dennislv

@dennislv (134)

Shanghai, China

Joined myLot 13 years ago

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Likes (71)

dennislv's Likes

dennislv liked this • 17 Oct 13

"This fine-looking, commanding man had become a shadow of his former self.", I don't know how to underatand this sentence. Help me please...

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 16 Oct 13

"a shadow of his former self" means he was not like what he had been,right? Then, I am wondering if "this fine-looking, commanding man" was fine-looking and commanding and his former self had been much worse before, or he had been...

1 response

Shasta To become a shadow of his former self means that due to some circumstances he had become a weaker version of what he used to be.

17 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 16 Oct 13

What's the meaning of "Badabing"?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 16 Oct 13

it's an exclamation but I don't know how to describe its meaning.

1 response

TheRealDawn Sometimes it's used kind of like a "gotcha".

16 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 16 Oct 13

What's the meaning of "Badabing"?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 16 Oct 13

it's an exclamation but I don't know how to describe its meaning.

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? It seems to be most often found as "Badabing badoom" (as used in the cartoon serial, "The Simpsons"). It is an onomatopoeic exclamation which describes the sounds made by, for example, entering something into a machine and receiving results. There is no real...

16 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 15 Oct 13

Anybody knows something about astrology? Why "the Jupiter–Saturn cycle is now in sextile to its most difficult period"?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 14 Oct 13

Why is being in sextile the cycle's most difficult period?

astrology

sextile

period

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? Sextile indicates that the bodies are separated by about 60 degrees. Conjunction, trine (120 degree separation) and sextile are usually considered broadly unifying or harmony-creating aspects whereas opposition and square (90 degrees separation) are taken to...

15 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 15 Oct 13

"she could sew the veil on properly in the morning", according to this sentence,"in the morning" doesn't mean "this morning", then, when was she expected to finish her sewing?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

I know "in the morning" is not the same as "this morning". "She could" here suggests an uncertain tense. However, I prefer it a subjunctive use. If so,then "in the morning" can be "tomorrow morning"? What is it talking about?

mean

sentence

morning

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? @dennislv Actually, now I think about it, I was wrong: it's not really a 'syntactical unit that cannot be broken', even though the English mind tends to think of 'could sew on' as a verb unit. "She could easily sew the veil on properly in the morning." would...

15 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 14 Oct 13

"I have no patience with pious, sexless females.", what does "pious" here most probably mean?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 14 Oct 13

the speaker hates very religious woman? Or, he hates hypocritical,holy-virgin ilke girls? (Am I right by using "holy-virgin like" here?) Which of the above is the better understanding?

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? I think that your second meaning is probably the more accurate one. "Pious" means: - having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations. OR [i]- characterized by a hypocritical concern with...

14 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 14 Oct 13

"she could sew the veil on properly in the morning", according to this sentence,"in the morning" doesn't mean "this morning", then, when was she expected to finish her sewing?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? @dennislv It modifies the action of 'sewing on the veil', not the 'being able to ... '. As you see, there are a number of correct positions an adverb can have. In the original sentence, it is placed after the complex verb structure (the object of the verb 'the...

14 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 13 Oct 13

"I don't even teach very well.", what does "even" mean here?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

If "even" was taken away from this sentence, would it make any difference?

2 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl? As @mythociate says, it is a comparative adverb. Its original sense must have been to indicate that something is 'equal to', 'the same as' or 'like' something else (as opposed to being 'more than' or 'less than' something). It is now used rather in the sense...

13 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 13 Oct 13

What is a "courier market",a post service, a tourism market, or a delivery market?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

"the U.S. courier market", I am confused by the word "courier".

courier

market

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? A courier is a person (or a business) which contracts to carry goods from one place to another for people. In a sense, the postal service is a courier service, though the word usually applies to services which are different from the normal mail - they are...

13 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 12 Oct 13

"she could sew the veil on properly in the morning", according to this sentence,"in the morning" doesn't mean "this morning", then, when was she expected to finish her sewing?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? When the 'focus' or particular point of time referred to in the statement is any time of day after waking (even when it is 'now' still morning), "in the morning" usually indicates the morning immediately following the next sleep period. 'Could' here...

