探病

– 探病时间到了。我得走了。
– 好吧，你明天还来吗？
– 来，而且我还会带些你喜欢吃的东西。
– 太棒了！那明天见。
– 再见。

*****
探病 – visit a patient

医生3次探访病人。

得 – must

discoveries

Discover something! Find out something, which has existed earlier – discoveries are different from inventions… Invent means create something which is completely new, which hasn’t existed before.

Some of geographic discoveries:
– America – discovered by accident by Columbus
– China – “discovered” by Marco Polo. Of course Chinese people think that we can’t talk about discovering China, but for the Old World we can.
– the sea way to India – discovered by Vasco da Gama – he sailed around Africa, discovered the Cape of Good Hope and found the new way, which was safer than going to India on land.

Some of astronomical discoveries:
– the Earth is round, the Sun is in the centre of Solar System – that is a heliocentric theory, a famous discovery made by Nicolaus Copernicus
– planets, comets and others – discovered by astronomers and telescopes

Some of physical discoveries:
– gravity – discovered by Isaac Newton
– radioactivity
– E=mc2 – Einstein’s discovery

Is there anything left to discover? Jungles, primitive civilizations, ocean depths, outer space, resources…
Who can do it? Scientists, travellers, explorers, unmanned ships…

Archaeology – the science about discovering the ancient times
Palaeontology – the science about discovering dinosaurs, theory of evolution?

What are the reactions for discoveries?
– excitement!
– doubts
– it’s unbelievable!

How does it feel to discover somebody’s secrets? How can you do it?
– find somebody’s diary
– eavesdrop – overhear
– enter somebody’s mailbox, open somebody’s letters
Is it ever justified? Has anyone discovered your secrets?

addicted

I went to Ningbo, had a good time. Of course I listened to music and Jane’s Addiction won again!
Leehom has released his new song… wow, great sound!
Jason Mraz… I’m breathless; his new album is coming!

Hitlist #551
September 26th, 2011
Ningbo

1. 1 (3) JANE’S ADDICTION, Irresistible Force
2. 4 (4) GOTYE FEAT. KIMBRA, Somebody That I Used To Know
3. 3 (5) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, What The Water Gave Me
4. 2 (7) THE KOOKS, Junk Of The Heart (Happy)
5. 6 (11) MAROON 5 FEAT. CHRISTINA AGUILERA, Moves Like Jagger
6. 5 (7) 萧敬腾 (JAM HSIAO), 怎么说我不爱你 (Zenme Shuo Wo Bu Ai Ni)
7. 15 (8) ARCTIC MONKEYS, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
8. 9 (3) KASABIAN, Days Are Forgotten
9. – (1) JASON MRAZ, The World As I See It
10. 14 (2) COLDPLAY, Paradise
11. 11 (4) 田馥甄 (HEBE), My Love
12. – (1) 王力宏 (LEEHOM), 火力全开 (Huoli Quan Kai)
13. 7 (7) ELLIE GOULDING, Starry Eyed
14. 18 (2) 胡彦斌 (ANSON), Life
15. 16 (3) 林俊杰 (JJ LIN), 爱笑的眼睛 (Ai Xiao De Yanjing)
16. 12 (9) JAMIROQUAI, Rock Dust Light Star
17. 8 (9) RADIOHEAD, Staircase
18. 13 (5) EVANESCENCE, What You Want
19. 10 (10) FOSTER THE PEOPLE, Pumped Up Kicks
20. – (1) NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS, The Death Of You And Me

