How did I Get Free Classes and Certifications

         I got two Adobe certifications recently – the Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. The interesting thing I want to share with you is that I took both certification tests for free and classes for free. Well, I only paid for the membership which costs $25 for a year. Then, I registered for Adobe classes and tests. Luckily, I got in. The class took a month and a half. The certification exams normally would cost more than $100.


         This program was supported by NYC Parks and Recreation Center. If you are under the age of 25, you only need to pay $25 a year for the fitness equipment and swimming pools around NYC. Plus, there’s many programs you can register online through their official website and you might have a chance to get free classes and certifications.

Your Day Starts From The Moment You Wake Up

 Source: www.imgion.com

      If there’s one part of your day that’s worthy of an overhaul, it’s the morning. So every morning, try to take a few hours as preparation before a big match.

      You can do some workouts, some yoga, some meditation; make a to-do list for the day or eat a healthy breakfast - eating the right food in the morning will offer a mental advantage and has been linked with improved memory, creativity, and learning.

Words Learning:
                 Overhaul详细检查

Improve English Writing and Speaking

         Hello, this blog is for people who like to learn English speaking and writing. I have been living in United States for five years, but I have to admit that my English is really bad. English is not something you can only study at school, it won’t get much better if you only study it at school. If you live in a English speaking environment, you would have a chance to talk, listen and read all kinds of English in daily life. Even if you don’t have that environment, you still have library and internet to learn English. I decide to study English very seriously and I want to share my experiences with you.

Where to read?

         One of the best way to learn English is through reading. I used to find it was extremely difficult to read a book, article, or newspaper. Maybe sometimes the reason was because these materials were not interesting. However, I realized the main reason with reading was I could not concentrate. I couldn’t read at home because I have a laptop, iPad and a phone. It is obviously more fun to watch videos or play games online than reading a second language document. I couldn’t read a book in the library, because it was quiet. I always feel sleepy in the library. So where should I read? I go to a garden to read books. Reading a book in a park with sunshine and fresh air is the best choice for me to be concentrate in reading.

Stress may work.

         People always say find an interesting material to read. It is the truth but most times, we read because we have to. If you are not a native English speaker, you may find any book with your native language is more interesting than an English book. You may find many words you don’t know from an English book, you may ignore these words or spend many hours to find the meaning. Reading an English book or newspaper is hard for me too, but I have to do it because I really want to improve my English skills. As a matter of fact, I normally get a better job done when I know I have to do the job without any other choices. If you want to improve your English dramatically, you may have to push yourself into it.

Learn English Phrases

         I always find my vocabulary is poor. Sometimes I find my way of talking is extremely boring because I only know a few words. One way to solve poor expression is improve vocabulary, the other is to learn phrases. Below are some examples:                                                            

At a slow rate (slowly)          At an early date (soon) 

Bring to a conclusion (conclude, end)

Based on the fact (because)      Be in agreement with (agree)       

Come to terms with (agree, accept)  

At this point in time (now)         Despite the fact that (although)     

During the course of (during)

Express an opinion that (affirm)    For the period of (for)    Has the capability to (can)

In communication with (communicate)      In connection with (about) 

In such a manner (so that)

In the area/care/field of (in)       In the event that (if)       

In the mouth of May (in May)

In the neighborhood (approximately, about)

It is often the case that----- often      

With the result that---so         

It is our understanding that------we understand that

Look something like----resemble        

Fellow colleague----colleague

Of the opinion that----think that

On the grounds that----because                 

Open the conversation with----open, begin with

Until such time as----until                         

With reference to ----regarding, about                             

Absolutely essential ----essential              

Advance reservations-----reservations

Basic necessities-----necessities, needs        

Close proximity-----proximity, nearness

End result-----result                                  

Final conclusions/final outcome-------conclusions/outcome

First and foremost------first                      

Full and complete----full, complete

Personal opinion---- opinion                    

Tried-and-true-----tried, proven

Audible to the ear          Light in the weight     Short in duration  

Loud in volume             Soft in texture             Fly through the air   

Orange in color              Tall in height              Bitter in taste 

Hard to the touch           Rectangular in shape  Twenty in number  Honest in character   Visible to the eye        Second in sequence  

