Sport & Vocabulary: Words from London Olympics 2012

Sometimes, picking up vocabulary is just a matter of a few presses on the keyboard and a few clicks with the mouse -- low-hanging fruits!

Here's a list of sports listed on the London Olympics 2012 website.

I think they are quite self-explanatory, just need to remember them.

Image from london2012

Image from london2012

Image from london2012

Image from london2012

Image from london2012

Vocabulary:

 low-hanging fruit -- (n)[C] Easily obtained gains; what can be obtained by readily available means.

Resources:

London Olympics 2012

http://www.london2012.com

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/low-hanging_fruit

Medical Vocabulary: Medical Words from House M.D.

Foreman, Wilson and House
Image from FOX

There is always something to learn no matter how many times I rewatch House M.D.. The last one was Medical & Vocabulary: New Words from House Finale, you may like to take a look at it and all those in under the label Medical if you are interested.


At the end of season 1 episode 14, the CEO of a cosmetic company was eventually discovered to be hiding her bulimia nervosa, 

Bulimia nervosa
Image from howtoloosebellyfatfast

Wikipedia cites resources and define bulimia as,


"an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging, or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed (purging), typically by vomiting, taking a laxative or diuretic and/or excessive exercise, and commonly accompanied with fasting over an extended period of time."


In short, it means, a bulimic person will eat a lot, then use any means to remove the food from their body again. This may not sound too dangerous but in fact, this could damage the heart and the esophagus (the throat and lower). 


In season 1 episode 17, patient was suspected to have taken date-rape drug, any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of a sexual assault, such as a non-consensual sexual act and/or non-consensual intercourse (date rape).


In season 2 episode 7, a father and his homosexual son were diagnosed to have been affected by Echinococcus granulosus,

Image from CDC

Dr. House confirmed his diagnosis as he ruptured a cyst in the father's liver, causing a reaction called an anaphylactic shock, an allergic reaction which causes severe breathing difficulty. Anaphylaxis has been mentioned in the entry Medical & Vocabulary: "Hives" & Allergy. If you have already forgotten about it, you can do with a quick revision. Otherwise, you can watch this part of Monsters Inside Me to learn more about Echinococcus granulosus,

In season 2 episode 9, Dr. House treated a patient who happened to have two medical problems, one of which is Münchausen Syndrome, 

House with Münchausen syndrome patient
Image from FOX

Wikipedia defines it as,
"a psychiatric factitious disorder wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome or hospital hopper syndrome."


In simple words, the patient enjoys getting attentions from doctors and nurses so they visit and revisit hospitals for the attention.


Weird, but there are people like that in Hong Kong too, as I have learnt from a doctor friend.

Image from Wikipedia

Anemia was another complication the patient had, "also spelled anaemia and anæmia, meaning lack of blood, is a decrease in number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood."

I'll keep watching and writing, if I have time.


Vocabulary:

Bulimia nervosa -- (n)[U] an eating disorder characterized by binge eating and purging, or consuming a large amount of food in a short amount of time, followed by an attempt to rid oneself of the food consumed (purging), typically by vomiting, taking a laxative or diuretic and/or excessive exercise, and commonly accompanied with fasting over an extended period of time.

binge eating -- (n)  [C] informal an occasion when an activity is done in an extreme way, especially eating, drinking or spending money
purge -- (vb)[T] to make someone or something free of something evil or harmfullaxative -- (n)[C] a substance that makes the waste from someone's bowels come outdiuretic --(n) [C] specialized a substance which causes an increase in the production of urine

esophagus -- (n) (plural oesophaguses) (US esophagus) [C] specialized the tube in the body which takes food from the mouth to the stomach

date-rape drug -- (n)[C] any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of a sexual assault, such as a non-consensual sexual act and/or non-consensual intercourse (date rape).
consensual -- (adj)  formal or legal with the willing agreement of all the people involved
Echinococcus -- (n)[U]also called the Hydatid worm or Hyper Tape-worm or Dog Tapeworm,
Munchausen Syndrome -- (n)[U] a psychiatric factitious disorder wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome or hospital hopper syndrome.
feign -- (vb)[T] to pretend to feel something, usually an emotion
Anemia -- (n)[U]  a decrease in number of red blood cells (RBCs) or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood
Pica -- (n)[U] abnormal appetite for earth and other non-foods



Resources:

Medical & Vocabulary: New Words from House Finale @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/12/medical-vocabulary-new-words-from-house.html

Bulimia nervosa @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulimia

Lines in the Sand (House MD) @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lines_in_the_Sand_(House)

Date rape drug  @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date-rape_drug

Echinococcus @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinococcus

Medical & Vocabulary: "Hives" & Allergy @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/05/medical-vocabulary-hives-allergy.html

TV & Medical : Monsters Inside Me x House M.D. @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/07/tv-medical-monsters-inside-me-x-house.html

Münchausen syndrome @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnchausen_syndrome


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/binge_1?q=binge
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/purge_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/laxative?q=laxative+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/diuretic?q=diuretic+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/oesophagus
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/consensual?q=consensual+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/feign?q=feign+

Vocabulary: New Words From Photography News & Other News

Image by Camille Seaman

There are numerous English words to learn out there, you just have to find the ones you are interested in.

