John’s Blog

Baseball has been cut from the 2012 Olympics! Wow. Sad.

As some of you know, baseball is often referred to as “America’s National Pastime.” I’m surprised that it has been removed from the Olympics, and don’t quite understand the reasoning. According to the CNN article, one possible reason is the “doping”, or drug use, that has been in the baseball headings recently, but given the prevalence of drug use in other sports, that doesn’t strike me as a valid reason.

Another suggested reason is anti-American sentiment. I wonder if that’s it?

以下是我们的学生在论坛上写的关于雅思口语的感受与思路。我非常赞同：

口语：深度速度不如自信度
。。。我的回答也谈不上什么深度，以为顶多是7了。我说得不快，尝试用尽可能精确的表达，为了维持流利和自信，一些较为复杂的语法错误即使我说完就醒悟过来，也装作没事似的接着说，而不回头改。我希望能用英语尽可能准确完美地将自己的感受传递给对方，并且坚信只要自己努力，就一定能传达到。这是我每一次说英语时强烈的信念，这个信念统筹了我的用词和语法，而不是单纯在语言对错角度上计较用词和语法。比如，谈到信用卡优点的时候，我不会说“透支”，但我又不愿因此不谈，所以我说：“they can use more money than they actually have on their credit cards.”谈到为什么喜欢和别人一起看电影胜过一个人看，我说“I want someone to either cry with me together, or comfort me when I’m crying.”用你会的单词尽可能准确地传达感受既是一种技巧，也是一种成就。

This is what the IELTS is about: using English to communicate thoughts and ideas. Yes, grammar and vocabulary are important, but what matters the most on test day is how well you can get across the meaning of what you’re trying to say.

今天早上过来的时候，的士司机是交通台的路况信息员，车上装了一台CB Radio，他随时都会向电台报告我们所在的位置的交通情况。

Apparently, they’re not allowed to use English when they talk on the radio, even though some of them like to say “over” instead of “报告完毕”.

I’ve always been fascinated by the possibility of Beijing’s taxi drivers learning English. They have the perfect environment: they’re stuck in the car with a tape player, and every week or so they’ll have a foreign passenger.

I’ve actually met a couple of drivers who spoke quite well.

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These are the four basic tenets of our school. They represent our aspirations for being different and special. I’ve been thinking about what they mean to me, and look forward to sharing some of my thoughts in this space.

What do they mean to you?

Yesterday was Independence Day (美国的独立日). The truth is, I’ve been so busy that I almost forgot about it. I am proud to be an American, though, and proud of some of the ideals that the United States stands for.

If you’re curious about some of the stories behind Independence Day, check here.