
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The dialogue is native and doen't feel boring.
Although those explainationas are short, I can't not catch every word briefly.
I can't not bear each word and write down quickly.
Therefore, I have to listen to once ore twice times to finish it.
Hope oneday I can handle it without listening repetitively.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEXT:

Cho: I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a doctor.

Joy: I think you’ll be great. I’ve seen you with patients and you have a great bedside manner – not like Gregory.

Cho: Why? What’s wrong with his bedside manner?

Joy: I’ve seen him with patients and he can be really callous. For instance, I was in the room last week when he was telling one of his patients that she was taking a turn for the worse.

Cho: What did he say?

Joy: He just blurted it out. He told her the diagnosis, and he didn’t even try to soften the news when she asked about her prognosis. He did absolutely nothing to try to comfort or reassure her.

Cho: I feel sorry for the patient.

Joy: That’s the point. Gregory didn’t, and it didn’t seem to faze him that the patient was very upset and close to hysterics.

Cho: That’s terrible. I’ll try to remember to be more compassionate with my patients.

Joy: Don’t worry. It’s against your nature to be anything but considerate.
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Definition:
1. Be cut out:
to be creative to do sth…. sth. that is good match for you

2. Patients:
people who are receiving medical care or attention from a doctor or a nurse
If you are sick, you go to see a doctor. You are a patient

3. Beside manner:
the way that a doctor or a nurse talks to a people how they give medical advice or instructions or other information
how doctor treat their patients how they communicate with their patients because that such important part of medicine

4. Callous:
without considering another person’s feeling

5. Take a turn for the worse:
be getting worse it’s opposite of getting better

6. Blurt it out:
say sth. without thinking about it first and about how it will sound to the other person

7. Diagnosis:
the doctors conclusion what the medical problem is

8. Soften:
make it nicer… to make it easier to accept (soften the blow=punch=hit)

9. Prognosis:
is the doctor opinion how your health will change in the future… what the doctor thinks is what is wrong with you

10. Comfort:
to do or say sth. that will make the person feel better, more comfortable

11. Reassure:
make them feel better about sth. …is similar to comfort

12. Feel sorry for:
to understand the person’s difficulties…to empathize with someone

13. Faze someone:
is a phrase that means you are surprised because someone else wasn’t affected by sth.

14. Hysterics:
have an uncontrolled emotion when you can’t stop crying

15. Compassionate:
to be caring, to be kind, to be nice to somebody

16. Against your nature:
you can’t do because isn’t part of your personality, character and who you are

17. Anything but considerate:
to be nice, to be nature, to be aware of other people’s feeling

On the go

On the last Friday, one of my roommates and I went to National Taiwan Museum, Taiwan storyland, and Lunshan Temple. We visited there for assignments. Although it was for homework, it was worth visiting and sightseeing. National Taiwan Museum was now exhibiting “The Life of Centennial Taiwan” and “The Photos Exhibition of the sea” underground, "Woolly Mammoth" on the first floor, and “Czeth Gems” on the second floor and so on. We spent an amount of time on old life in Taiwan. It represented a number of ancient things such as the old household equipments, clothes, traditional discs and tapes, and telephones, etc from young’s rooms to elder’s rooms. It reminded me of childhood. Something special like Vespa motorcycles which my dad used to have one, heavy and black-white TV, Da-Tong dolls and fans, 50 dollars bills is memorable.

The next was we went Taiwan storyland. Although the admission charge was a little bit expensive, the inside was interesting and full of the times of my childhood as well. I memorized when I was a child, I could see the old chatting and singing karaoke under the big tree in the park, with kids playing balls, jump ropes and hide-and-seek. I used to play hopscotch with my sister and brother in the yard. I‘d seem a poster was drawn by hand. A garbage can was made from wood. An ice shaving was made by machine which needs to turn the wheel around on the right so that the small ice can be produced. A vender shouting loud for ice or sausages was strolling on the road everywhere with the bell ringing. I still remembered now there was a vender, driving around my village once a week, selling stinky tofu and he had been selling it since I was a child. The storyland was just like a small village. There you can find things different from our present circumstances opposite to where upper story building was a modern apartment store. Finally, in the evening at 6:00, we went to Lunshan Temple. It was my first time to pick a straw for a piece of advice. After staying here for a while, we went to school.

Assignment5: Five expressions from Randall's

I choose two audio clips "Vocation Plans" and "Weekly Activities" from the level of medium at Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab.

