Assignment 10

Mall and Department store

What are differences between this two words? 

And is Costco a mall or a department store or other thing?
I am bit confused.

Reply

1) A "department store" is a store consisting of many departments, surprisingly enough. It is designed to fulfill your every need, from accessories, shoes, and clothing for men and women, plus cosmetics and jewelry.

2) A 'mall' is a collection of stores in one large complex. Department stores can be included in the complex. A 'mall' also houses 'specialty shops' like 'Victoria's Secret', 'Frederick's of Hollywood', and 'Body Shop', and many others. Some malls are also called "Gallerias".

3) "Costco" is classified as a "Wholesale Warehouse".

My father asked me this question someday that we were shopping in the Costco. At that time, I am confused and not really sure to my own recognition. After posting it, I regretted immediately. I asked a stupid question that maybe even a five-year-old child  could answer ,because I saw the posts which submitted after me have all  been replied. But to my relief, a hour ago, a teacher finally answered my question and the response as you see above is beyond my expectation!

If I could find this resource earlier, it was absolutely much easier to solve the "BIG" and LARGE assignment! 

It seemed that we got free English tutors.

Assignment 9

MIT Open Coursewave

>> It provides learners a lots of resources and it's pretty good most of the courses have notes.
Some of them even contain assignments and solutions.  For me , it could  be another helpful language learning resource, because I  found Japanese and Spanish courses in this website.  But it's a shame that not all the courses have video or audio files and few of them just have the descriptions or short introductions.


Academic Earth


>>This one is not like MIT which is well-structured and organised, although it consists of so many different video resources from many schools.  But the video quality is AMAZING and each clip will show the related clips or give the INDEX COURSES which is great convenience.


TED

>>This one is my favorite, though actually I seldom use it. It's not only for academic purpose but also it inspires people and gives some ideas which won't pop in the text books, such as environmental concerns , personal experiences. Because the audience are not only aimed for students but all the ordinary, it's much active and closed like TV shows. For me, it's like Youtube
 in a more professional way.


台大演講網

>>This one is good, because it's CHINESE!  It  provides us with the same chances to watch speeches that other schools are not affordable or even don'y have this kind of resource.  It's good for Taiwanese people. But it is a shame that this website only provides JUST video clips.

Assignment 5

My Love

 by 

Westlife

An empty street,
an empty house,
a hole inside my heart.
I'm all alone, the rooms are getting smaller.

I wonder how,
I wonder why,
I wonder where they are.
The days we had, the songs we sang together.

And oh my love,
I'm holding on forever.
Reaching for the love that seems so far.

So I say it in a breath.
Hope my dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.
All the seas go coast to coast,
to find the place I love the most.
Where the fields are green,
to see you once again my love.

I tried to read,
I go to work,
I'm laughing with my friends.
But I can't stop to keep myself from thinking.

I wonder how,
I wonder why,
I wonder where they are.
The days we had, the songs we sang together.

And oh my love,
I'm holding on forever.
Reaching for the love that seems so far.

So I say it in a breath.
Hope my dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.
All the seas go coast to coast,
to find the place I love the most.
Where the fields are green,
to see you once again my love.

To hold you in my arms,
to promise you my love.
To tell you from the heart,
you're all I'm thinking of.

Reaching for the love that seems so far.

So...So I say it in a breath.
Hope my dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.

See you in a breath.
Dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.
Where the skies are blue,
to see you once again my love.

Steve Jobs' address

(A)

• If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.
• This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
• I even thought about running away from the valley.
•  But something slowly began to dawn on me —
• In a remarkable turn of events
• It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. 
• Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. 
• If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.
• Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

(B) Reflection

    Do you realize how hard being yourself and following your own intuition could be?It seemed that Steve Job's address hit my head with a brick and brought a bit light back to my life but I am still a little confused and lost. I know how  stern the reality is, how much time I have fooled around, however; I still don't have the gut to make my way through the present. 

    His talk made me consider about my situation again, that is, even though I am in the non-major department, I choose a major that I don't particularly love but not specially hate, because just it will make me easy to make living in the future, I mean, computer is needy everywhere. I know, indeed, I face the music but I don't have the courage like Steve Job to face my true feeling. It's scary and horrifying when you know too much about something. So, in my opinion, "Stay Foolish" is not only to always keep curious to things that interest you, once you realize that something is not like your expectation, you wince and still stand at the same spot.

   

     I fully agree with his idea about death, life is too short. That reminds me of what a Canadian teacher telling to our class. He  said that if he wanted children, he would never have them in Taiwan even though he liked Taiwan and had been living here for almost seven years. Why did he say that?  Taiwan is so competitive and the eduction is decaying, we are the sympathetic victims of this awful educational system. He told us a story when he once taught in a elementary school.  

    Girl A in his class didn't have a pen when they were taking a test, he asked Girl B sitting next to Girl A to lend  a pen to her. But Girl B refused because her father had told her if you helped your opponent you would be beat. It's scaring to hear this, what happens to our society? We cultivate children with ideas of money ,power and victory, and they obey  their parents' expectations, wasting their life for this meaningless fight. Life is too, too, too short......

    We live in a generation full of contradictions, it is difficult to find a solution which the reality and dreams can be both considered. And Steve Job showed us how splendidly he lived as himself. 






↓ TEXT OF Steve Jobs  Commencement address

Assignment 4

A.

