2015.12.24 - Week 15

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) scenario: a description of possible actions or events in the future
2) outline: the main shape or edge of something, without any details
3) utilitarian: designed to be useful rather than decorative
4) drifting along: to float along; to be carried along on no particular course.
5) espouse: to become involved with or support an activity or opinion
6) denounce: to ​criticize something or someone ​strongly and ​publicly
7) inherent: ​existing as a ​natural or ​basic ​part of something:
8) learned: describes someone who has studied for a long time and has a lot of knowledge
9) belligerent: wishing to fight or argue ;fighting a war
10) feeble:  weak and without energy, strength or power
11) pledge my promise: a serious or formal promise, especially one to give money or to be a friend, or something that you give as a sign that you will keep a promise
11-2) pledge one's loyalty to the country
12) anthology: a collection of artistic works which have a similar form or subject, often those considered to be the best
13) rosary:  a string of beads (= little decorative balls) used especially by Roman Catholics and Buddhists to count prayers, or the prayers themselves
14) immaculate: perfectly clean or tidy
15) mordant: (especially of humour) cruel; criticizing in a humorous way
B. Credit-performance (cost-performance)
Measuring credit performance is useful in judging the effectiveness of the credit function, monitoring the impact of credit policies (including new ones designed to fuel sales or those implemented to speed up cash flow), uncovering problems, and recognizing successes.
C. Thomas Dooley (Full name Thomas Anthony Dooley)
Thomas Dooley (born December 5, 1961) is a retired American soccer defender and defensive midfielder, a long-time member and former captain of the United States national team. Dooley is the current head coach of the Philippines national team.

Our Father which art in heaven
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever.

2015.12.17 - Week 14

A. Vocabularies to know
1) make a analogy : a comparison between things which have similar features, often used to help explain a principle or idea
2) commencement : the beginning of something; a ceremony at which students formally receive their degrees (= university qualifications)
3) nihilism: a belief that all political and religious organizations are bad, or a system of thought which says that there are no principles or beliefs which have any meaning or can be true
4) petite: If a woman or girl is petite, she is small and thin in an attractive way
5) opponent: a person who disagrees with something and speaks against it or tries to change it
5-1) proponent: a person who speaks publicly in support of a particular idea or plan of action
6) protagonist: an important supporter of an idea or political system
7) onomatopoeia: the creation and use of words which include sounds that are similar to the noises that the words refer to
8) doomsday: the end of the world, or a time when something very bad will happen
9) skyscraper : a very tall modern building, usually in a city;  to get rid of something which is no longer useful or wanted, often using its parts in new ways
10) holistic: dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part
11) placebo:  a substance given to someone who is told that it is a particular medicine, either to make them feel as if they are getting better or to compare the effect of the particular medicine when given to others
12) omniscient: having or seeming to have unlimited knowledge; all
12-1) omnipotent: having unlimited power; able to do anything; power
12-2) impotent: not having the power or ability to change or improve a situation
13) computer-literate: able to use computers well
14) be accused of: to say that someone has done something morally wrong, illegal or unkind
15) staunch: always loyal in supporting a person, organization or set of beliefs or opinions
16) astrology star sign: the study of the movements and positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars, and the skill of describing the expected effect that some people believe these have on the character and behaviour of humans
16-1) astronauts: a person who has been trained for travelling in spacecraft
16-2) asterisk: the symbol * which is used to refer readers to a note at the bottom of a page of text, or to show that a letter is missing from a word
16-3) astronomy:  the scientific study of the universe and of objects which exist naturally in space, such as the moon, the sun, planets and stars
16-4) astrological prediction
17) subversive: trying to destroy or damage something, especially an established political system; under
18) has the jury reached a verdict: an opinion or decision made after judging the facts that are given, especially one made at the end of a trial
19) presume innocence:to believe something to be true because it is very likely, although you are not certain; when someone is not guilty of a crime, or does not have much experience of life and does not know about the bad things that happen in life
20) heterosexuality: a person who is sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex
B. Movie : Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film written by Tom Schulman, directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams. Set at the conservative and aristocratic Welton Academy in the Northeastern United States in 1959, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.
The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success; it was also BAFTA's best film and best foreign film in France and Italy. Schulman received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work.

C. Poet: O'captain! My Captain!

"O Captain! My Captain!" is an extended metaphor poem written in 1865 by Walt Whitman, about the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. The poem was first published in the pamphlet Sequel to Drum-Taps which assembled 18 poems regarding the American Civil War, including another Lincoln elegy, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd". It was included in Whitman's comprehensive collection Leaves of Grass beginning with its fourth edition published in 1867.









