All the Light We Cannot See -- Irena -- 20151006 When talking about a story in a book, starting from the present tense (the "now" time in the book). Then use the future or past tense to refer to relative time to "now" in the story. Corrections: in Normandy: The Allies launched attack in Normandy (not "at" nor "to" Normandy). 2 major events happened *in* France: not "at France". take them by surprise: The German army took the France by surprise. (not "caught them at a surprise state...) surrendered within a month: surrend'er'ed not "surrended". launch a counter attack: not "they countered back the Germany's invasion". German vs. Germany: He is a German officer (not "Germany officer). "German" is the adjective, and "Germany" is the country name. A treasure hunter from Germany. Westminster Abbey: not "Minsterwester Abbey (what's that...) hide/hid/hidden: there is no "hided". challenging for me: This is the most usual expression.(not "to me") Vocabulary: leaflet: a printed and often folded piece of paper that is usually given people for free. (it has nothing to do with leaves). evacuate: to evacuate from the city. caliber: A 88 caliber canon. fatefully: They meet each other fatefully. deteriorated: Her eyesight deteriorated. rampart: the wall used to protect the castle. Phrases: state of chaos: the city is in a state of chaos. (better than saying "the city is in a messy state"). With each detonation, the wall trembles from top to bottom. crossing of the paths: The crossing of their paths is a destiny. (No "destinied") The wooden scale model helps her to get around the town comfortably. recluse: One who does not socialize much (PTSP syndrome). Pronunciation: invaded: the "ded" needs to have two 'd' sound in it, especially the second 'd' should be pronounced clearly. de Galle: (French) "de" as in "deep"; "Galle" as "gaul". Not "dai Gao le". Pulitzer Prize: The key to pronounce "Pulitzer" correctly is to notice that there is a "t" in this word (I tend to miss the t, even in spelling). Partisan: the emphasis is on "Pa", not on "ti". Partisans are members of resistance. Admiral: The emphasis is on first syllable "A", not "mi". The first part of the word almost sounds like "ad" in "adequate". detonate: the emphasis is on "de", and "de" is as in "debt", not as in "deep". It meaning is similar to "fire". Werner: It sounds like "Ver ner", not "We ner". Braille: "b" + "rail". "a" is as in "rail" or "ray", not as in "right". intricate: the emphasis is on "in", not on "tri".

Sinatra has a cold (2) -- Irena -- 20150925 We continued our discussion on Sinatra and Sicilian's way . Corrections: Fidelity: It is used more for describing couples. "Loyal" is a better word to describe Sinatra's friends. grateful: a better word than saying "he treated people well in return". He could explode in anger: Not "he could exploded" nor "he could be exploded". to tower: "tower" here is a verb (surprising?). A towering rage, or "to tower above everyone else". staff: It does not refer to a single person or an occupation. The normal way of using it is "75 members of his staff". innocent vs. unaware: He seemed to be quite unaware of what happened. unpredictable side vs. unpredictability: they are interchangeable. tense vs. intense: That was an intense scene. "tense" --> present tense. Vocabularies: mud flood. alabaster. Phrases: The lesser of the two evils. (From "Master and Commander". It turned out I did watch the movie). fit the bill. The remaining one: better than saying "the one of the two that has not been smashed into pieces". No Anglo-Saxon outs: This is sentence that needs culture background to understand. Somehow the Sicilian believed that Anglo-Saxon were not as tough as Italians(?) Pronunciation: browser: The "ow" sound has to be clear (I should make it a bit more exaggerated.) drowning: Notice that there is a "n", so it is not "drowing", not "drow + ning". executive: The emphasis is on "xe". So "ex" as in "exam", "xecutive" as "zacutive". great deed: "ee" in deed has a prolonged pronunciation, which makes it different from "did". staff: "a" as in "tap", not as in "art". hierarchy: the emphasis is on the first syllable. innocent: Note that there is no "r" sound when pronouncing "no". Saying "innorcent" can throw off people and they could not understand what I'm saying. hospitable vs. hospitality. Italian: Il Padrone: il + pa + drona. uomini rispettati: "uo" sounds like "wo". "tta" sounds like "da" and "ti" sounds like "di", except there is an emphasis on "ttati".