Avoid Sexist Language

         Good English means choosing the right words to use for different occasions.  Some English words needs extra care. For example, when you are talking to a big amount of audience, you need to make sure you used ‘person’ instead of ‘men’, because you may have many female audience. In other words, you better avoid sexist language:

Representative(alderman, assemblyman, congressman)             Businessperson(businessman)       Skilled worker(craftsman)

Photographer(cameraman)            Chair, chairperson(chairman)      

Divorced person(divorcee)            Firefighter(fireman)                     Supervisor(foreman)                      Homemaker(housewife)

Custodian, cleaning person (janitress) 

Owner(landlord, landlady)             Family name(maiden name)         

Mail carrier(mailman, postman)    Beings(mankind)

Work-hours(man-hours)                Humanity, human

Synthetic, artificial (manmade)     Strength, power(manpower)       

Candidly(man to man)                   Repair person(repairman)

Human beings, people(men)          Police officer(policeman)            

Salesperson, clerk(salesman)         Spokesperson(spokesman)           Meteorologist(weatherman)           Flight attendant(stewardess)

Intuition(women’s intuition)          Worker(workman)                       

Poet(poetess)            Usher(usherette)                     Server(waitress) 

Drummer(drum majorette)

Avoid Race, National Origin, Ages, or Disabilities

         Do not use ‘elderly’, ‘up in years’, ‘geezer’, ‘old-timer’, ‘over the bill’, ‘senior moment’, or the adjectives spry or frail when they are applied to someone’s age: “a spray sixty-seven.” similarly, don’t refer to employees as kids, youngsters, juveniles, wet behind the ears, or middle-aged supervisor.

         Also avoid derogatory words such as amputee, crippled, handicapped, impaired, or lame or retarded or slow. Don’t use such phrases as wheelchair-bound or confined to a wheelchair. Avoid using discriminatory expressions in writing, such as a crippled economy, lame excuse, mentally challenged, mental midget, or crazy scheme.

         In addition, don’t talk: that’s so gay (bisexuals) and don’t assume that all of your readers are heterosexual (don’t ask about marital status)

Examples:

(The Chinese computer whiz was about to find the problem.)

The programmer was about to find the problem.

(Bill, who is African American, is one of the company’s top sales reps.) 

Bill is one of the company’s top sales reps.

(Jerry Fox, who will be fifty-seven next mouth, comes up with obsolete plans from time to time.) Some of Jerry Fox’s plans have not been adopted.

(Our company keeps hiring youngers who lack experience.) 

Our firm recruits individuals with little or no experience.

(Tom suffers from MS.) Tom is a person living with MS.

(Sarah, who is crippled, still does an excellent job of keyboarding.)

Sarah’s disability does not prevent her from keyboarding.

(Paula Smith, a strong supporter of gays and lesbians, hosts a successful daytime talk show.)

Paula Smith hosts a successful daytime talk show.

MAVNI Program – A Way to Get US Citizenship

If you want to have a meaningful life in USA but worry about your visa, you can think about joining the army through MAVNI Program. I don’t know if you have to be involved in a war, that depends on your job and your commander’s order, but joining the army may lead you be a US citizen.

There’s some general requirements for MAVNI program: applicants must have a high school diploma and must be legally reside in the United States for a minimum of two years prior to joining the Army (excluding DACA) without a single absence from the country lasting longer than 90 days. You must be 17-34 years old and be under 35 at the time of shipping to BCT. Applicant may hold a E, F, H, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U or V visa. Or, you may also be an Asylee, a refugee, a temporary protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  

If you make your mind and find yourself meet above requirements, you should contact a recruiter that near you. You can find army recruiting locations through army official website. MAVNI program is going to close in September, 2016, so you better act soon. If you by any chance locate in Jamaica, NY area, I can recommend you to my recruiter.   