O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

D. NATO phonetic alphabet

The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet and also known as the ICAO radiotelephonic, phonetic or spelling alphabet and the ITU radiotelephonic or phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used radiotelephonic spelling alphabet. Although often called "phonetic alphabets", spelling alphabets are not associated with phonetic transcription systems such as the International Phonetic Alphabet. Instead, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) alphabet assigned code words acrophonically to the letters of the English alphabet so that critical combinations of letters and numbers can be pronounced and understood by those who transmit and receive voice messages by radio or telephone regardless of language barriers or the presence of transmission static.

The 26 code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet are assigned to the 26 letters of the English alphabet in alphabetical order as follows: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

E. supplement

James Madison: Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

2015.12.10 - Week13

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) decorum: behavior that is controlled, calm and polite
2) receipt: a piece of paper which proves that money, goods or information have been received
3) columnist: someone who writes a regular article for a newspaper or magazine
4) espouse: to become involved with or support an activity or opinion
5) politician: a member of a government or law-making organization
6) be filled with = be full of
7) march: an event in which a large number of people walk through a public place to express their support for something, or their disagreement with or disapproval of something
7-1) parade: a large number of people walking or in vehicles, all going in the same direction, usually as part of a public celebration of something
7-2) demonstration: when you show someone how to do something, or how something works
8) exhilaration: excitement and happiness
8-1) liveliness: having or showing a lot of energy and enthusiasm, or showing interesting and exciting thought
9) exorbitant: Exorbitant prices and demands, etc. are much too large
10) armed: using or carrying weapons
11) ashtray: a small dish or container, sometimes decorative, in which people can leave cigarette ash and cigarette ends
12) protestant: a member of the parts of the Christian Church which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the 16th century
13) -ant通常是人
13-1) protestant:  a member of the parts of the Christian Church which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the 16th century
13-2) contestant: someone who competes in a contest
13-3) applicant: a person who formally requests something, especially a job, or a place at college or university
13-4) attendant: someone whose job is to be in a place and help visitors or customers; someone whose job is to travel or live with an important person and help them
13-5) accountant: someone who keeps or examines the records of money received, paid and owed by a company or person
14) -er, -or, -ist, -ian: suffix for people (profession)
15) extricate: to remove or set free something with difficulty
16) facilitate: to make possible or easier
17) orthodox: (of beliefs, ideas or activities) considered traditional, normal and acceptable by most people
18) icon: a small picture or symbol on a computer screen that you point to and click on (= press) with a mouse (= small control device) to give the computer an instruction
19) tenuous: A tenuous connection, idea or situation is weak and possibly does not exist
20) shaky: moving with quick, short movements from side to side, not in a controlled way
21) opponent: a person who disagrees with something and speaks against it or tries to change it
22) proponent: a person who speaks publicly in support of a particular idea or plan of action
23) rebellious: If a group of people are rebellious, they oppose the ideas of the people in authority and plan to change the system, often using force
24) denunciation: public criticism of something or someone
25) dissipate: to (cause to) gradually disappear or waste
26) scatter: to (cause to) move far apart in different directions
27) alienation; the feeling that you have no connection with the people around you
28) idle: not working or being used
29) nonchalant: behaving in a calm manner, often in a way which suggests you are not interested or do not care
30) unassuming: Someone who is unassuming is quiet and shows no wish for attention or admiration
B. Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Additional works, including three novels, four short story collections, and three non-fiction works, were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.

Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms (1929).

In 1921, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s "Lost Generation" expatriate community. He published his first novel, The Sun Also Rises, in 1926. After his 1927 divorce from Hadley Richardson, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War where he had been a journalist, and after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940; they separated when he met Mary Welsh in London during World War II. He was present at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris.

Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea (1952), Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in two successive plane crashes that left him in pain or ill health for much of his remaining life. Hemingway maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, (1930s) and Cuba (1940s and 1950s), and in 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.

a) A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms is a novel by Ernest Hemingway set during the Italian campaign of World War I. The book, published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant ("Tenente") in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele.

A Farewell to Arms is about a love affair between the expatriate American Henry and Catherine Barkley against the backdrop of the First World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The publication of A Farewell to Arms cemented Hemingway's stature as a modern American writer, became his first best-seller, and is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as "the premier American war novel from that debacle World War I."

The novel has been adapted for the stage, initially in 1930 and subsequently, for film in 1932 and 1957, and as a television miniseries in 1966. The 1996 film In Love and War, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Chris O'Donnell and Sandra Bullock, depicts Hemingway's life in Italy as an ambulance driver in the events prior to his writing of A Farewell to Arms.

b) For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned to blow up a bridge during an attack on the city of Segovia. The novel is regarded as one of Hemingway's best works, along with The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms.

C. Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, also referred to as the Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian Church in the world, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, teaching that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles, and practicing what it understands to be the original faith passed down from the Apostles.

United in communion with the Latin Church before the East–West Schism in 1054, and with the Oriental churches for the first quarter of its history, Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Byzantine Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople.

Orthodoxy has no Papacy or bishopric of similar authority. The commonly-used but unofficial designation "Eastern" derives from its geographical relation to the "Western" churches, now known as the Roman Catholic Church, and from Constantinople being the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Geographically, the majority of Orthodox Christians in the 21st century reside in Greece, Eastern Europe and Russia, with less numerous communities in the former Byzantine regions of the Middle East and around the Eastern Mediterranean. There are also many small but growing communities in other parts of the world, formed in part through immigration and in part through conversion and missionary activity.

D. Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (/poʊ/; born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. Widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and American literature as a whole, he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story. Poe is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.

Born in Boston, Poe was the second child of two actors. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year. Thus orphaned, the child was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia. Although they never formally adopted him, Poe was with them well into young adulthood. Tension developed later as John Allan and Edgar repeatedly clashed over debts, including those incurred by gambling, and the cost of secondary education for the young man. Poe attended the University of Virginia for one semester but left due to lack of money. Poe quarreled with Allan over the funds for his education and enlisted in the Army in 1827 under an assumed name. It was at this time his publishing career began, albeit humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian". With the death of Frances Allan in 1829, Poe and Allan reached a temporary rapprochement. Later failing as an officer's cadet at West Point and declaring a firm wish to be a poet and writer, Poe parted ways with John Allan.

Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move among several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845 Poe published his poem, "The Raven", to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years after its publication. For years, he had been planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.

Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world, as well as in specialized fields, such as cosmology and cryptography. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today. The Mystery Writers of America present an annual award known as the Edgar Award for distinguished work in the mystery genre.

2015.12.3 - Week12

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) conspiracy: make up stories to do harmful things for others
2) The name of the sports depends on how we get scores. For example: basketball (basket) baseball (reach the base) football (feet)
3) encompass: to include, especially different types of things
3-1) include: to contain something as a part of something else, or to make something part of something else
3-2) exclude: to prevent someone or something from entering a place or taking part in an activity
4) entrepreneur: someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity
5) homo- with, together, the same time
5-1) homogeneous: consisting of parts or people which are similar to each other or are of the same type
6) blistered: to get blisters or cause blisters
7) extraordinary: very unusual, special, unexpected or strange
8) coalition: the joining together of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time
9) sheriff: in the US, an official whose job is to be in charge of performing the orders of the law courts and making certain that the laws are obeyed within a particular county
10) commensurate: in a correct and suitable amount compared to something else
11) de- down, away from
11-1) denotation: the ​main ​meaning of a word, not ​including the ​feelings or ​ideas that ​people may ​connect with the word
12) diabolic: extremely bad or shocking dia- through
12-1) diabetes:  a disease in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood
12-2) diameter: (the length of) a straight line that reaches from one point on the edge of a round shape or object, through its centre, to a point on the opposite edge
13) vice: used as part of the title of particular positions. The person who holds one of these positions is next below in authority to the person who holds the full position and can act for them
14) candidate:  a person who is competing to get a job or elected position
15) diversity: when many different types of things or people are included in something
15-1) university: a college or collection of colleges at which people study for a degree
16) needle: a thin metal pin, used in sewing, which is pointed at one end and has a hole called an eye at the other end for thread
16-1) thread: (a length of) a very thin fibre
17) noxious: describes something, especially a gas or other substance, that is poisonous or very harmful
18) scenario: a description of possible actions or events in the future
19) chronic: (especially of a disease or something bad) continuing for a long time
20) fatigue: extreme tiredness
21) syndrome: a combination of medical problems that commonly go together, which might show the existence of a particular disease or mental condition
22) mammary: glands  an organ in a woman's breast that produces milk to feed a baby, or a similar organ in a female animal
23) ovaries: either of the pair of organs in a woman's body which produce eggs, or the part of any female animal or plant that produces eggs or seeds
24) lymph: a colourless liquid which takes useful substances around the body, and takes waste matter, such as unwanted bacteria, away from body tissue in order to prevent infection
25) spinal: cord the set of nerves inside the spine that connect the brain to other nerves in the body
B. Existentialism

