SummARy

今天看到一本書

其實算是教育書吧

在講一個媽媽結婚前沒有出國玩

但是有了家庭之後開始帶著孩子到處玩

的旅行教育

寫的真不錯

其中提到

出發前會和孩子一起做功課

一起評估要出去的地點

回來後會叫孩子寫一份"旅行報告"

話說雖然叫旅行報告

但實際上完全讓孩子自己發揮

孩子也不因為是"作業"而做

而是因為"想做"而做

他發現

孩子把自己當美編、主筆，十分認真積極的去做這份旅行後的報告

而且還隨著時代與科技演進

從紙版變電子

我個人還滿喜歡這個點子的

旅行後的報告

其實的確可以訓練自己把抽象的獲得用自己覺得適合的方式記錄下來

可惜自己之前的旅行沒有督促自己這麼做

希望接下來的旅行可以囉

USe iT or LOse iT

vocabulary:

• retail: the activity of selling goods to the public
• justify: to give or to be a good reason for
  Do real changes take place in the brain with age to justify such grumbling?
• grumble: to complain about someone or something in an annoying way
  She spent the evening grumbling to me about her job.
• incident: an event which is either unpleasant or unusual
  how quickly you can react to fast-moving incidents on the road.
• inevitable: certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented
  the inevitable: something that is certain to happen and cannot be prevented
  Eventually the inevitable happened and he had a heart attack.
  the near-inevitable slowing with age also partly explains why soccer players are seen as old om their thirties, while golf professionals are still in their prime at that age.
• prime: main or most important; of the best quality; the period in your life when you are most active or successful
  The is a dancer in her prime.
• temporal lobes
  the parts of the brain known as the temporal lobes control new learning.
• vulnerable: able to be easily hurt, influenced or attacked
  i felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.
• juggle: to throw several objects up into the air, and then catch and throw them up repeatedly so that one or more stays in the air, usually in order to entertain people; to succeed in arranging your life so that you have tome to involve yourself in two or more different activities or groups of people
  Working memory is the brain's blackboard, where we juggle from moment to moment the things we have to keep in mind when solving problems, planning tasks and generally organising our day-to-day life.
• Absent-mindedness: describe someone who often forgets things or does not pay aatention ot what is happening near them because they are thing about other things
  Absent-mindedness occurs at all ages because of imperfections in the working memory system. 
• creep: to move slowly, quietly and carefully, usually in order to avoid being noticed
  creep up: if the value or amount of something creeps up, it slowly increases.
  Such absent-mindedness tends to creep up on us as we age.
• chalk: (noun.)a type of soft white rock or a stick of this rock or a similar substance used for writing or drawing.
  chalk: (verb.) to write something with a pieve of chalk
  It occurs because our plans and intentions, which are chalked up on the mental blackboard, are easily wiped out.
• stray: stray things have moved apart from similar things and are not in their expected place
  stray dog
• preoccupation: an idea or subject that someone things about most of the time.
  Stress and preoccupation can also cause such absent-mindedness.
• bleak: depressing
  the news, however, is not all bleak.
• superior: better
  the mentally active professors in their sixties and early seventies were superior to their contemporaries.
• contemporary: a person who is of the same age as you
  she didnt mix with her contemporaries, preferring the company of older people.  
• sprout: to produce leaves or to begin to grow
  he has shown that animals kept in stimulating environments show sprouting and lengthening of the connecting nerve fibres in their brains.
• beneficial: helpful, useful
  a stay in the country will be beneficial to his health
• contestant: someone who competes in a contest
• apparatus: a set of equipment or a structured system
  the divers checked their breathing apparatus.
• intrigue: to interest someone
  Such findings lead to the intriguing possibility of mental fitness training.
• faculty: capability
  just as people go bald or grey at different rates, so the same is true for their mental faculties. 

the GReat woRK MYth

Vocabulary:

• press: newspapers and magazines
  work gets a terrible press
• deprive: to take something, especially something necessary or pleasant, away from someone
  you can't function properly when you're deprived of sleep.
• scapegoat: a person who is blamed for something that someone else has done
  work has become the scapegoat for all out woes.
• woe: great problems or troubles
  unusually poor harvests have added to the country's woes.
  i'm cold and wet and i havent got enough money for my bus fare home. Woe is me. (said to express how unhappy you are)
• persuasive
• as far as something is concerned: if we are discussing or thinking about a particular thing
  As far as work is concerned, we've never had it so good.
  As far as unemployment's concerned, a change of government would be a good idea.
• maternity: the state of being a mother
  a lot of firms offer longer maternity leave.
• sabbatical: a period of time when college or university teachers are allowed to stop their usual work in order to study or travel, usually while continuring to be paid
  a third of firms now offer sabbaticals.
• rhetoric: part of a talk or speech; clever language which sounds good but is not sincere or has meaning
  The rhetoric about longer working hours also needs to be put in perspective.
• in perspective: an object or person that is in perspective has the correct size and position in comparison with other things in the pictures
  the rhetoric about longer working houes also needs to be put in perspective.
• despite: without taking any notice of or being influenced by
  Despite all the improvements in work over recent decades, there is still an ingrained attitude that happiness lies outside work.
  He managed to eat a big lunch despite having eaten an enormous breakfast.
• ingrained: (of beliefs) so firmly held that they are not likely to change.
  the belief that you should own your house is deeply ingrained in British society.
• alienated: being separated from
  alienation: separation
  He described workers being alienated from the product of their labour.
• constitute: to form or make something
  what constitutes the alienation of labour?
• mortify: to cause someone to feel extremely ashamed or embarrassed
  it does not develop his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and ruins his mind.
  he'e mortified by the fact that at 38 he still lives at home with his mother.
• dubious: feeling doubt or not feeling certain
  work is becoming too important for it to be of dubious quality.
• poll: a study in which people are asked for their opinions about subject or person
  according to a poll by recruitment consultancy
• prevalent: happening often
  In truth, they are simply made to feel as if they have a problem because of prevalent attitude.
• futile: (of actions) having no effect or achieving nothing
  futility
  the shift of work towards the centre of our lives demonstrates the futility of much of the current debates about "work/life balance".
• stack up: match
  yet the idea that it is being forced upon us without our choice just doesn't stack up.
• ultimately: finally
  Ultimately, our goal must be to begin seeing work as an intrinsic part of our life.
• intrinsic: being an essential and basic characteristic of a person or thing
  maths is an intrinsic part of the school curriculum.
• adjunct: something attached or connected to a larger or more important thing
• don: a college teacher especially at Oxford or Cambridge University
• manifesto: a written statement of the beliefs, sims, and policies of an organisation.
  he has the right manifesto for the future of work
• abolish: to end an activity officially
  abolition
  the abolition of slavery
  that i mean abolishing the distinction between work and leisure.
• leisure: the time when you are not working
  most people only have limited amount of leisure time.
• lousy: very bad
  employers keep workers in lousy jobs by granting them some leisure time.
• strive: to try very hard to do something
  we should strive to be employed in such a way that we dont realize what we are doing is work.
• downpayment: an amount of money that you pay at the time that you buy something, but which is only a part of the total cost of that thing.
  it is indeed time to abandon the notion of work as a downpayment on life. 
• sap: to make someone weaker or take away strength or an important quality from someone.
  the ones that continue to stereotype work as intrinsically sapping, demeaning and corrosive.
• corrosive: a corrosive substance causes damage by chemical reaction.
  the corrosive influence of racism

HapPINeSS

the article we learned last week :

the latest global analysis of happiness and satisfaction levels shows that the most satisfied people tend to live in latin america, western Europe, and northern america, whereas eastern europeans are the least satisfied.

over the past decade, the study of happiness has become a bona fide discipline. as a result, government policy advisers are getting interested and politicians are using the research as the basis for new strategies.

what above all else has made systematic study possible is data gathered from hundreds of surveys measuring happiness across different cultures, professions, religions, and socio-economic groups.
they can investigate the impact of money and inequality.
we can now show which behaviours are risky as far as happiness goes. We should eventually be able to show what kind of lifestyle suits what kind of person.

while it is tempting to hold up those nations that report the highest levels of happiness as a model for others to follow, this may be unwise.
first, the word "happiness" has no precise equivalent in some languages.
secondly, "satisfaction" is not quite the same thing as "happiness".
thirdly, different cultures value happiness in very different ways.
    in individualistic western countries, happiness is often seen as a reflection of personal achievement. this pressure to be happy could lead people to over-report how happy they feel.
    in the more collectivist nations in Asia, people have a more fatalistic attitude towards happiness. in Asia cultures, the pursuit of happiness is often frowned on, which in turn could lead people to under-report.
How satisfied a person is with their life depends on how successfully they adhere to their particular cultural standard.