There are five expressions I learn from these two listening articles.

1.to be in hot water: to be in a difficult situation or in trouble that might lead to punishment
e.g.
The politician is in hot water because of the he lack of lack of cultural sensitivity to that group.

2.crash: quick, complete, short or intensive, often difficult
e.g.
She took crash course in Spanish before she left for Mexico, but I'm not sure if it helped.

3.catch up: reach a point where one should be
e.g.
I need to catch up on my sleep. I've been very tired recently.

4.geometry: math of lines, points, and shapes
e.g.
My daughter is taking geometry in junior high school now.

5.vault: a room or space, often made of steel, for safekeeping valuables like money or important documents
e.g.
The millionaire kept all his valuable coins, paintings, and jewelry in a secret vault in his house.




In addtion, I also Listen to a "Traffic Ticket" conversation.
Here is some of Key vocabularies.

• glove compartment (noun): a small space, usually on the dashboard of the car, used for storage)
• e.g. People usually keep the car's registration and other small items in the glove compartment.

• odometer (noun): a meter that measures speed and distance traveled
• e.g. Check your odometer. I think you're speeding.

• impound (verb): to take or seize by legal authority
• e.g.The police impounded the man's car because it was involved in a crime.

• infractions (noun): minor crimes or violations against the law
• e.g.Because the man had been involved in numerous infractions with the law, his license was suspended for an entire year .

Why is a glove compartment called?

A glove compartment or glovebox is a compartment built into the dashboard, located over the front-seat passenger's footwell in an automobile, often used for miscellaneous storage. The name derives from the original purpose of the compartment: to store gloves.

Informaiton from:

http://www.esl-lab.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glove_compartment

Movie

Because those days were bored aside from homework and the weather was not good, I have seen a lot of movies recently. Which the movie I have seem is “Slumdog Millionaire,”“Departures,””Marley and Me,””The Reader,””27 dresses,””Music and Lyrics,””Any Given Sunday,” and “Les’ Miserable.” Some were borrowed from the library, some were in the English movie class, and others were on the internet. Those movies which I liked very much were ‘Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Reader.” Both of them were long stories. The former touched my heart that I felt there were still cruel and miserable to society. There had still poverty and the dreadful conditions somewhere. The boy in the movie why he could get an amount of money is he just came through those experiences through his whole life in those answers of being asked questions. In addition, he had been intrigued by a girl when he was young. His intention to attend the show just wanted the girl could watch him on TV. Lastly, with the help of his elder brother, they could get together in the end.


The other movie “The Reader” is an unusual love. A young boy about 15 had a relationship with a woman about 36. They lasted together the duration of the summer. The boy usually read stories to the woman when they were together. One day, the woman vanished without excuses. The boy was confused and heartbroken. After the years, both of them met at the court in which the boy sat there as an intern lawyer while the woman was a defendant related to German guard crimes against Jewish prisoners. When the years past, the boy recorded some of previous stories sent to the woman in prison. Which part of the movie I liked was that the woman confessed she wrote the fatal report. Because she was not able to write, she abased herself and couldn’t want anyone to disclose her weakness. She denied writing words down to compare characters, so she was sent to jail. In prison, she listened to those tapes and began to learn words; furthermore, she tried to write a letter to the boy. However, she chose to end her life in prison after the boy finally came to see her and was going to pick her out of jail. Although the movie was a tragedy, still it was perfect ending to me.

Assignmen4: Comment

I didn't know those websites until the teacher introduced to me. I like online dictionaries. There were different functions among them. Especially it can differentiate between two similar words with English definition.

The strength of those tools is that they are assisted tools in order to help us write proper words which would be able to improve our English. They split a variety of functions which aimed to specific usages or proposes to enhance English.
The weakness of those tools is the page is running slowly and lists too much which might confuse us some time.

When I want to look up for a word, I am priory to use dictionaries instead of concordance and collocation websites. I am accustomed to use it. But, since that I have knew those websites, I use them to look up for words when I couldn’t find the correct words in dictionaries.

Good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8COsZloYdU

Today, I went to "Tapei story house." My roommate and I went there about 10:00. It took us 30 minutes to get there. The building was beautiful. The house was colorful and vivid. However,inside the house,it was too small, so we went around and finished quickly.