Existentialism is a term applied to the work of certain late 19th- and 20th-century European philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. While the supreme value of existentialist thought is commonly acknowledged to be freedom, its primary virtue is authenticity. In the view of the existentialist, the individual's starting point is characterized by what has been called "the existential attitude", or a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Many existentialists have also regarded traditional systematic or academic philosophies, in both style and content, as too abstract and remote from concrete human experience.
Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to have been the first existentialist philosopher, though he did not use the term existentialism. He proposed that each individual—not society or religion—is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely ("authentically"). Existentialism became popular in the years following World War II, and strongly influenced many disciplines besides philosophy, including theology, drama, art, literature, and psychology
C. The myth of sisyphus

The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It comprises about 119 pages and was published originally in 1942 in French as Le Mythe de Sisyphe; the English translation by Justin O'Brien followed in 1955.
In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity, and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
The work can be seen in relation to other absurdist works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the plays The Misunderstanding (1942) and Caligula (1944), and especially the essay The Rebel (1951).


D. Respiratory system

The respiratory system (called also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for the process of respiration in an organism. The respiratory system is involved in the intake and exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between an organism and the environment.
In air-breathing vertebrates like human beings, respiration takes place in the respiratory organs called lungs. The passage of air into the lungs to supply the body with oxygen is known as inhalation, and the passage of air out of the lungs to expel carbon dioxide is known as exhalation; this process is collectively called breathing or ventilation. In humans and other mammals, the anatomical features of the respiratory system include trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, lungs, and diaphragm. Molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are passively exchanged, by diffusion, between the gaseous external environment and the blood. This exchange process occurs in the alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs.
In fish and many invertebrates, respiration takes place through the gills. Other animals, such as insects, have respiratory systems with very simple anatomical features, and in amphibians even the skin plays a vital role in gas exchange. Plants also have respiratory systems but the directionality of gas exchange can be opposite to that in animals. The respiratory system in plants also includes anatomical features such as holes on the undersides of leaves known as stomata

E. Biological system

A biological system is a complex network of biologically relevant entities. As biological organization spans several scales, examples of biological systems are populations of organisms, or on the organ- and tissue scale in mammals and other animals, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, etc.
On the micro to the nanoscopic scale, examples of biological systems are cells, organelles, macromolecular complexes and regulatory pathways.
A biological system is not to be confused with a living system, which is commonly referred to as life. For further information see e.g. definition of life or synthetic biology.

2015.11.26 - Week11

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) fraternity: a group of people who have the same job or interest
2) ridiculous:  stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at
2-1) ridiculed: to laugh at someone in an unkind way
3) mock: to laugh at someone, often by copying them in a funny but unkind way
3-1) imitate: to behave in a similar way to someone or something else, or to copy the speech or behavior, etc. of someone or something
4) flip: If you flip something, you turn it over quickly one or more times, and if something flips, it turns over quickly
5) verbose: using or containing more words than are necessary
6) adapt: to change something to suit different conditions or uses
6-1) adept: having a natural ability to do something that needs skill
7) animated: full of interest and energy
7-1) animation: enthusiasm and energy
8) architecture: the art and science of designing and making buildings
8-1) anarchy: a situation in which there is no organization and control, especially in society because there is no effective government
8-2) anarchist: a person who believes in anarchism
8-3) anarchism the political belief that there should be little or no formal or official organization to society but that people should work freely together
9) mortal: (of living things, especially people) unable to continue living forever; having to die
9-1) immortal: living or lasting forever
10) patriarchy: a society in which the oldest male is the leader of the family, or a society controlled by men in which they use their power to their own advantage
10-1) matriarchy: a type of society in which women have most of the authority and power, or a society in which property belongs to women and is given to children by women rather than men
11) polygamous: the fact or custom of being married to more than one person at the same time
12) Mormon: a member of a religious group called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which began in the US in 1830
13) mal- (stand for bad); bene- (stand for good)
14) malign: causing or intending to cause harm or evil
14-1) malicious: intended to harm or upset other people
15) candidate: a person who is competing to get a job or elected position
16) transcript: an exact written copy of something
16-1) translate: to change words into a different language
16-2) transmit: to broadcast something, or to send out or carry signals using radio, television, etc.
17) mort (stand for death)
18) tisane: (a) drink made by pouring boiling water onto particular types of dried or fresh flowers or leaves
19) exhibit: to show something publicly
20) keep off: If you keep off a particular subject, you avoid talking about it.
21) drug: any natural or artificially made chemical which is used as a medicine
21-1) medicine: treatment for illness or injury, or the study of this
21-2) pill: a small solid piece of medicine which a person swallows without chewing (= crushing with the teeth)
22) magnanimous: very kind and generous towards an enemy or someone you have defeated
22-1) magnificent: very good, beautiful or deserving to be admired
22-2) magnify: to make something look larger than it is, especially by looking at it through a specially cut piece of glass
23) masochist: the activity of getting sexual pleasure from being hurt or controlled by another person
B. The tyger          William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
C. The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is considered to be his best work. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