If your recruiter think you are a right fit for the army, he or she will ask you to take ASVAB- Armed Forces Qualification Test. You must score high enough to join the army. After you pass that, you will take your full physical exam and OPI- language exam - to test your native language skills. Then, you sign your contract, make oath, pass background check (SSBI), and pick your job. Wait a year, then ship to basic training.

Basic training is hard to pass, but you must accomplish it in order to get your citizenship. So during the waiting period, you should train yourself very hard. You should join the future solider program and join the PT class as a future solider. You may also prepare your citizenship application and take it with you while shipping.

MAVNI program is a way to consider if you want to stay in USA, and not many immigration lawyers know about this program. I hope the information above can give you a third option for staying in USA.  

Read more about MAVNI Program from army official website:

http://www.goarmy.com/benefits/additional-incentives/mavni.html

Join MAVNI on Facebook, and they will answer your concerns!

https://www.facebook.com/MAVNI-377822249040936/

If you have problem passing ASVAB or physical exam, view my other post or my video:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrXEBibs8EHpW8q5uoIQcbg

Learn English with ASVAB Word Preparation PART 2

• Livelihood 生计、生活         
• Legacy 遗产= Bequest
• The Wayne legacy is more than bricks砖瓦 and mortar水泥.
• Your father left us nothing but a legacy of bad debts hidden by a good name.
• It’s the legacy of my people.
• Lethargic 无精打采的
• Such lethargic creatures.
• It makes people lazy and lethargic.
• Paris on Sunday is almost as lethargic as London.
• Lily pad 睡莲：  I was floating on a lily pad.
• Vowel 元音：   You speak only in vowel.
• Vigilant 警觉地 = Observant： Of course, Sylvia brought this on herself by her lack of vigilance.
• Vigilance警惕n.   :    We must remember that vigilance is the price of safety,
• Vehement 激烈的、热情的
• But many scientist vehemently disagree.
• Vehement is solid.
• Perhaps you chastised her too vehemently.
• Virtuous 善良的、有道德的
• Vital 生气勃勃的         Vitalize 激发、给予生命:    Vital signs are normal.
• Vibrant震动的、充满生命的、响亮的 =  Vivid 生动的、清晰地
• Vexe 烦恼、迷惑
• It vexes me.
• Vex is a favorite of dark elders.
• What vexes all men?
• I don’t entertain hypothetical. 假设, the world as its vexing enough.
• Latrine 公用厕所： I used the office’s latrine.
• Linger 逗留、徘徊
• Why do you linger in the shadows.
• What kind of army would linger in such a place?
• Limp 跛行、无生气的、无力地 = Hobble
• He goes as limp as a bonded fish.
• Gotham has limped on ever since.
• He had a limp.
• Liberate 解放:    This is the instrument of your liberation.
• Latent 潜在的、指纹
• Paul, you did call him a latent homosexual. 同性恋者
• You probably thought families that was some form f latent hostility.
• The latent desires of the prefect.
• Abatement废除        Accountable 负有责任的、可解释的 = Responsible
• Amateur 业余爱好者= Novice: not professional
• An accomplished amateur magician
• I’d hate to think I had amateur in my house.
• Abridge 减少 = Shorten
• The abridged version
• Abridge the freedom of speech
• Avocation 爱好= Hobby
• Ornithology鸟类 happens by my avocation.
• This has become my avocation.
• His avocation was gaming.
• Ambush 伏击 = Assault攻击
• They are waiting to ambush the team coming up the elevator.
• Why the hell were we ambushed?
• Ambush the next company?
• Abrogate 废除= Abolish = Suppress = Terminate = Abatement
• The constitution宪法 is abrogated.
• Abolish slavery
• Archaic 古代的、陈旧的 = Antiquated = Old, old-fashioned, outdated
• Antique: a collectible object what has a high value because of its considerable age.
• Antiquity : the ancient past 古代、古迹、古代
• Antibody 抗体     Apparel 一股、外观
• Apprehension 不安、拘捕
• Our intention was to approach you after your apprehension in New York.
• The state is set, the night moist with apprehension.
• But instead of apprehension and interrogation审问, they were slaughtered屠杀.
• Astrophysics 天体物理学    Amiss出错的、不恰当的 = Wrong         
• Disrupt 混乱、破坏
• Batman has a talent for disruption.
• If it leaves with him on it, it will disrupt production.
• I don’t like to see the patients disrupting their rooms.
• Cause if you disrupt my plans, I will have no further use for you.
• Sorry about the disruption.
• Apex剪短、顶峰 = Top
• Clip 修剪the apex.
• Aim for the apex.
• The moon rises to its apex.
• Adrift 漂泊的、随波逐流的
• The human race is going to be adrift.
