Assignment 4

The tools for me were new, such that concordancers or collocation retrieval systems.


It provided me a new way to learn English.





I have some thought for these tools.





Some times if I wanted to make articles or presented sentences in English.


I would be always confused by the process of translating from Chinese to English.


The worst of all, I made many mistakes for useing the improper words, because my logical is in Chnese type.


If I just used the dictionary for checking, the results always were failure because the examples in the dictionary were limited.



You won't find the example that you want many times.

I found it not a good idea to use dictionaries for helping writting.

Maybe to use concordancers or collocation retrieval systems is a better way.

You can know the specific amount of how others used the word by exercising collocation retrieval systems.

The matter does not mean the dictionary is bad.

After all, I will still use the dictionary if I have some questions about the meaning of a word.

I have to do that because when I know which is the best word to collocate, I don't really understand it.

Choosing the right tool will benefit learning, so does work.

You can also use one another to complement each other.

I am trying to do and I believe it really help me a lot.

Assignments：Concordancers

Is there any rule governing the use of "big" and "large"?

Sally said "yes".

I used the Oxford & Cambridge to seach the meaning before I did this assignment.

It was suitable to use Oxford for me because the explanation is more clearly.

Searching result is beneath this paragraph.

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big

adj. (big•ger, big•gest) LARGE

large in size, degree, amount, etc.: a big man / house / increase

This shirt isn’t big enough.

It’s the world’s biggest computer company. (informal)


He had this great big grin on his face.

They were earning big money.

The news came as a big blow.

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large

adj. (larger, larg•est)

1. big in size or quantity:

a large area / family / house / car / appetite



a large number of people

very large sums of money



He’s a very large child for his age.

A large proportion of old people live alone.

Women usually do the larger share of the housework.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of coffee.

Who’s the rather large (= fat) lady in the hat?



2. (abbr. L) used to describe one size in a range of sizes of clothes, food, products used in the house, etc.: small, medium, large



3. wide in range and involving many things:

a large and complex issue

Some drugs are being used on a much larger scale than previously.

If we look at the larger picture of the situation, the differences seem slight. note at big

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In fact, when I finished checking the different between "large" & "big", I can't figure out any version with logic.
After all, it's "learner's" dictionary.

Then I tried to find the answer by knowledge A+ where you can just post your questions and there will be someone help you.

(1)They are different in level. ==> Big <>(2)Big has always been used to decribe something abstract, such as importance, and concrete size.

On the other hand, large is almost like big but it doesn't have the meaning of importance.

(3)Sometimes we can exchange them, but it's not free.
Some hint beneath.....

(X) He is making a big amount of money in China.
(O) He is making a large amount of money in China.

(X) The number of tourists in Taiwan gets bigger every year.
(O) The number of tourists in Taiwan gets larger every year.


That's my answer, it seems concordancer can't help me to resolve this puzzle...XD

Assignment 2 Dictionary Exercise

The words I want to exercise the use of the dictionaries are "progress" and "advancement".
Do you remember my first article?
I have mentioned that I want to make a big "progress" by taking Sally's course.
It seems very natural to use the word "progress".
I begin to think if I learned other similar meaning word.

Bingo! The word "advancement" rised on my mind, then.
Maybe someone met the same problem with me.

• First, let check the different by using Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

I just put the meaning of noun, because progress can be used in verb type.

progress

1. advancement to an improved or more developed state, or to a forward position:

Technological progress has been so rapid over the last few years.
I'm not making much progress with my Spanish.
The doctor said that she was making good progress.
(= getting better after a medical operation or illness)
The recent free elections mark the next step in the country's progress towards democracy.
The yacht's crew said that they were making relatively slow progress north-easterly.

advancement

All she was interested in was the advancement (= improvement, development) of her own career.

• Second, let check the definition by using Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

progress

1. the process of improving or developing, or of getting nearer to achieving or completing sth:

---to make progress
---slow / steady / rapid / good progress
We have made great progress in controlling inflation.

---economic / scientific / technical progress
They asked for a progress report on the project.

2. movement forwards or towards a place:

She watched his slow progress down the steep slope.
There wasn’t much traffic so we made good progress.

advancement

1. the process of helping sth to make progress or succeed;

the progress that is made:

---the advancement of knowledge / education / science

2. progress in a job, social class, etc.:

There are good opportunities for advancement if you have the right skills.

After searching the definitions.
I will use these two words in the applicable situation carefully, although they are the same meaning in Chinese.
The dictionaries are really the good tools to distinguish the words that you are really confused.

If I made something wrong or mistake on this article, I will very appreciate if you could give me some advice. :D

Introduction of "MiniKobe"

Welcome to my new blog. This blog is created for "CALL".

My name is Edward. I was born in March 24, 1988.
I always play basketball and watch NBA or MLB game in my leisure time.
The player that my favorite is Kobe Bryant. Maybe he is the best basketball player on the earth.
I enjoy every game he played, that why my virtual ID is MiniKobe.

I major in electronics engineering. It’s my third year to study in NTUST, so I will graduate in one year.
In fact, I haven’t decided what to do in my future.
As others view, maybe it means I am still blind on my career.
I just think life will be change all the time, I don’t have to restrict myself now.

I hope I can make a obvious progress at the end of this semester.