2015.11.19 - Week 10

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) morph- form
2) ATM auto teller machine
3) mock make fun of ; laugh at
4) bull's eye 正中靶心
5) venerate to honor or very much respect a person or thing
5-1) worship to have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration for God or a god
6) provocative  causing thought about interesting subjects
7) grotesque strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way
8) rebellion violent action organized by a group of people who are trying to change the political system in their country
9) conceit when you are too proud of yourself and your actions
10) uri- 尿
11) authority the moral or legal right or ability to control
12) plot the story of a book, film, play, etc
13) premier best or most important
14) twin compass 圓規

B. Kafka

Franz Kafka was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th century literature. His work, which fused elements of realism and the fantastic, typically featured isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include "Die Verwandlung" , Der Process, and Das Schloss. The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing.
Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He trained as a lawyer, and after completing his legal education he obtained employment with an insurance company while writing in his spare time; for the rest of his life would complain about the little time he had to devote to his passion due to the demands of his Brotberuf ("day job", literally "bread job"). Over the course of his life, Kafka wrote hundreds of letters to family and close friends, including his father, with whom he had a strained and formative relationship. He died in 1924 at the age of 40 from tuberculosis.
Few of Kafka's works were published during his lifetime: the story collections Betrachtung (Contemplation) and Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor), and individual stories (such as "Die Verwandlung") were published in literary magazines but received little public attention. Kafka's unfinished works, including his novels Der Process, Das Schloss and Amerika (also known as Der Verschollene, The Man Who Disappeared), were ordered by Kafka to be destroyed by his friend Max Brod, who nonetheless ignored his friend's direction and published them after Kafka's death.
C. John Donne

John Donne was an English poet and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poems, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially compared to that of his contemporaries. Donne's style is characterised by abrupt openings and various paradoxes, ironies and dislocations. These features, along with his frequent dramatic or everyday speech rhythms, his tense syntax and his tough eloquence, were both a reaction against the smoothness of conventional Elizabethan poetry and an adaptation into English of European baroque and mannerist techniques. His early career was marked by poetry that bore immense knowledge of English society and he met that knowledge with sharp criticism. Another important theme in Donne's poetry is the idea of true religion, something that he spent much time considering and about which he often theorized. He wrote secular poems as well as erotic and love poems. He is particularly famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits.

Despite his great education and poetic talents, Donne lived in poverty for several years, relying heavily on wealthy friends. He spent much of the money he inherited during and after his education on womanising, literature, pastimes, and travel. In 1601, Donne secretly married Anne More, with whom he had twelve children. In 1615, he became an Anglican priest, although he did not want to take Anglican orders. He did so because King James I persistently ordered it. In 1621, he was appointed the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London. He also served as a member of parliament in 1601 and in 1614.

* metaphysical poetry的代表人物

Island

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were:

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 

It tolls for thee. 

2015.11.5 - Week 8

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) advocate: to publicly support or suggest an idea, development or way of doing something
2) antipathy: (an example of) strong dislike, opposition or anger
3) emancipate: to give people social or political freedom and rights
4) idiosyncrasy: a strange or unusual habit, way of behaving or feature that someone or something has
5) imminent: coming or likely to happen very soon
6) impede: to slow down or cause problems for the achievement or finishing of something
7) inclusive: An inclusive price or amount includes everything
8) jurisdiction: the authority of an official organization to make and deal with especially legal decisions
9) precarious: in a dangerous state because not safe or firmly fixed
10) preposterous: very silly or stupid
11) austere: very simple and without comfort or unnecessary things, especially because of severe limits on money or goods
12) esoteric: very unusual; understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge
13) facsimile: an exact copy, especially of a document
14) grotesque: strange and unpleasant, especially in a silly or slightly frightening way
15) mesmerize:  to have someone's attention completely so that they cannot think of anything else
16) metamorphosis:  a complete change; the process by which the young form of insects and some animals, such as frogs, develops into the adult form
17) notorious: famous for something bad
18) perfunctory: done quickly, without taking care or interest
19) provocative: causing thought about interesting subjects
20) travesty: something which fails to represent the values and qualities that it is intended to represent, in a way that is shocking or offensive