• But one of the ships did pick up a man adrift at sea.
• My ship was found adrift.
• Attentive 细心的、殷勤的
• This was thanks in part to attentive middle managers.
• Aggression 侵略
• You lay on your back and let her take out that aggression on you.
• An undeclared act of aggression.
• Atheist无神论者   Atheism无神论
• Vocation职业= Occupation
• Antagonize敌对： cause someone to become hostile敌对
• Antagonist: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone.
• Do you just do it to antagonize people?
• Everybody stop antagonizing my guests.
• Keep antagonize me, watch what happens.
• Antonym: opposite meaning          Arcane神秘的= Mysterious
• Amicable = Friendliness
• Their divorce was amicable.
•  Ameliorate = Mend = make something better
• Ameliorate disease/policy /violence
• Frown 皱眉头
• Look at this frown on your face.
• He thinks I smile too much. He’d rather you frowned?
• Foreman 工头、领班
• Fragility 脆弱性 = Delicacy= Brittle
• My hair is brittle and my skin is dry.
• Don’t hurt me, I am brittle.
• It’s small and brittle.         
• The fragility of crystal is not a weakness but a fineness. 精致的
• But this incident with John made me realize the fragility of all this.
• Foreclose 排除、关闭、取消:   The bank closed a couple days ago.
• Firmness 坚固的、坚定地 = Sturdiness 坚固
• Let me show you the firmness of my beliefs.
• I want a firm commitment.
• I want a firm date, and I want it early.
• Befriend =  act as a friend to sb by offering help or support. = Tend = Facilitate= Help照顾、帮助
• By facilitating the process of transition,
• Was this one of the facilitators?
• Colonel, I am sorry, but we cannot facilitate.
• Feint 佯攻、声东击西
• I shall make a feint to the northeast…
• I pretended to be deceived by the feint.
• Falseness 虚伪、不忠实
• False is the men’s eyes.
• There’s falseness in his voice!
• We had that false alarm.
• Fondle 爱抚、抚弄 = Handle
• Fondle first, talk later.
• It was wrong of me to fondle Mrs. Miller’s breast.
• I let you fondle my chest, and it was a glorious moment for me.
• Furious 狂怒的、激烈的
• With great vengeance报复 and furious anger.
• Look how mad they are! Furious！
• It makes furious to this day!
• Fiscal 财务的
• Now that I am fiscally secure.
• This is a direct result of significant fiscal mismanagement.
• In the last fiscal year…
• Impose 强加、利用： sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state.
• Influx 流入、汇入： 
• A sudden influx of money.
• The recent influx of immigrants.
• Inexorable 无情的、铁面无私的
• Inexorable death
• And the elegant means inexorable to her end.
• An inexorable logic
• Invincible 无敌的、不可战胜的
• Together, you are invincible
• Spiderman is all but invincible
• The glory of invincibility
• Impart 传授、告知、给予: Allow me to impart a word to the wise
• Intermittent 间歇性的      Intermit 中断
• It was only intermittently effective
• Intermittent heavy rain has been forecast. 预测
• Sir, we have a small intermittent contact.
• Baritone 男中音、上低音乐器
• The Baritone was a guy named Kip Diskin.
• Sixteen baritone bass singers.
• And you’re the only baritone in the elf choir. 合唱团
• Benison = A blessing; Anatomy: Curse
• Beneficent = Mercy = Amicable = Kind: generous or doing good 行善的、慈爱的
• Boast = Brag
• I am just bragging about you.
• Can’t I brag about my little sister?
• I am not one to brag.
• My, my, my, what boasting.
• If the ship’s as fast as he’s boasting, we ought to do well.
• Nothing to boast off.
• No other creature can make such a boast.
• He was ashamed of his boasting.
• Bore = Burrow 挖洞 = Nestle = A hole or tunnel
• I think its burrow is two blocks down.
• The burrow to a depth of 100 meters.
• Bogus = Fake 假冒的、伪造的
• This thing is bogus.
• His background information was bogus.
• Write a bogus death certificate.
• Bewilder迷惑 cause sb confused
• You are not bewildered, you are afraid.
• It’s tricky and bewildering.
• She looks around, bewildered, seeming to want something.
• Booklet 小册子: a blue booklet
• Bolt down 狼吞虎咽     Bolt 螺旋钉、闪电、弓弩、筛选、拴住
• Anything that’s not bolted down goes overboard.
• He brings the bolt down.
• Anything not bolted sown toss it out.
• Bilateral 两侧的
• Budding 发芽、开始发育 = Developing
• Biography 传记、档案、个人简介: Is that the Teddy Roosevelt Biography?
• Brass 黄铜： The legend of the brass teapot.
• Buffoon = Clown 傻瓜、小丑 You buffoon! Don’t waste food like that.
• Bullock = Ox 牛
• Bibliography 文献、节目
• Burnish = Polish 擦亮、光泽
• Burnished sunset.
• You will be burnished
• To see his reputation burnished.
• Brusque 唐突的= Concise 简约的
• I apologize for being brusque.
• Oh, it was rather brusque.