12 Oct 13

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2 people

dennislv liked this • 11 Oct 13

"she works on the feeling of being deprived of her mother", What is she exactly doing?How shall I understand "work on" here?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

Which understanding is correct: 1. She does her work with a feeling of being orphaned or isolated. 2. She trys to deal with her lonely feeling.

feeling

work

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? The second one is the more correct interpretation. "To work on" something means to do something to further or improve or perfect it with the end in view. Here, it may mean that the person in question is 'working on' the feelings in order to gain other...

11 Oct 13

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2 people

dennislv liked this • 11 Oct 13

Some questions on the national anthem of the USA ——

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 10 Oct 13

Here are part of the lyrics: Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were...

usa national anthem star spangled banner lyrics

2 responses

Edward @owlwings considering you're not American, I am very impressed with your knowledge of the Star Spangled Banner! @dennislv I can't remember exactly but I would say I was probably 9 11 or 12 years before I could sing the anthem. I fully understood the meaning...

11 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 11 Oct 13

I read this: "the severance and disestablishment of the Irish Church",I know little about the Irish Church and its background. What happened to the Irish Church in history?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

Who did the "severance" and the "disestablishment"? A king or queen of England? And what happened before and after the disestablishment of the Irish Church? Is "Irish Church" also called "the Church of Ireland"? And has it...

irish

church

england

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? Ireland is predominantly a Catholic country and the Catholic Church is the established religion of Eire ( = Southern Ireland). The Church of Ireland, however, is a Protestant body in Northern Ireland which is separate from (though associated with) the Church...

11 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 11 Oct 13

"the workers were offered severance terms", what does "terms" refer to?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

A set time or written clauses in a contract?

2 responses

Shasta It's an agreement.

11 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 11 Oct 13

"the workers were offered severance terms", what does "terms" refer to?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 11 Oct 13

A set time or written clauses in a contract?

2 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl? "Terms" here refers to clauses in a contract or the parts of an agreement which determines part of a contract (in this case, the agreement which determines what will happen when the workers are 'severed' - cut off - from the work they are doing).

11 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 10 Oct 13

Some questions on the national anthem of the USA ——

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 10 Oct 13

2 responses

TheRealDawn I can't sing it in full, but then the part that you printed isn't the entire anthem. There are other verses.

10 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 10 Oct 13

Some questions on the national anthem of the USA ——

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 10 Oct 13

2 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl? 1) "Oh, say can you see ...?" is another way of writing "Tell me, can you see ...?". "Oh, say ..." and "Tell me ..." are imperative interjections used to increase the force of the (rhetorical, in this case) question. The expected answer would be "Yes, I can...

10 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 10 Oct 13

What is “an electric fondue set”?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 8 Oct 13

I have no idea about it.

2 responses

TheRealDawn Usually, in my experience, you heat something up in it, and then you dip things in, for example melted cheese and you dip bread in it, or hot oil and you dip meat in it.

10 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 10 Oct 13

Is a “charge card” exactly the same thing as a "credit card"?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 9 Oct 13

“the bill was paid by charge card", Is the "charge card" a "credit card" like a Master Card or a Visa Card? Is there any difference between them?

card

charge card

credit card

1 response

Just an Ordinary Owl? There are three different kinds of payment card: A Credit Card allows one to make payments up to an agreed credit limit. The payments are on credit and one is expected to reimburse the credit card company for credit used on a regular basis (usually...

10 Oct 13

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1 person

dennislv liked this • 9 Oct 13

What is “an electric fondue set”?

dennislv @dennislv (134) • Shanghai, China 8 Oct 13

I have no idea about it.

2 responses

Just an Ordinary Owl? @dennislv Yes, "hot pot" or "Mongolian hot pot" is the same thing that I described as being Szchechuan (both cultures, I believe, are from the north of China or from its northern neighbours). Whereas the Mongolian/Szchechuan hot pot involves a broth (which is...

9 Oct 13

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1 person