In the afterroom, we went to 西門町 to see Jolin's singing. She released her new album called butterfly. She was beautuful and thin. There were a large number of people for seeing her. Although the weather was hot, we stood there almost three hours for picturing.She sang two latest songs. One is "real man." The lyrics said " I don't want to a boyfriend, I need a real man", which meant that a girl wanted to an honest, reliable, and gentle man instead of a boyfiend. hahaha...

: )

Assignmen3: big and large

In my opinion, nouns were described by big and large.However, large was usually linked to quantities somthing like a large amount of, a large chunk of, a large group of and so on. Big is comparatively oral speaking. It sometimes refer to the volume, the weight, and the degree.
Basically, I think there are no much different between them. : (


For example,

big
a big man= an old man
a big elephant
big man=great man

large
a large amount of
a large chunk of
a large number of
a large percentage of
a large proportion of
a large quantity of
a large scale
a large slice of
a large sum of
a large volume of

Assignmen2: 2 Confusing Words

valu•able (Adj.)
1. ~ (to sb/sth) very useful or important: a valuable experience
ex: The book provides valuable information on recent trends.
ex: This advice was to prove valuable. Spinach is a valuable source of iron.

2. worth a lot of money: valuable antiques
ex: Luckily, nothing valuable was stolen.
ex: My home is my most valuable asset.

Opposite: valueless, worthless—compare invaluable, priceless

http://www.oup.com/oald-bin/web_getald7index1a.pl

value•less (Adj.)
(formal) without value or worth
ex: Her shares in the company have become valueless.
Synonym:worthless
Opposite:valuable


worth•less (Adj.)
1. having no practical or financial value:
ex: Critics say his paintings are worthless. Opposite: valuable

2. (of a person) having no good qualities or useful skills:
ex: A worthless individual Constant rejections made him feel worthless.

valuable→valueless→worthless

in•valu•able (Adj.)
~ (to / for sb/sth) ~ (in sth) extremely useful
ex: invaluable information
ex: The book will be invaluable for students in higher education.
ex: The research should prove invaluable in the study of children’s language.
Synonym: valuable
—compare valuable
Invaluable means ‘very valuable or useful’.
The opposite of valuable is valueless or worthless.

price•less (Adj.)

1. extremely valuable or important: a priceless collection of antiques priceless information
ex: Our family photos are priceless. → note at valuable

2 (informal) extremely amusing:
ex: You should have seen his face—it was priceless!

invaluable→priceless→precious→worthwhile


Opinion:
I am confused between invaluable and valueable.
Invaluable somewhat means there is no money can evaluate.
And valuable means you can use your money to evaluate and buy one.

Invaluable: can't evaluate
valuable: can evaluate

For example:
He bought me a valuable diamond ring as a birthday present.
The invaluable ring was the girl's only proporty that her parents left for her.

I like to eat a lot of fruits. : )

It is part of fruits which my mom sending me.

The box inside includes tomatos, apples, oranges and a muskmelon. : )

In front of my house in my hometown, there are some farms planting fruits, vegetables or livestock. My mom and father plant over 30 vegetables and fruits. During the winter holiday, I could eat my favorite foods including cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, strwberries, sweet potatos, tomatos which are all my parents diligently planting. I also helped my parents water those lovely vegetables and fruits. So I miss the winter hoilday at home.

Thanks to my mother pack me some fruits and useful stuffs like anti-insect ointment and eye lotion, because I won't probably have time to get back home.

In this semaster, there are some English original books that I have to read. It's hard to comprehend those books called "Language files" and "A course in Phonetics." Sometimes when I am tired, I will listen to some Taiwanese songs to remove my thinking to my family. I feel that Taiwanese songs are more local and full of friendliness than Chinese songs.

Assignment1:Introduction to myself

My name is Wu, Jia-Lin, and my English name is Donna. I am from Tainan. I am a freshman. I am a multiple discipline's student. I decided to major in Foreign Language because I’m interested in learning English. I hope I can good at it. I like to listen to the music, play a computer, do exercises and watch TV programs. My favorite sports are swimming, jogging, and playing basketball, but I am not good at one of them. :P I like to watch Korean and Japanese dramas. I am an easygoing and kind of sentimental person. I would like to make many friends and get along very well with everyone. Hope we have a good cooperation in this semester.

Computer-assisted language learning

After hearing the whole syllabus of this course, it seems a little bit hard to finish or do those homework. However, I believe it will be worth doing, because I will pick up a great number of listening, speaking, writing and reading skills after the semester is over. I hope I can do better in English. : )


This is our teacher's teaching website.
http://www.shulilai.idv.tw/



by Donna