ASVAB ADJECTIVES WORDS From BARRON'S

Abstract = Theoretical, lacking substance = Also a brief summary of a scholarly article 

Acrid刺鼻的; 尖刻的; 刻薄的= Sharp to the taste or small

Acute尖锐的; 敏感的; 剧烈的; 急性的 = Sharp = Shrewd [ʃru:d] 精明的; 狡猾的

Adamant坚定不移的; 坚硬无比的= Unyielding倔强; 坚硬的; 不屈的

Adept擅长于…的= Skilled = Adroit熟练的= Skillful

Aesthetic = having to do with beauty

Agile灵活的 = Nimble敏捷的

Ambidextrous非常灵巧的; 左右手都灵的 = equally skilled at using both hands

Ambiguous模棱两可; 含糊的 = unclearing in meaning, confusing

Ambivalent拿不定主意; 矛盾的 = Undecided

Amiable [ˈemiəbəl] = friendly

Animated活生生的, 有生气的, 动画（片）的; = alive, lively; can also refer to TV/ Movie cartoons

Apprehensive忧虑的; 惶惑; 有理解力的 = worried, anxious

Apt恰当的 = Suitable

Aquatic = living in water; an event or activity performed in or on the water.

Ardent炽热的, 热心的= passionate

Arrogant傲慢的, 自大的 = overly proud

Articulate善于表达的= Able to express oneself clearly

Ascetic苦行的, 禁欲的 = Austere朴素的, 简朴的 self – denying

Astute机敏的，精明的= shrewd精明的, 敏锐的

Auspicious 吉利的; 有前途的; 有希望的 = Favorable (circumstances) 有利的; 赞同的; 称赞的

Austere朴素的, 严峻的= Harsh

Authentic真正的; 可信的 = Genuine真正的; 坦率的

Authoritarian = Ruling by force or higher position

Auxiliary辅助的; 备用的 = Helping

Banal平庸的; 陈腐的; = Unoriginal, boring

Barren贫瘠的 = unfruitful徒然的

Belligerent好战的; 交战的= quarrelsome好争吵的 = combative好斗的; 斗志旺盛的;

Benevolent乐善好施的; 慈善的 = king, generous

Benign温和的，仁慈的= gentle, not harmful

Bizarre离奇的; 奇怪的= strange, extremely unusual

Bland温和的，和蔼的       Blatant明目张胆的             Blithe无忧无虑的; 轻率的

Boisterous喧闹的              Brusque唐突; 莽撞的

Callous铁石心肠的，无情的 = unfeeling

Candid偷拍的; 公正的= Honest = Frank坦白的，直率的

Casual = offhand不礼貌的，简慢的 = not formal

ASVAB Electronic Information

• Volts伏特 - Pressure 电压U /Electromotive Force：电场中两点电势的差值。

• Amperes 安培 – Number of electrons current- 电流 I

• -          1 coulomb per second.