One of the most significant observations to come from research findings is that in individualised nations, happiness has no risen with average incomes.
the desire for material goods, which has increased with average income, is a "happy suppressant".

Since nothing about materialism can help you find happiness, governments should discourage it.

the key to making people happier is to shift the emphasis from economic well-being to personal development, and to discourage the pursuit of social status.
paradoxically, by striving too hard to climb the global happiness rankings, governments are in danger of turning the pursuit of happiness into yet another competitive quest for status - just what researchers have shown is a sure path to making people miserable.

riPPLes

a mess outside 

and also 

a mess inside

Uk

隨著時間

心裡有時也開始萌生乾脆去英國的時候不要找正職(雖然也不是說我想找就找得到)

來真的打工渡假的念頭

只是不管最後是甚麼

多少還是憂慮著

自己是不是太奢侈了

老媽某方面真的很了解我啊

noT eNOUGh

不知道




看著別人的驚歎號

自己卻只能盯著大問號

如果配著隨遇而安  容易滿足  不會想東想西的腦袋瓜就算了

偏偏

很愛想

很愛考自己

很天真

但又還不夠爛漫





真不知道

voCAbulaRY

hu~ we had lots of vocabulary this time. finally i have done it!

vocabulary:

• ubiquitous
• identify:
  Which person in the photos do you identify most closely with?
• adjectives to describe personality:
• ambitious
• anti-social  < >  sociable
• altruistic  < >  self-centred
• courageous  < >  timid
• balanced  < >  obsessive
• easy-going  < >  highly-strung
• phantom
• illusion: something that is not really what it seems to be
• compelling: get your attention
  This illusion is extraordinarily compelling the first time you encounter it.
• striking: attracting a lot of attention
  There is a very striking illusion in which you can feel a rubber hand being touched as if it were your own.
• conceal: to precent something from being seen or known
  i tried to conceal my surprise when she told me her age.
• uncanny: strange or mysterious
  you will have an uncanny feeling that you are actually being stroked on the fake hand.
• sensation: a general feeling caused by something that happens to you
  the  sensations you feel will seem to emerge directly from the plastic.
• discrepancy: difference
  they believe this illusion is strong enough to overcome the discrepancy between the position of your real hand that you can feel and the site of the plastic hand you can see. 
• twist: the change information so that it gives the message you want it to give
  You're twisting my words - that's not what i said at all.
• resemble: to look like or be like someone or something
  The object your helper touches doesn't even need to resemble your hand.
• acquaintance: a person that you have met but do not know well
  this time get your acquaintance to rub and tap the surface if in from of you.
• matching: having the same colour or pattern as something else
  a green dress with matching green handbag
• extraordinarily: very, more than usual
  this illusion is extraordinarily compelling the first time you encountered it.
• blow: a hard hit with a hand or a weapon
  if you threaten the table by aiming a blow at it, the person winces. 
• wince: to show pain suddenly and for a short time in the face, often moving the head back at the same time
• perspiration: sweat
• incorporate: to include something as part of something larger
  It is as if the table becomes incorporated into a person's own body image.
• perceive: to come to an opinion about something
  the subject perceives a threat to the table as to themselves.
• perception: a belief or opinion
  we have to change the public;s perception that money is being waisted.
• limbs
• intact: complete and in the original state
  put their intact arm on the reflective side
• cramp: a sudden painful tightening in a muscle
• likelihood: the chance that something will happen
  what is the likelihood that what i see and what i feel could be identical simply by chance?
• intellect: the ability to understand and to thing in an intelligent way
  our intellect cannot override.
• inanimate: having none of the characteristics of life
  even a lifetime of experience that an inanimate object is not part of your body is abandoned in light of the perception that it is. 
• premise: an idea or theory
  one premise that seems to be beyond question is that you are anchored in your body.
• anchor: to make something or someone stay in one position by fastening them firmly
• forsaken: to leave someone forever
  this obvious fact is temporarily forsaken.

SomEwHeRe

Lost in the darkness
Hoping for a sign
Instead there's only silence
Can't you hear my screams?