2015.10.29 - Week 7

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) bureau: an organization or a business that collects or provides information;  a government organization
2) democracy: (demonstration;govern) the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves
3) hinder: to limit the ability of someone to do something, or to limit the development of something
4) union: ( = the only) the act or the state of being joined together
4-1) uniform: a particular set of clothes which has to be worn by the members of the same organization or group of people
4-2) unison: the ​playing or ​singing of ​notes at the same ​pitch by different ​instruments or ​voices
4-3) unique: being the only existing one of its type or, more generally, unusual or special in some way
5) advocate: to publicly support or suggest an idea, development or way of doing something
5-1) advanced: class/course a school class which is doing work of a higher standard than is usual for students at that stage in their education
5-2) adventure: an unusual, exciting and possibly dangerous activity such as a journey or experience, or the excitement produced by such an activity
6) exclude to prevent someone or something from entering a place or taking part in an activity
6-1) include: to contain something as a part of something else, or to make something part of something else
6-2) seclude to ​keep someone or something away from other ​people or things  se- apart from
6-2-1) select: to ​choose a ​small ​number of things, or to ​choose by making ​careful ​decisions
6-2-2) separate: existing or ​happening independently or in a different ​physical ​space
7) recourse: using something or someone as a way of getting ​help, ​especially in a ​difficult or ​dangerous ​situation
7-1) boisterous: noisy, energetic and rough
8) sue: to take legal action against a person or organization, especially by making a legal claim for money because of some harm that they have caused you
9) V. + tive - Adj.
9-1) preserve:  to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed; to conserve
9-1-1) preservative: a ​substance used to ​prevent ​decay in ​wood
9-2) restrict: to limit the movements or actions of someone, or to limit something and reduce its size or prevent it from increasing
9-2-1) restrictive: limiting the freedom of someone or preventing something from growing
9-3) conserve: to ​keep and ​protect something from ​damage, ​change, or ​waste
9-3-1) conservative: often not liking or trusting change, especially sudden change
10) change to make or become different, or to exchange one thing for another thing, especially of a similar type
10-1) alter: to change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
10-2) rotate to: (cause to) turn in a circle, especially around a fixed point
10-3) switch: a small device, usually pushed up or down with your finger, that controls and turns on or off an electric current
11) option: one thing which can be chosen from a set of possibilities, or the freedom to make a choice
11-1) choice: an act or the possibility of choosing
12) forbidden city: 紫禁城
13) endow: to give a large amount of money to pay for creating a college or hospital, etc. or to provide an income for it
14) defendant: a person in a law case who is accused of having done something illegal
15) plaintiff: someone who makes a legal complaint against someone else in court
16) district: attorney a lawyer whose job is to represent the government in a particular area of the US
B. Movies
a. Divergent

Divergent is a 2014 American science fiction action film directed by Neil Burger, based on the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth. The film is the first installment in The Divergent Series and was produced by Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian, and Douglas Wick, with a screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Tony Goldwyn, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q and Kate Winslet. The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Chicago where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Beatrice Prior is warned that she is Divergent and thus will never fit into any one of the factions and soon learns that a sinister plot is brewing in her seemingly perfect society.
b. The Giver

The Giver is a 1993 American Young-adult fiction-Dystopian novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a society which at first appears as a utopian society but then later revealed to be a dystopian one as the story progresses. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth and thirteenth years of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness," a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, as there may be times where one must draw upon the wisdom gained from history to aid the community's decision making. Jonas struggles with concepts of all of the new emotions, and things being introduced to him, and whether they are inherently good, evil, in-between, and if it's even possible to have one without the other. The Community lacks any color, memory, climate and terrain whatsoever, all in effort to preserve structure, order, and a true sense of equality beyond personal individuality.
c. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a 2012 American science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The picture is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series and was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, with a screenplay by Ross, Collins, and Billy Ray. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation of Panem, where boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games, a televised annual event in which the "tributes" are required to fight to the death until there is one remaining who will be crowned the victor. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the games. Joined by her district's male tribute Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson), Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy (Harrelson).
d. The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is the first book in a young-adult post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction trilogy of the same name by James Dashner. The novel was published on October 6, 2009, by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, and was made into a 2014 major motion picture by 20th Century Fox. The novel spawned two sequels: The Scorch Trials (2010) and The Death Cure (2011).Dashner also wrote a prequel to The Maze Runner, entitled The Kill Order, that was released in 2012. He also announced that another prequel, The Fever Code, is set to be released in 2016.
e. 007: Spectre