• -          I= Q电荷量库伦/T通过导体的时间

• Ohm 欧姆 – 电阻单位Resistance – Opposite flow of electrons.

• I电流= U电压/R 电阻

• Amperes = Voltage / Resistance

• Amperes = Watt/ Volt

• 当1V 电压的两端，通过1A 时， 电路电阻1R

• Insulator 绝缘体（Rubber、Wood）      Conductor导体（Copper 铜、Water）

• Watt-功率- Power- 1 J/S1焦耳、秒

• Watt = Volt*Ohm             Power = U 电压*Resistance

• F 功 – Work – 焦耳 J

• Frequency – 电流转换的频率 – Hz 赫兹- 1 complete cycle per second
  Impedance 阻抗- F/ Current

DC – Direct Current电流从正极流向负极

AC – Alternating Current - 电流向不确定

Cell电池- 1 cell = 1.5 volt

Battery = 2 or more cells

Moter发动机 -  convert electrical energy to kinetic energy.电能转为机械能

        Resistor 电阻器

• Electromagnetic – induction感应器 usually has iron in its core.

• 8 diodes in a bridge rectifier.桥式整流器

• When current flows through a wire, the following influences are present voltage, ohms, amper.

• Milli-henry毫亨---电感单位Inductor

• Radar operate at frequencies as high as 100,000 MHZ.

• Radio waves travel at the speed of light.

• Changing AC to DC is rectification整流、矫正.

• Insulated fitting 绝缘体can be used to splice结合soldering the wires together.

• Serial cable连续的电缆, 9 wires do serial cables used on computer.

• 60 Watt / 120 Volts = 0.5 Ampere

• No.12 Wire is smaller in diameter compared to No.6 Wire.

• A fuse with a higher-than- required rating may not work properly.

• Natural wire is whitish or natural.

• Conventional Current: from + to –

• Electricity Flows: from – to +

• Amplifier扩音器：三角形

• Heater: converts electrical energy to heat

• Bell and Buzzer汽笛: convert electrical energy to sound

• Inductor感应器: 电能转化为磁能储存起来

• Capacitor 电容器：容纳电荷store electricity. Capacitor connect it parallel. Capacitor oppose any change in voltage.

• Diode 二极管：单一方向流动、反向时阻断。

• Transistor晶体管：可变电流开关，通过输入电压控制输出电流

• Antenna天线

• Relay继电器：具有隔离功能的自动开关元件

• Operate Incandescent light bulb 白炽灯at less than its rated voltage, the bulb will burn dimmer 暗and last longer.

• Circuit 巡回

• At same current, 6mm wire required less voltage than 3mm wire.

• DC Motor has Armature电枢, Field Poles极点 and Yoke架.

• Rotor bars 电磁棒is AC induction motors感应电动器

• Current passed through a muscle causes it contract.

• RMS- Root Mean Square

• In a closed electrical circuit, one terminal端点 is always positive and one is negative.

• Television broadcast standard used in USA is NTSC.

• A circuit breaker trips错误、倾斜, find the operating handle half way between on and off.

• 12 AWG has the smallest wire compared with 10 AWG and 4 AWG. Smaller the wire, larger the number.

• 1 Path of electrical flow can be found in a series circuit.

• Low potential: 600 watts or less.

• The ground wire is always green.

• Oscillator振荡器: circuit produce high frequency AC.

• Plug an appliance designed for AC into DC, appliance will produce excessive heat.

• Transformer: increase or decrease AC Voltage.