Topic1: Car Accident

• I can't believe this is happening.
• Just don't stand there and blabbing all day. Let's go out and see if Katie's okay.
• Don't jump to conclusions!
• I accidentally hit the gas when I wanted to brake.
• It appears that it's mainly your fault for the accident and that she's in such a jam.
• What a predicament! That's tough.
•  I knew I could count on you

Topic2: Flower Shop

• You're trying to make things up, right?
• Is it that obvious?
• We see men like you all the time that are so involved in their work that they simply forget about us.
• Do you really think a dozen roses is going to cut it?
•  If my husband forgot our anniversary, he'd be in the doghouse for sure.
• Wait, hang on.
• She'll wring my neck for sure.
•  You're a lifesaver. I'll put you on my Christmas card list forever.  ( haha! )
• That'll be twelve dollars even.
• I'm dead meat. ( Interesting! )
•  It looks like you need to face the music and just talk to her.

Topic3: Wedding Anniversary

• Neither can I.
• First of all, I want to go on that dream vacation you've always promised me.
• At least once in a blue moon
• Why don't we grab a bite to eat?
• I'd better ask the boss for a huge raise.

Topic4: Funerals: Expressing Condolences

• I'm really sorry to hear about your dad.
•  My sincerest condolences go out to you and your family. He was such a great man.
• We were somewhat prepared.
• How's your mom taking it?
• It's been really hard on her. I don't think you get over something like that.
• My heart really goes out to her.
• Financially, mom will be able to live a secure life from now on.
• She's really down, so a call now and again should brighten her day.
• The obituary in the paper didn't mention much about the funeral.
• There will be a viewing in the afternoon.
•  giving the eulogy
•  I wish there was something I could do you. ( "were" is the formal form )

B. Comments

First of all, after using this website, I think it not only helped a lot for my listening but also gave me the chances to acquire more conversational skills. Because the content of each topic is so practical ,realistic and really interesting;  in addition,  I also learned  lots of usages and expressions in the process.  The strength is the exercising part making learners to review the words, phrases or idioms again to get deep impressions.  The most important thing is that the design and content of the topics are suitable for the  learners. They don't contains too many unfamiliar and difficult words in each topic in order not to push the learners hard or make they feel stressed. 

Assignment 3

Q : Is there any rule governing the use of "big" and "large"? 

Big


*large in size or amount
 a big house 


*older or more like an adult
You're big enough to know better.


* used to add emphasis
You're a big (= such a) bully!


*important
He had a big decision to make.






Large


*big in size or amount
a large house


*sometimes is much suitable to describe the quantity
a large proportion , a large volume

Assignment 2

1. magnitude

1 [noncount] : 

the size, extent, or importance of something

 ▪ The country's small army would be crushed in a war of such magnitude. [=in such a large war]

 ▪ At this point no one really knows the true/real magnitude [=scale] of the problem. 

2 [count, noncount] technical 

a : a number that shows the brightness of a star

b : a number that shows the power of an earthquake 

▪ a magnitude 6.7 earthquake = an earthquake of magnitude 6.7

2. humanitarian 

[ count ] 

a person who works to make other people's lives better

 ▪ She has been recognized as a great humanitarian for her efforts to end world hunger.

[ adjective ]

always used before a noun 

▪ humanitarian efforts 

▪ humanitarian aid [=help or money given to people, countries, etc., in order to improve living conditions]

3. epicenter

[count] : 

the part of the earth's surface that is directly above the place where an earthquake starts

Oops! No example sentences.

4. aftershock

[count] : 

a smaller earthquake that occurs after a larger one

 ▪ The first aftershock came just minutes after the earthquake.

 —often used figuratively 

▪ He still suffers from the aftershocks of being laid off.

5. Interior

[adjective]

1    a : located on the inside of something 

   ▪ an interior [=inner] surface 

   ▪ a large car with lots of interior room

    ▪ interiorwalls

    b : suited for use in the inside or on inside surfaces 

   ▪ interior paint 

   ▪ interior lights.

2 : occurring in the mind 

▪ interior [=(more commonly) inner] thoughts 

▪ an interior monologue [=a section of a novel, story, or play in which a character's inner thoughts are expressed]

[noun] 

1 : an inner part, area, or surface

 ▪ a black car with gray leather interior 

▪ the interior of the house 

2 : the part of a country that is far from the coast

 ▪ They traveled deep into the interior of Australia. 

3 : the events and activities of a country that involve the country itself rather than foreign countries 

▪ Secretary of theInterior

※  Search results from : http://www.learnersdictionary.com

Self Introduction

Hey guys, I am Zoe.

I am now a freshman in non-major department and it is absolutely my pleasure to make acquaintance with everyone here.

I live in Taipei, but my home is far away from school, so I need to spend at least one and half hours on commute to catch the early classes.  On the buses or the MRT, I usually grab my digital browser and read some English fictions to kill the time. Therefore, I've got a serious nearsighted problem.

Because it has been quite a long time since I took my latest picture in senior high school. And the thing is, I really really really really really HATE taking pictures!  I even have no idea when my classmates took this one and how could they do this to me!  That was  definitely, completely, totally, evidently the most torturing and worst nightmare ever!

However, this is the only photo I could find. *sigh*

Hope you are not scared by the picture. Besides, I have to tell you  that  I had kept this kind of dreadful hairstyle and wore the weird glasses during my senior high school for three years!  That was impressing, wasn't it?  Because how many girls would make their appearances like a freaking nerd.  Haha!  I 'm not kidding.

Anyway, thanks for your reading!  *thrilled*