英語學習筆記

ballet slippers 芭蕾舞鞋
guitar 吉他
metronome 【樂】節拍器；節奏器

electrical socket 插座
shopping cart 購物車
cooking pot 鍋子

Do you know about the upcoming Perseid meteor shower?
Zoey: No. Tell me more about it.
Ed: The annual meteor shower will be visible in mid-August. It's expected that there will be dozens of shooting starts every hour! Do you want to come with me to check it out?

How come you're drinking Coke? Didn't you tell me that you wanted to lose weight?
Zoe: Easy. This is Diet Coke, which allows me to drink what I want and still keep fit. It's like killing two birds with one stone!
Edgar: Just don't drink too much soda. According to a news report I read in the China Post, drinking more than one soda a day may result in metabolic problems -- even if it's sugar-free.

    Kengo Kubo, a sales consultant who sells Lexus cars in Tokyo, has a special way of opening a car door. He points with all five fingers to the handle, right hand followed by left. Then, he gracefully opens the door with both hands, in the same way Japanese samurais in the 14th century would have opened a sliding screen door.
    "The most important thing is to make the motion look beautiful," says Mr. Kubo, standing in a gleaming Lexus show room with live orchids growing out of trickling waterfalls.
    The screen-door technique is part of an unusual tactic under way in Japan's luxury-car wars. No. 1 car maker Toyota, behind in the luxury market, wants to fight back by plunging deep into the world of ancient Japanese hospitality traditions.

    The boy's name Peter is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "rock". The name has become popular worldwide after the play "Peter Pan." Names similar to Peter include Pedro, Pierce and Pierre. Famous people who have the name, for instance, include tennis star player Pete Sampras and Taiwan singer Peter Ho.
   
    The girl's name Diana originates from Latin and means "divine." In Roman mythology, Diana was a divinity who resembled to the Greek god "Artemis," the goddess of huntress, noted for her beauty and fleetness. Celebrities with the name include Princess Diana and American singer and actress Diana Ross.

Do you know "Lewis Gordon Pugh?"
Danna: Who is he?
Pierre: He's British swimmer who recently swam in the sea at the North Pole. Astonishingly, he only wore swimming briefs in a bid to highlight the impact of climate change! The temperature in water is minus 1.8 degrees Celsius!

Hey Pierce! Why are you eating instant ramen?
Pierce: Because I'm in the market for Wii ! Besides, PlayStation3 is awesome, but I can't afford 600 bucks for it, seriously.
Deanna: I bet you'll love to know this. According to a news report I read in the China Post, Sony plans to phase out a US$499 model of PlayStation3 console to compete with Wii and Xbox360!

    Intel Corp., in reporting a 44% jump in second-quarter profit, signaled strong demand for chips and progress in improving the company's financial position.
    But Intel's profit margins came in below its forecast, suggesting that a long-running battle with rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. continues to put pressure on chip prices. Intel's stock, which had run up recently on signs of improving sales, slid 4.8% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
    Intel is the dominant maker of chips that serve as calculating engines in computers, and its pronouncements are an important proxy for global technology demand. The Santa Clara, Calif., company, which lost ground to AMD between 2003 and mid-2006, launched a counterattack in the past year and regained markets share with some new products.

Pedro: Yum, yum. These "baozi" are so delicious!
Dena: Did you just say "baozi"? I believe you'll want to know this: according to a story I read in the China Post, some vendors in Beijing use chopped cardboard as the stuffing in their baozi! They use an industrial chemical to soften the cardboard, mix it with fatty pork, and season it.
Pedro: That's terrible! These people shouldn't be so selfish, even if this is an easy way to make a lot of money.