Spectre is the twenty-fourth James Bond film produced by Eon Productions. It features Daniel Craig in his fourth performance as James Bond, and Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with the film marking the character's re-introduction into the series. It was directed by Sam Mendes as his second James Bond film following Skyfall, and was written by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth. It is distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Columbia Pictures. With a budget of $300 million, it is tied with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as the second most expensive film ever made. The story features James Bond's first encounter with the global criminal organisation Spectre, marking the group's first appearance in an Eon Productions film since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, and tying Craig's series of films together with an over-arching storyline. Several recurring James Bond characters, including M, Q and Miss Moneypenny return, with the new additions of Léa Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann, Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx, and Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra.Spectre was released on 26 October 2015 in the United Kingdom on the same night as the world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London, followed by a worldwide release. The film has received mostly positive early reviews from critics.
f. The wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical comedy-drama fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the most well-known and commercially successful adaptation based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The film stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale. The film co-stars Terry the dog, billed as Toto; Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, with Charley Grapewin and Clara Blandick, and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.
The Wizard of Oz is often ranked on best-movie lists in critics' and public polls. It is the source of many quotes referenced in modern popular culture. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming (who left production to take over direction on the troubled Gone with the Wind production). Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The songs were written by Edgar "Yip" Harburg (lyrics) and Harold Arlen (music). The incidental music, based largely on the songs, was composed by Herbert Stothart, with interspersed renderings from classical composers.

2015.10.22 - Week 6

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) epidemics: the appearance of a particular disease in a large number of people at the same time
2) tuberculosis: a serious disease which is infectious and can attack many parts of a person's body, especially their lungs
3) overcrowding: containing too many people or things
4) bacterium: a type of very small organism that lives in air, earth, water, plants and animals, often one which causes a disease
5) eum, ium- 框線起來的範疇
5-1) aquarium: a glass container in which fish and other water animals can be kept
5-2) millennium: a period of 1000 years, or the time when a period of 1000 years ends
5-3) equilibrium: a state of balance
6) retrospect: thinking now about something in the past
7) de- down, away from
7-1) departure: when a person or vehicle, etc. leaves somewhere
8) crim: sth. negative
8-1) indiscriminate: not showing careful thought or planning, especially so that harm results
9) advocate:  to publicly support or suggest an idea, development or way of doing something
10) relegate: unaware to go because they were sent
11) tentative:  (of a plan or idea) not certain or agreed, or (of a suggestion or action) said or done in a careful but uncertain way because you do not know if you are right
11-1) temporary: not lasting or needed for very long
12) para- 平行並立
12-1) paradise: a place or condition of great happiness where everything is exactly as you would like it to be
13) pri- 基本首要的
13-1) primary: more important than anything else; main
13-2) primitive:  relating to human society at a very early stage of development, with people living in a simple way without machines or a writing system
13-3) premium: an amount which is more than usual
14) succinct: said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words
15) anthropomorphism: the showing or treating of animals, gods and objects as if they are human in appearance, character or behaviour
16) nominate:  to officially suggest someone for an election, job, position or honour
16-1) nominee: someone who has been nominated for something
B. Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which can differ from his or her original or true name. Pseudonyms include stage names, screen names, ring names, pen names, nicknames, aliases, superhero identities and code names, gamer identifications, and regnal names of emperors, popes and other monarchs. Historically they have often taken the form of anagrams, Graecisms, and Latinisations, although there are many other methods of choosing a pseudonym.
Pseudonyms are most usually adopted to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists' tags, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre, and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names, for example, to mask their ethnic backgrounds.
In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because they are part of a cultural or organisational tradition: for example devotional names used by members of some religious institutes, and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Trotsky and Lenin.
A pseudonym may also be used for personal reasons: for example, an individual may prefer to be called or known by a name that differs from their given or legal name, but is not ready to take the numerous steps to get their name legally changed; or an individual may simply feel that the context and content of an exchange offer no reason, legal or otherwise, to provide their given or legal name.
A collective name or collective pseudonym is one shared by two or more persons, for example the co-authors of a work, such as Ellery Queen, or Nicolas Bourbaki.

2015.10.15 - Week 5

A. Vocabularies to Know
1) ambidextrous: able to use both hands equally well
2) enemy: a person who hates or opposes another person and tries to harm them or stop them from doing something
2-1) rivals: a person, group, etc. competing with others for the same thing or in the same area
2-2) foe: an enemy
3) equa: equal
4) vok: say
5) ate: verb
6) tri: three
6-1) triangle: a flat shape with three straight sides
6-2) triplets: one of three children born to the same mother at the same time
7) fort: before
8) pec: 無庸置疑的
9) pre: 之前
10) dis: 不喜歡
11) pro: many, much; in favor of
12) op, ob: 反對者常用字首
12-1) opponent: a person who disagrees with something and speaks against it or tries to change it
12-2) obstacle: something that blocks you so that movement, going forward or action are prevented or made more difficult
13) re: 再一次
14) inspector: someone whose job is to officially inspect something (to look)
14-1) audience:  the group of people together in one place to watch or listen to a play, film, someone speaking, etc. (to listen)
15) speculate: to guess possible answers to a question when you do not have enough information to be certain
16) filthy: extremely or unpleasantly dirty
B. Rip Van Winkle