To my surprise, photography news can also be very resourceful in terms of vocabulary. Peta Pixel recently posted an article recommending the supercell storm clouds photographs taken by Camille Seaman. A supercell is a kind of thunderstorm common in the Tornado Alley in the USA, usually generating actual tornadoes! 

Image by Camille Seaman

That's a real beauty! Isn't it?

By the water, by the water by Greg
Image from Photography Blogger

The next word is from an article by Photography Blogger, hammock. Exactly what you see from the photos above and below.

hide and seek by marco
Image from Photography Blogger

I would love to have one of those, too bad my home isn't big enough.

Do you know what is time-lapse? Peta Pixel has another article showing 3 months of Europe with 30,000 photos combined together into a 5-minute video. Here's the video.

Image from The Economist

What do you do when you want to ask someone for a kiss at Christmas? You stand under the mistletoe -- a parasitic plant that lives on the other trees. However, The Economist tells us that there is more than just one worthy function of the mistletoe. A research has been carried out to test the importance of the mistletoe and found that the mistletoe is highly important in attracting insects and small critters, which in turn attract more birds to feed on them. Thus, mistletoe is a keystone species -- it supports an entire ecosystem, and removing it has drastic effects for the whole.

The next news from Daily Mail is pretty interesting! A study of 2000 British women by Lil-Lets shows that the British women 

• feel proud of their figure 50% of the case,
• are more proud of their eyes than their boobs, of their boobs than the brain,
• want to have better-looking legs 41% of the time,
• feel sexiest at the age of 28 and,
• feel most confident at the age of 32
• suffer from broken confidence when being dumped by a partner. 

Image from Daily Mail

Results are expected to differ from places to places, especially in Hong Kong, but it is always interesting to know what women think, might benefit the men in many ways by keeping the women happy.

Thiago Silva
Image from The Footy Blog

Lastly, something for the men, Soccernet reports that football club Paris St Germain has successfully signed Brazilian star Thiago Silva from AC Milan, good for PSG! But Thiago Silva himself is upset because people called him mercenary, which means money-minded. I don't care much about AC Milan, but thanks to the selling, I have bagged another word.

Vocabulary:
epic -- (adj) informal extremely large 
supercell -- (n)[C] a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft.For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms.
tornado -- (n)[C] a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as twisters 
hammock -- (n)[C] a type of bed used especially outside, consisting of a net or long piece of strong cloth which you tie between two trees or poles so that it swings (= moves sideways through the air)
mistletoe -- (n)[U] an evergreen (= never losing its leaves) plant with small white fruits and pale yellow flowers which grows on trees, often used as a Christmas decoration
critter -- (n)[C]  [C] (also crittur) US not standard a creature
keystone species -- (n) it supports an entire ecosystem, and removing it has drastic effects for the whole.
boob -- (n)[C]very informal a woman's breast
broken confidence -- (n)[U] confidence which has been broken (Isn't this obvious?)
mercenary -- (adj) disapproving interested only in the amount of money that you can get from a situation


Resources:

Epic Photos of Supercell Storm Clouds Over the American Midwest @ Petapixel
http://www.petapixel.com/2012/07/13/epic-photos-of-supercell-storm-clouds-over-the-american-midwest/

Camille Seaman Photography
http://www.camilleseaman.com/Artist.asp?ArtistID=3258&Akey=WX679BJN

Supercell @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercell

14 Relaxing Hammock Photos @ Photography Blogger
http://www.photographyblogger.net/14-relaxing-hammock-photos/

30,000 Photo Time-Lapse Shrinks Three Months in Europe Into Five Minutes @ Petapixel
http://www.petapixel.com/2012/07/15/30000-photo-time-lapse-shrinks-three-months-in-europe-into-five-minutes/

Mistletoe @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe#Culture.2C_folklore.2C_and_mythology

Under the mistletoe @ The Economist
http://www.economist.com/node/21558551

Why women feel sexiest when they are 28 (That means Pippa Middleton and Mila Kunis are both at the magic age!) @ Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2177701/Why-women-feel-sexiest-28-Pippa-Middleton-Mila-Kunis-magic-age.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Thiago 'upset' by Milan exit @ Soccernet
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1125731/thiago-silva-left-'upset'-by-ac-milan-exit?cc=4716

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/epic_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hammock?q=hammock+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mistletoe?q=mistletoe+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/critter?q=critter+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/boob_2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/mercenary_1?q=mercenary

Message: Locky's English Playground @ Flipboard

Image from Locky's English Playground

Image from Locky's English Playground

You can now add Locky's English Playground on Flipboard! Just go to your phone, open Flipboard, press Add, and then type "Locky's English Playground" to add it to your Flipboard!

Vocabulary: Jargons With A Hong Kong Flavour

Building Inspector Jim lies on an oversized bay in an apartment of
Crown by the Sea (海譽), developed by Cheung Kong
Image from iCable

Typhoon 8 is the best time to stay at home and learn something.