Never stop hoping
Need to know where you are
Cause one thing's for sure
You're always in my heart

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying
Until my dying day
I just need to know
Whatever has happened
The truth will free my soul

Lost in the darkness
Tried to find your way home
I want to embrace you
And never let you go

Almost hope you're in heaven
So no one can hurt your soul
Living in agony
Cause I just do not know
Where you are

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying
Until my dying day
I just need to know
Whatever has happened
The truth will free my soul

Wherever you are
I won't stop searching
Whatever it takes me to know

開始吧

轉眼就十月中了，該開始認真準備出門的事。之前自己猶豫徬徨的心情也大致調整了，家人的態度也慢慢地軟化和接受，這些都花了不少時間，但是能從內從外都有更明確的支持，這還是很值得的。現在，就是挑戰自己準備的能力和克服自己內心面對未知的不安吧!

這次出門，最希望可以在當地找到收入不錯的正職或是時間夠長的簽約工作，倒也不是期待能未來都在那邊工作，只是希望當地的收入能滿足當地的支出罷了。最完美的情況是一份同產業類型的工作(例如軟體工程師)，這樣就還能體驗不同文化的工作，還不用太擔憂回來後有工作斷層的問題，果真如此就真是實現我心中的夢想啦！

不過，凡事要做最壞的打算。找不到正職，當然就來找打工吧！其實這不算是最壞的選擇，只是透過很不一樣的經歷來補貼生活的錢。這時候的重點應該就會是擴增視野，藉由不同的嘗試探索不同的自己。當然，運氣好的話，希望是一份有趣且值得學習的工作嚕！

那最壞的打算是甚麼？應該就是賺不到錢，沒有工作吧！這意味著我更要謹慎管理能運用的資源，好讓自己還是能好好體驗國外生活。相對的，空閒的時間應該不少，便能盡可能的利用深度旅行來探索自己和這個世界。

其實這三種計畫應該沒有甚麼好壞之分，說不定最後收穫最少的是我本來以為最完美的選擇也不一定。只想告訴自己，妥當的準備自己在好的心態下出發，過程平安最重要，至於其他的部分，就隨興而致吧！既然都選擇出門了，就努力創造未來吧！

題外話，雖然深知待在國外一段時間，英文也不一定能顯著進步，但還是要強迫自己在這方面努力，期許可以達成自己的目標吧！

stOp

can time stop ?

leAVe

那種焦躁

那種心情

我什麼時候可以擺脫掉呢

SolE

開始有點理解當初的那種迷惑

也許我也是那種很需要時間跟自己獨處的人

就因為容易受牽動的個性吧

真正的單獨沈澱

才能清楚分離自我和外界

brEAkinG RulES

i am just not that into the rule. I respect rules. There must exist a reason, at least, that people created rules and keep following them. However, the standard procedures sometimes dont suit as time is going. i encourage myself to understand the current rules and standards first and think of "why" behind the scene. it is not too difficult, but to have your own opinion is. to form your own opinion needs to think through several steps -- understanding the reality, reflection, adjustment, challenging and verifying your own adjustment. I like thechinese expression of this procedure -- 思辨. simple and make sense.

vaGUE

actually, i am still afraid and not confident to go to UK.

I am afraid that i would realize it is not what i want and that turns out to be a regretful decision. Be honest i think i m not ready. Comparing to the past, I become less independent, in physically and mentally.

all the motivation has gone. all the energy has gone. the power of dreaming has become weaker. i feel like full of sawdust in my mind and body. it is really an awkward feeling to me.

she yelled, "dont step back! hang on there". but, how...?

sTRUggLiNg

everyone is different.

maybe i just cant get in that way.

uncertainty has been spreading everywhere along the road i am walking on.

i have known i changed at some points and i dont like it, but the most important thing is that can i reshape myself to be the one i desire to be?

currently i even dont want to or admit to say that, but everything has revealed the truth and reality again and again. it's nothing to do with fear but self-confidence. you just dont trust yourself. I am not really aware and understand that is a serious problem to a person until very recent. i am struggling in some way.

WasTE

有時候

這樣發現自己虛度時間

是多麼的厭惡啊

stARt

今天花了點時間翻了一本雜誌

迅速筆記一下一些讓我有印象的句子

成功的定義在於實現夢想
如過不撐過去，我永遠都要從掃地小妹開始做起
....


糟糕我忘記了！！！！
(oh my god~poor memory Q_Q下次再來補)

hoLLOw

有點像骨質開始流失一樣

空洞和脆弱

喀擦一聲

多麼無神

sTONes

feel a bit tired.

i asked, 'why do people like travelling?'

we hear many people go travelling periodically, at least, i am. people always say feel tired a bit and go travelling to feel released, to breathe fresh air, and to relax. cant we feel released, breathe fresh air and relax during the daily life? why do we feel tired?