time goes by like crazy

Time goes by like crazy; it’s already almost the end of September. The weather in Hangzhou has got much cooler, which means that my favourite time of year has just begun! Welcome, autumn!
Work is fine, I get many words of appreciation for what I do. I even got a student who wished to have classes exclusively with me. Wow, that’s great and I would try my best (he had already finished his course) – but I do feel I need a rest. I guess I’m getting older! This year I’m turning 30, that’s a meaningful moment. Should I stop and turn around? What have I achieved so far and what are my goals for the future? Well, my birthday is not coming until November, so I still got some time. Or.. I will not think much about it, after all it’s just a date. Who cares about dates? It’s nice to notice them, but do they actually mean anything particular?
Here in China, men turning 30 ought to achive something spectacular, such as to own a house. Yeah, I know it’s nothing special for many, but here it really proves your social status. Another thing: a 30-year-old man usually should already be married and many even expect a baby. Well, for certain reasons I don’t really care about that. It’s my life and I am the one to decide about getting married. Successful job? Who said which job is successful and which isn’t? That’s just a social standard to think that, for example, a doctor is good but a farmer is bad. I’d like to think that we need all jobs to be done and it’s much better if they are done by the ones who are really into them. Do I like my job? Yes, very much! I’ll keep doing it as long as I feel that. The moment I realize I lost that passion for my job, I’ll change it. Maybe I could be the boss for myself? Tempting!
Next month I’m expecting my family in China. They are going to visit me for the first time! Ah, how exciting. We’re going to travel a bit here and there, but Hangzhou is the place I want to show them the most, especially in autumn. I do hope they will like it.

irresistible force

Hitlist #550

September 19th, 2011

1. 2 (2) JANE’S ADDICTION, Irresistible Force

2. 1 (6) THE KOOKS, Junk Of The Heart (Happy)

3. 3 (4) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, What The Water Gave Me

4. 11 (3) GOTYE FEAT. KIMBRA, Somebody That I Used To Know

5. 6 (6) 萧敬腾 (JAM HSIAO), 怎么说我不爱你 (Zenme Shuo Wo Bu Ai Ni)

6. 4 (10) MAROON 5 FEAT. CHRISTINA AGUILERA, Moves Like Jagger

7. 8 (6) ELLIE GOULDING, Starry Eyed

8. 5 (8) RADIOHEAD, Staircase

9. 10 (2) KASABIAN, Days Are Forgotten

10. 12 (9) FOSTER THE PEOPLE, Pumped Up Kicks

11. 13 (3) 田馥甄 (HEBE), My Love

12. 7 (8) JAMIROQUAI, Rock Dust Light Star

13. 16 (4) EVANESCENCE, What You Want

14. – (1) COLDPLAY, Paradise

15. 14 (7) ARCTIC MONKEYS, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala

16. 17 (2) 林俊杰 (JJ LIN), 爱笑的眼睛 (Ai Xiao De Yanjing)

17. 9 (7) SNOW PATROL, Called Out In The Dark

18. – (1) 胡彦斌 (ANSON), Life

19. 18 (13) EXAMPLE, Changed The Way You Kiss Me

20. 15 (15) JAMIROQUAI, Smile

有什么好办法？

– 你好！最近忙吗？
– 还可以。 你呢？ 忙什么呢？
– 我去找安妮， 我们俩互相辅导呢。
– 她怎么样？
– 安妮又聪明又用功，进步挺快的。
– 她说最近上课老师讲的都能听懂了， 但是， 一到外边就听不懂了。 越不懂越着急。
– 让她别着急， 慢慢来吧。
– 我也有同样的问题， 不知道有什么好办法？
– 你急什么？ 你不是学得挺好吗？
– 哪里哪里， 还差远呢。 我是认真地问你呢， 有什么好办法？
– 办法很多， 比如听录音啦， 看电视啦。 还有更好的， 就是经常找中国人聊天儿。
– 好啊， 那我就经常找你聊吧！

junk of the heart

Big changes this week, as there are 2 new entries in top 10, which doesn’t happen that often; and the new leader! Great news for The Kooks, who have managed to get onto the top with “Junk Of The Heart (Happy)”. It’s their 2nd number 1 hit, their previous one being “Mr. Maker” in January 2009.