Sinatra has a cold -- Irena -- 20150925 We talked about Gay Talese's famous profile on Sinatra. Corrections: write an article about him: better than "write an article of him". a fading blond: (subtle) someone who is no longer at their peak. environment: Learn about someone by studying how he interacts with his environment (better than "the external world"). What does you day look like vs. what does your day consist of vs. what's your day like: Not "what is your day look like". If I want to include"typical" and "look like", then it could be "what's your typical day like". without much detail vs. without many details: Both are ok. There was something terrible going on: not "there is something terrible happened" (Note that "happened" here can not be treated as an adjective). Instead, one can say "there is something terrible that happened", but it is not unnatural. His gaze silenced people around him: More natural than "His gaze put people into silence". Vocabulary: predecessor: Is Gay Talese a predecessor of Paparazzi? mistrustful: lacking in trust. Another word is "distrustful". Sinatra was mistrustful to do an Esquire interview. protruding: Sinatra got protruding pinkies. psyche vs. psychosomatic: His cold not only affected his psyche but also caused psychosomatic nasal drip of people around him. conjure: To conjure up an image. emancipate: free immaculate: clean and polished. Phrases: His appearance of immaculately dressed, emancipated man, acted as aphrodisiac to women. I'm plunged into readingmania and talkingmania. Pronunciations: Sinatra: the emphasis is on "na". esquire: "es" as in "estimate", "quire" as in "acquire". Hair piece: Try to pronounce it as two separate words instead of "hairpiece". sullen: "su" as in "sub"; "llen" as in "lend". Note that "su" is not as in "suit". emit: "em" as in "emaciate". aphrodisiac: First, this is a noun. Second, its emphasis is on "di". "aphro" almost sounds similar to "effort". Others: From Here to Eternity. (Maybe we should talk about it).

Touching the Void -- Irena -- 20150921 We talked about the documentary "Touching the Void". Corrections: recount the event: Better than "review what happened along the line". tease you to get interested in the story vs. give you a teaser: Both are ok when trying to describe "piquing one's interest". fatal vs. nearly fatal: They had an nearly fatal experience. "Fatal" pretty much means "ended". Since Joe and Simon survived, one says their experience was "nearly fatal". some challenges: Note that it is the plural form, not "some challenge". "Challenge" is indeed countable. has got vs. has gotten: he had already gotten tired (not "has got tired", which I think I've mistakenly used for a long time). set of muscles: The set of muscles used for climbing up mountains is different from it is for climbing down mountains. conclude their adventure: a better way to say "end their journey". (They were trying to conquer the Siula Grande.) perpendicular: not "perpencular", note the "di" sound. sat: not "sitted". Simon sat at a higher point of the mountain. Saint Mary: Not "Saint Maria". be stuck vs. get stuck: "I am stuck" (a condition). "I got stuck" (an action at a moment). much overhanging ice: not "many overhanging ice". pass through: A better way than saying "go through his camp". Vocabularies: ascent vs. ascend: The former is a noun, while the latter is a noun. ascent vs. descent: rising vs. falling. axes: Prusik knot. monologue. bone chilling. delirious state vs. delirium condition latrine area mountaineering Phrases: bit by bit he would have lowered him down the mountain: "bit by bit" is a better way to say "slowly/gradually". Simon was also being pulled to death: Note the difference between this and "Simon was pulled to death". That was a stroke of luck. choose to have his life in hands: a better way to say "he choose to count on himself". Without water, he would die nevertheless. Pronunciation: documentary: the emphasis is on "men", not on "do". crevasse: "vasse" as in "vest", not as in "vast". immediately: Note to not drop "te". That's an entire syllable. overhanging: "gi" in "ging" has to be pronounced. sixth: when "s" and "th" are together, one can pronounce "th" as "t", so "sixth" can be "sixt".

Jean Paul Sartre (2) -- Irena -- 20150917 We continued our discussion on Sartre. Corrections: 4 lines of thoughts / major components: "4 lines of major components" is better than "4 lines of components" because usually there are many components and we actually only talk about the major ones. working class: not "work class' nor "work-class". Vocabularies: Mnemonic techniques wondering eye: different from "crossed eyes". A more formal word is strabismus. devout: A devout Marxist. Devout is similar to devoted. authenticity: ontology: To figure out. phenomenology: To figure out. epistemology: To figure out. Phrases: There is no end to learning: This is better than "there is no stop on learning". political opinion. Pronunciation: Methodologically: the emphasis is on "lo", not on "me" nor "do". mnemonic: "ne" + "mou" + "nic". nausea: "nau" + "shir", not "nau" + "see". Camus: Just "ka" + "meo", no "s". imperialism: Soviet Union: "Soviet" as "Sau" + "vet", not "Su" + "vit". anarchist: "ch" can be "k" or "h". Pandora's box: The emphasis is on "do" (surprisingly?), not "Pan" (Chinese translation interference?) Others: Facticity. In-itself and for-itself.