“Rip Van Winkle” is an American masterpiece of the short story. It is based on local history but is rooted in European myth and legend. Irving reportedly wrote it one night in England, in June, 1818, after having spent the whole day talking with relatives about the happy times spent in Sleepy Hollow. The author drew on his memories and experiences of the Hudson River Valley and blended them with Old World contributions.
“Rip Van Winkle” is such a well-known tale that almost every child in the United States has read it or heard it narrated at one time or another. Rip is a simple-minded soul who lives in a village by the Catskill Mountains. Beloved by the village, Rip is an easygoing, henpecked husband whose one cross to bear is a shrewish wife who nags him day and night.

2015.10.8 - Week 4

A. Vocabularies to Know

1) anteroom: a small room, especially a waiting room, which leads into a larger, more important room

2) participate:  to take part in or become involved in an activity

3) syn, sym: together, with

3-1) sympathy: (an expression of) understanding and care for someone else's suffering

3-2) synchronize: to (cause to) happen at the same time; When people synchronize their watches, they make sure that all their watches show the same time

4) de- 負面的

4-1) derailed: If a train derails or is derailed, it comes off the railway tracks.

5) curricular: the group of subjects studied in a school, college, etc.

6) e- 淨空,消滅

6-1) eliminate: to remove or take away

7) fatal: A fatal illness or accident, etc. causes death

8) 常考字尾ly卻是adj的字:

8-1) elderly: old

8-2) lovely: pleasant or enjoyable

8-3) friendly: behaving in a pleasant, kind way towards someone

9) embellish: to make something more beautiful or interesting by adding something to it

B. Physical senses

See, touch, taste, listen, smell

C. Movies mentioned during the class
a. Entrapment

The film opened to mixed or average reviews as described by Metacritic. Rotten Tomatoes lists the film as receiving 38% positive reviews. Critics focused on a scene where Zeta-Jones trains for the heist by worming around a net of red threads that simulate laser beams. The camera lingers on her buttocks through much of the scene. Another similar scene takes place when she is actually crawling through the real laser beam field to steal the mask, including some close-ups of her derrière. The laser scene was choreographed by Paul Harris, who also choreographed the wand-to-wand combat sequences in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Other critics such as The New York Times, New York Magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, Variety, and Desson Howe/Thomson of the Washington Post praised the film.

The film was a box office success, grossing over $87 million in the US and $212 million worldwide. Entrapment was nominated for two Razzie Awards including Worst Actress (Zeta-Jones, also for The Haunting) and Worst Screen Couple (Zeta-Jones and Connery). The film was screened out of competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. 

b. dangerous liaisons ( 1988)

Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 historical drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

The film was directed by Stephen Frears. The performances of Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer, the cinematography of Philippe Rousselot, the costume design by James Acheson, and the screenplay by Christopher Hampton, garnered critical acclaim. Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick and Peter Capaldi appeared in supporting roles, as did young relatively unknown actors Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture; it won those for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction.

2015.10.1 - Week 3

A. Vocabularies to Know1) blame:  to say or think that someone or something did something wrong or is responsible for something bad happening
1-1) scold: to tell off someone because you disapprove of their behaviour
2) euph- usually positive
2-1) euphoric: extremely happy and excited
 2-2) euphonious: having a pleasant sound
3) estrange: to ​cause someone to no ​longer have a ​friendly ​relationship with another ​person or other ​people
4) relinquish: to give up something such as a responsibility or claim
5) caption: a short piece of text under a picture in a book, magazine or newspaper which describes the picture or explains what the people in it are doing or saying
6) TED: technology. entertainment. design

B.Watch the Video

2015.9.25 - Week 2

A. Vocabularies to know
1) Pre: before
    predict  to say that an ​event or ​action will ​happen in the ​future, ​especially as a ​result of ​knowledge or ​experience; to say, to tell, word
    preface  an introduction at the beginning of a book explaining its aims
      * a preface to sth : an event which comes before something more important
 2) Con
 2-1) conclude  to end a speech, meeting or piece of writing;  to complete an official agreement or task, or arrange a business deal
 2-2) concert a performance of music by one or more musicians or singers
 2-3) conduct to organize and perform a particular activity
3) Fin: ending
3-1)finish to complete something or come to the end of an activity
3-2) final last
4) An: clear
4-1) annual happening once every year, or relating to a period of one year
4-2) annuity a fixed amount of money paid to someone every year, usually until their death, or the insurance agreement or investment which provides the money that is paid 
B. Jesus Knocking the Door

C. What is literature for?