Hitlist #549
September 12th, 2011

1. 2 (5) THE KOOKS, Junk Of The Heart (Happy)
2. – (1) JANE’S ADDICTION, Irresistible Force
3. 6 (3) FLORENCE + THE MACHINE, What The Water Gave Me
4. 1 (9) MAROON 5 FEAT. CHRISTINA AGUILERA, Moves Like Jagger
5. 8 (7) RADIOHEAD, Staircase
6. 3 (5) 萧敬腾 (JAM HSIAO), 怎么说我不爱你 (Zenme Shuo Wo Bu Ai Ni)
7. 5 (7) JAMIROQUAI, Rock Dust Light Star
8. 14 (5) ELLIE GOULDING, Starry Eyed
9. 4 (6) SNOW PATROL, Called Out In The Dark
10. – (1) KASABIAN, Days Are Forgotten
11. 19 (2) GOTYE FEAT. KIMBRA, Somebody That I Used To Know
12. 12 (8) FOSTER THE PEOPLE, Pumped Up Kicks
13. 15 (2) 田馥甄 (HEBE), My Love
14. 7 (6) ARCTIC MONKEYS, The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
15. 9 (14) JAMIROQUAI, Smile
16. 18 (3) EVANESCENCE, What You Want
17. – (1) 林俊杰 (JJ LIN), 爱笑的眼睛 (Ai Xiao De Yanjing)
18. 10 (12) EXAMPLE, Changed The Way You Kiss Me
19. 11 (4) LEONA LEWIS, Collide
20. 13 (9) REEVE CARNEY FEAT. BONO & THE EDGE, Rise Above 1

goodbye

• When do we say goodbye? What words can we use? Are they easy?
• Would you organize a farewell party before leaving your city or country? Or a company?
• Who would you never want to say goodbye to?
• Have you ever thought of the last words you will say before death?
• Here are some famous last words. What do you think of them?

Jane Austen (1775-1817) “Nothing but death.” (asked by her sister Cassandra if there was anything she wanted.)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) “Friends applaud, the comedy is over.“

James Dean (1931-1955) “My fun days are over.“

Louis XIV (1638-1715) “Why are you weeping? Did you imagine that I was immortal?“

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) “Drink to me.“

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) “I hope I haven’t bored you.“

George Washington (1732-1799) “It is well, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go.“

Mao Zedong (1893-1976) “I feel ill. Call the doctors.”

Nostradamus “Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here”

*****

Soundtrack:

Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman, Time To Say Goodbye

Madonna, The Power Of Good-bye

James Blunt, Goodbye My Lover

Placebo, Song To Say Goodbye

Archive, Goodbye

Jamiroquai, Goodbye To My Dancer

without

Think about the concept of lack, shortage…

• Can you imagine your life be without: money, family, love, music, chocolate, rice, meat, coffee? What can you have instead?
• What is the most important thing in your life?
• Think of the words describing someone without: money, home, parents, wife/husband, friends, jobs, hair, clothes, hope.
• How can you describe yourself if suddenly you have nothing to say? Speechless.
• What is a good word for someone very cruel? Ruthless/merciless/heartless.
• What is a good word to use if there’s nothing you can do? Helpless.
• What does water taste like? What is the taste of porridge? Tasteless.
• How can you deal with loneliness?

***
Soundtrack:
U2, With Or Without You
Snow Patrol, Run
3 Doors Down, Here Without You
Mariah Carey, Without You
Placebo, Without You I’m Nothing

senses

It makes no sense.
It doesn’t make any sense.
I’m out of my senses.
Please be sensible!
That’s a nonsense.
I’ve got more luck than sense.

Human beings have many senses: traditionally recognized five senses and some others:
– sight (vision) – no sight is a blindness
– hearing (audition) – no hearing is a deafness
– taste
– smell – no smell is an anosmia
– touch – no touch is the numbness or an anesthesia
– temperature
– kinesthetic sense – you know where your body parts are. Try to touch your nose with your eyes closed!
– pain
– balance
– acceleration
– sense of time
– sense of humour
– sense of direction
So many senses! Which one would you call the sixth sense? Intuition?

What are your favourite: colours, sounds, flavours, smells, fixture? What’s your optimal temperature? How do you react for a temperature change? What kind of pain is the worst? What’s the function of pain? When do you lose the balance?

What’s an illusion? Auditory illusion, optical illusion, touch illusion.
What’s an empathy and a sympathy? Are they senses?

How can we change the senses?
– by drinking alcohol
– by taking drugs – can result in hallucinations
– by using cosmetics
– by spinning around