Jean Paul Sartre -- Irena -- 20150917 We talked about Jean Paul Sartre and his philosophy. Corrections: One of the greatest writers *of* the 20th century: why isn't it "in the 20th century"? One can think of "20th century as a whole", and "of a whole". One can say "lived in the 20th century", which "in" focuses on "during the years". One can also say "Steve Jobs lived at the turn of the century". molecule vs. atom: The air is composed of molecules/atoms (not molecules and atoms). Molecule of water. human beings vs. a human being: Not "humans". Phrases: would opt for: Many prisoner in that camp would opt for death. to throw the towel in/ to throw in the towel. get into the same frame of mind / get into the same mindset. to be on the same wavelength: I felt I was not on the same wavelength with Sartre's thoughts. Pronunciation: Humanism: The emphasis is on "hu", so it sounds like "human" plus "ism". A mistake is to pronounce it as "humane" + "ism", where the emphasis is on "man". rhetoric: the emphasis is on "rhe", not on "to". Similarly, rhetorical's emphasis is also on the first syllable. molecule: the emphasis is on "mo", not "le". indigenous: the emphasis is on "di", "digenous" is pronounced as "digi(tal)" + "ner(v)ous)". nevertheless: "less" is as "lesbian", not as in "least". communism: the emphasis is on "comm", not on "mu". Christianity: "Chris" + "ti" + "ani" + "ty". Not "Christian" +"anity". Categorical: the emphasis is on "go", not "ca". Others: "Men's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. Categorical Imperative.

Crime and Punishment -- Irena -- 20150915 We talked about the second chapter of Crime and Punishment. It started to become more interesting. Vocabularies: sympathy: I have a sympathy towards/with the old man. widower: A man who has lost his wife. cleft palates: An inherited disease. Corrections: feel the worry in someone: The old man felt the worry in Raskolnikov. Note that it is not "feel the worrisome/worriness" in someone". upfront with: The old man was upfront with Raskolnikov about his shamelessness. Not "upfront to him". stand up: Her step-mother stood up to defend her. Not "stand out". Pronunciation: scoundrel: "skun" + "drow". Fun facts: Sonia means "wisdom". It also has tender version, which is Sonicka or Sonjička. Raskolnikov in Russian means "split apart".

Chapter 1 of Crime and Punishment (part 2) -- Irena -- 20150912 (This is the second part of the same discussion. Italki has a character limit that can easily exceed). Phrases: psychologist of literature: Dostoevsky is considered a great psychologist of literature. smallest trifle: The smallest trifle can spoil the whole plan. (Use smallest to emphasize "trifle" though trifle already has the meaning of "small"). Pronunciation: trifle: "tri" as in "triangle", not as in "trilogy". babble: Another word I've been pronounced wrongly for a while. "ba" as in "bat", not as in "bar". accidentally: not "acidentally". I might miss the "k" sound in "acci". grotesque: not "grostique" (gross + tick ?) , but "grow" + "tesk". scaffolding: "sca" as in "sketch", not as in "sky". (I've pronounced it as "skyffolding" for a while, which is wrong.) Tavern: This is an important one as there are a lot of restaurant called Tavern. The right way to pronounce it is "ta" + "ve" + "ren", not "ta" + "ven". Try to prounce it as if it has three syllables. loathsome: "thso" is almost pronounced as a single syllable "tho". It does not seem right to say "loath" + "some" as if they are two separate words. poverty: Notice that "ver" is as in "verse", not as in "power". In fact, pronouncing it as "powerty" is a mistake you should avoid. Others: A color constantly appear in the book is "yellow". Yellow stands for mental illness and suffering. It is used in mental hospital as a way to calm down the patient, but somehow is connected to mental illness. Orange color -> harmonious color combinations (What would be a world that has a lot of orange color looks like?)