Learner’s Word of the Day 22/2/2012

Fall for
fall for someone:
 to feel a strong attraction for (someone) : to fall in love with (someone)
 I fell for her in a big way. She's gorgeous! Ted fell for Alice and they decided to get married.
fall for something:
to be fooled by (something, such as a trick)
Surely, you don't expect me to fall for that! She fell for the excuse I gave her about getting stuck in traffic.

Stun
to surprise or upset (someone) very much
They were stunned by the news == the news stunned them. The angry criticism stunned them.
to cause (someone) to suddenly become very confused,very dizzy, or unconscious .
weapon that can stun people temprarily

A Document from MySkylines, Express Yourself - Issue 12

Good Habits & Bad
 Rather than sudden, grave resolution, your life is probably more affected by trivial, repetitive, un thinking behavior. Until the day you die, your body and mind will be governed by good habits and bad ones. These acts determine the quality of your existence. Everyone knows that bad habits are easy to form, since they are quite agreeable to man's lazy and selfish nature; but good ones are difficult to fabricate because they need perseverance and lack social reinforcement. but, nevertheless, though bad habits are hard to break, it is never too late to start making good ones--you just need determination and dedication. Doing something over and over again until you don't have to think about it is how actions become habitual in the first place.

An introduction of the Linko District where I live

    Where is the Linko? My friends or classmates asked me the most frequently. Some think Linko is located at Taoyuan, but it's a wrong answer. Linko is located in New Taipei City, part of is tableland, part of is hillside, and the rest is coastal land.

    The climate of Linkou is  more cool than most places in the greater Taipei area in the summer time, but in the winter the climate is wetter and colder. The traffic is getting convenient, already have highway and bus, and the MRT is going to run. You can drive car to any places through highway, you can go to the Taipei city by bus and MRT, you can easily go to the airport and Taiwan High Speed Rail Station by MRT.

    Linkou is a re-planning city, the roads are very neat and wider, and there has several big parks and lots of small parks,and the air is very fresh. So people live in Linko have larger space and less stress living environment.

    For me , Linko is a perfect place to live, the fresh air, larger space, neat roads and streets, parks, convenient traffic. There has Carrefour, Welcome where you can buy anything you need. There is a big hospital if we need medical care. 

    I live in a small community with only 66 families. My wife love this community, it's a Chinese style building with traditional decorations and there is a Chinese garden in the center of the community. There is a park on the opposite side of our community. Each room in our house has windows. Through the windows we can see a nice park and blue sky, feel very comfortable and sometimes you can also see a plane flying to Taipei City.

A Document from MySkylines, Express Yourself - Issue 11

Health

    People say that health is the most important thing in life, but it seems to have the least significance in their actual life. We see many people in modern society undermining their health through lack of exercise and unbalanced diets. Alcohol, smoking, and junk food also aggravate this phenomenon. Another new factor adding to many people's health problem is stress. Expert say we can't avoid stress as long as we live in the ever-changing world. So what counts is not how to avoid it, but how to reduce it and cope with it effectively.
    On the other hand, modern medical researchers still suspect our genes have considerable control over our destiny. This means our health is still in the hands of God. However, that doesn't necessarily mean we can't do anything about our bodies. Rather, we should continue to stay fit by temperate living - no smoking, moderate drinking, a nutritional diet and adequate exercise. That way. to some extent, we can make up for the genetically undesirable aspects in our physicality.

-> junk food : food that is high in calories but low in nutritional value
-> aggravate : make worse
-> cope with : deal well with
-> physicality : the physical attributes of a person

Comprehension
1. “But” express a contradiction. What two things are being opposed in the first sentence?
2. What are the five things mentioned that are bad for our health?
3. What can we do about stress?

Express Yourself
1. Do you think you are healthy?
2. Do you eat three meals a day?
3. Do you take vitamins every day? Do you think they help your health?
4. Do you often drink a tonic?
5. Do you exercise every day?
6. Have you eveer been hospitalized? Why?
7. Do you regularly see a dentist? Why or why not?
8. When do you have cold, do you see a doctor right away or just rest at home?
9. Do you believe waht doctors tell you?
10. What diseases are you the most afraid of?
11. What do you think is the most important thong in term of your health?
12. What do you do when you're under stress?
13. Have you ever suffered from insomnia? Did you ever take sleeping pills?

-> contradiction : inconsistency; discrepancy
-> tonic : a medicine that increases mental or physical strength
-> physicality : the physical attributes of a person

Opinion Sample
1. I don't trust doctors, not because they are not intelligent, but our bodies are too complex to understand. Their 6 years of study is not enough.

2. When people have a cold or the flu, they rush to the doctor expecting to be cured, But so far, no effective treatment exist. The best anyone can do is get plenty of rest and vitamin C, especially by drinking orange juice.

3. When it come to dental problem, precaution is always the best option. Visiting a dentist regularly guarantees dental health. When you feel something is wrong with your teeth, it is always too late to cure it.

Vocabulary : common collocations

Complete the sentences with the words from the box
1. I always start the day with a strong cup of coffee to wake me up.
2. It's healthier to eat a light meal in the evening rather than a heavy one.
3. My brother hates hard work because he's so lazy!
4. I'm not a heavy smokers. I only have one or two cigarettes a day.
5 Does he have any close friends? He's always on his own.
6. It's better to do regular, gentle exercise than irregular , strenuous exercise.

Grammar : verbs not used in the progressive form

Check the sentences that sre correct.
(Hint : Remember that verbs that expres thoughts,feelings or states are not usually used in the progressive form.)
1. Jenny likes the new Usher CD.
2. I'm not knowing my classmates very well.
3. Mmm, this coffee is smelling delicious.
4. What do you think of my new apartment?
5. I don't understand what you mean.
6. He's believing in God.
7. This milk tastes horrible.
8. I/m having two older brothers.
9. this book seems realaly interesting.
10. How do you feel about the exam next week?

Grammar : simple present or present progress

Underline the correct verb form to complete the paragraph
(Hint :  We use the simple present , permanent situation, and regular events, and the present progressive for situations happening now or around now)

I belong / am belonging to a book club, which meets / is meeting every month. It's a lot of fun and I always talk / am talking to interesting people there. There are eight of us in the group and we always take / are taking turns choosing a book that we like / are liking. Roght now, we read / are reading a book by the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez called Love in the Time of Cholera. I enjoy / are enjoying this book because I lean / am learning a lot about another culture. Sometimes I can't go to the meeting, because I study / am studying at college this semester and I don't have time. Anyway, I think /  am thinking reading groups are a great idea. Everyone should join one!