Several words came to my attention these days and they are all crucially important to our lives. The first one came from a news that Jim, a famous building Inspector, was shown on one of my friend's Facebook lying on an oversized bay in an apartment by Crown by the Sea developed by Cheung Kong.

Now rich people get tricked, what about poor people? Poor people get Froebel Gifts?

"Froebel Gifts of the Poor" in Tsuen Wan
Image from Discuss.com.hk

"Property tyranny" is this new term reflecting this huge monopoly in the real estate market in Hong Kong, situation has gone so bad that many people cannot afford to buy an apartment even if they relive their life 20 times, and the fact that the real estate developers are also the creators of "Chinese panel buildings", air-tight buildings after buildings which resemble the Chinese panels.

Chinese Screen Building
Image from Locky's English Playground

Chinese panel
Image from poandpo

Froebel Gifts was not even supposed to be used in this situation, but as a metaphor, there is no restriction of course.

I love metaphors myself because they can be so much fun and highly creative, TIME magazine too played creative this time. Putting an animated GIF on the website for the Asia cover, so that it will flash from the "Revolution that wasn't" cover to the "Can Hong Kong Trust This Man?" cover. If you don't pay attention to it, you will miss it.

"Wolfman"
Image from TIME Magazine

In Hong Kong, the current Chief Executive is given the name "Wolfman" as The Standard cleverly translated it. Why? Because of his illegal structures / constructions at his home.

Due to the seriousness of the social polarization, any mistakes committed by any government officials will be reprimanded by the society.

Many think that pushing civil and moral education classes in primary school is a mistake, and many parents have lost faith in the local education system. Those parents who can afford the money will send their children overseas, those who cannot afford will send their children to tutorial centres, a form of education which shadows the official one, hence the term "shadow education".

Image from The Standard

Hong Kong is just behind South Korea (or maybe Japan) in terms of cash devoted in shadow education, meaning that Hong Kong parents are very much willing to spend money on private tuition. This willingness is exactly the key to making the "Tutor Kings" and "Tutor Queens" millionaires in Hong Kong.

If I was not so into real teaching, I should have gone to make millions of dollars a year.

Vocabulary:
Bay (window) -- (n)[C] a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan.
Froebel Gifts  -- (n)[C] are a range of educational materials designed by Friedrich Fröbel. They were first used in the original Kindergarten at Bad Blankenburg.
Property Tyranny -- (n)[C] the monopoly in the real estate market in Hong Kong
Chinese screen -- (n)[C] a type of free-standing furniture. It consists of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. It can be made in a variety of designs and with different kinds of materials. Folding screens have many practical and decorative uses. It originated from ancient China, eventually spreading to East Asia, Europe, and other regions of the world.
illegal structure / construction -- (n)[C] 
social polarization -- (n)[C] is associated with the segregation within a society that may emerge from income inequality, real-estate fluctuations, economic displacements etc. and result in such differentiation that would consist of various social groups, from high-income to low-income.
reprimand -- (vb) [T] formal to express to someone your strong official disapproval of them
civil and moral education -- (n)[U]
shadow education -- (n)[C] private tutoring, in other words





Resources:
Bay Window @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_window

Froebel Gifts @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froebel_Gifts

TIME Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/asia/0,9263,501120709,00.html

Home Truth @ The Standard
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=12&art_id=124081&sid=36946095&con_type=3&d_str=20120706&fc=7

Chinese screen @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_screen

Tutors: a question of value @ The Standard
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=124071&sid=36937643&con_type=1&d_str=20120705&fc=4

Kim, M. (2007). School choice and private supplementary educationin South Korea. Paper presented at the IIEP policy forum onconfronting the shadow education system: What governmentpolicies for what private tutoring? Paris: IIEP-UNESCO


Bray, TM (2010). Researching Shadow Education: Methodological Challenges and Direction


http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/reprimand?q=reprimand

Techonology: iPad 3 VS NEXUS 7 Drop Test

Hi folks, it's time to update you with the latest drop test by SquareTrade first-hand!!! This time, it is the iPad 3 VS the NEXUS 7, what's even more special is that they will not only jump from high, they will go for a swim this time!

See what words you can pick out from the video. Enjoy!

Just in case you haven't seen the drop test for the iPad 2 VS the New iPad, here's the video!

Vocabulary:

first-hand (adv) If you experience something first-hand, you experience it yourself

scuff -- (n) (vb)[T] to make a rough mark on a smooth surface, especially on a shoe or floor

thud -- (n) [C] the sound that is made when something heavy falls or hits something else
shatter -- (vb) [I or T] to (cause something to) break suddenly into very small pieces

Resources:

SquareTrade's Face-off: Nexus 7 vs. iPad @ YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKaPmrXKfO0

New iPad vs. iPad 2 Drop Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfbMlM4upsw

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/first-hand?q=first+hand

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/scuff?q=scuff
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/thud?q=thud
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/shatter?q=shatter