Jun. 28 Supplemental Mini Boot Camp!

[Luis Ko]

when it comes to English, i'm diligent sometimes so..

just remember, if it's a black and white question, there will never, in a million years, be room for shades of grey.
you'd better zero in on what it is important to you, and make up for something you have done wrong.
finally, hope yoyo topics won't be posted at the eleventh hour too often.. XD

anyway, i said the above with my tongue in my cheek lo~ :p



by the way, please do not short-change me, treat me unfairly, though i was the only one who agreed that we people in Taiwan had the right to have guns at last Saturday meeting.

[Iris Wu]

when it comes to English, i'm diligent sometimes so..

just remember, if it's a black and white question, there will never, in a million years, be room for shades of grey.
you'd better zero in on what it is important to you, and make up for something you have done wrong.
finally, hope yoyo topics won't be posted at the eleventh hour too often.. XD

anyway, i said the above with my tongue in my cheek lo~ :p

by the way, please do not short-change me, treat me unfairly, though i was the only one who agreed that we people in Taiwan had the right to have guns at last Saturday meeting.

A wonderful try!
That is something I really like to do, too!
Maybe another good contest, use as many idioms learned as possible in a paragraph or a story which makes sense logically.
(Ha! I am in the mood to run all kinds of contest... )

[Leon]

Hi Iris,

Your note is big help for us.
Thanks a lot.

It should be "get with the program" instead of "go with the program"


Luis, You are really a poet.

[Luis Ko]

Hi Iris,

Your note is big help for us.
Thanks a lot.

It should be "get with the program" instead of "go with the program"


Luis, You are really a poet.

yeah, many thanks to Kat(+Lydia) and Iris.

and Leon, thank you for your compliment, if that's a compliment.

and if it certainly is, then i want to admit, deep in my heart, i am.. XD

[Iris Wu]

It should be "get with the program" instead of "go with the program"
.

Thanks, Leon, for bringing up this question!
As Lydia and Kat explained in tonight's meeting,

• "Get with the program" (do what is expected of one), usually it is like an order; the tone is more firm and more harsh.
  "Go along with the program": (sometimes "along" was omitted) "to obey a law or rule", tone is mild.

[Kooper]

Hi Kat, Lydia,

I noticed that Stephen Curry used the word HUMBLE in his MVP speech (0:09). Is the wording right here? I've got the impression that HUMBLE has a negative connotation...

[Kooper]

Here are some other words mentioned in the camp.

verbatim [adv] using exactly the same words as were originally used

the Netherlands

Karaoke = 卡拉OK

to tease somebody: can be either friendly or unkind

to pick on somebody: to criticize, punish, or be unkind to the same person often and unfairly. It's like to bully somebody.

to make fun of somebody: it is 99% unkind

to laugh at somebody: always negative unless they are really close to you like your parents or partner

blockbuster

YoYo is a big club and everybody brings something to the table. to contribute something useful to a discussion, etc.

Correcting your pronunciation through mimicking native speakers is painstakingly tedious.

Using written words in oral conversations will make you sound too formal, serious distant or pretentious. It will defeat the purpose. People might think you are talking down to them.

to overstate something (for example a mistake): to describe or explain it in a way that makes it seem more serious or important than it really is

five o'clock shadow: the dark color that appears on a man's chin and face when the hair has grown a little during the day

garden-variety

[Kooper]

when it comes to English, i'm diligent sometimes so..

just remember, if it's a black and white question, there will never, in a million years, be room for shades of grey.
you'd better zero in on what it is important to you, and make up for something you have done wrong.
finally, hope yoyo topics won't be posted at the eleventh hour too often.. XD

anyway, i said the above with my tongue in my cheek lo~ :p

by the way, please do not short-change me, treat me unfairly, though i was the only one who agreed that we people in Taiwan had the right to have guns at last Saturday meeting.

No worries Luis. You won’t get short-changed. We all love you even though you don’t often go with the flow. Better yet, you are liked because of your uniqueness. A known cynic and maverick, you always bring thought-provoking viewpoints to the table. There's no doubt that you have carved out a place in the YoYo.

It escaped me that you said you were against the gun control in Taiwan. It must be said when my legs fell asleep and had interrupted my train of thought or when we were taking five?

BTW, Kat’s boot camp is always a treasure trove of English idioms. I am so glad we were on the spot.

[Luis Ko]

wow~ (my jaw dropped already.. XD)

[Kooper]

Hi Kat, Lydia,

I noticed that Stephen Curry used the word HUMBLE in his MVP speech (0:09). Is the wording right here? I've got the impression that HUMBLE has a negative connotation...

After reading more on-line discussions on the differences between "being modest" and "being humble," I doubt if "being humble" really put ourselves down, like we don't know how good we are. There are apparently two conflicting interpretations; one views "being humble" as one of the greatest virtues while the other see eye to eye with Kat. I would just say perception of the expression "being humble" is inconclusive and may differ by geography.

Here are some quotations of opinions of either sides.

Positive:
Humility, or else being humble, is considered as one of the greatest virtues. It is a quality that makes an individual maintain a down to earth personality. Even though the individual is extremely talented and has many exceptional qualities, a humble person is aware of both his strengths and weaknesses. This allows him to accept the authority of others. Such a person would not challenge others because he has no need to feel superior in front of others.

Negative:
When one is humble, they have a low view of their own abilities. They will always view themselves as weak in that area, even if they are not. A person is humble when they show deference and a willingness to submit to others.

References: http://www.differencebetween.com/differ ... vs-modest/, https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-diffe ... ing-humble, http://english.stackexchange.com/questi ... and-modest