Merry Christmas

Thank you for my Christmas gift from Joanna!

Sherry

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englsh club 新聞字彙 2012/12/27

englsh club
新聞字彙 2012/12/27

The Consumers' Foundation says diners entitled to better booking services from restaurants. (China Post 12/ 27, 2012)

例句:

entitle to有權、可享有---qualified for by right according to law

 

This ticket does entitle you to travel first class.

這張票可享有頭等坐位

 

Your expertise entitle you to a higher salary.

 

你的專門技術使你有權得到較高的薪水.

 

Full-time employees are entitled to receive health and labor insurance.

 

全職員工可享有勞健保。

 

Women are entitled to maternity leave.

 

婦女可享有產假。

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Soapbox English Club 説吧英文讀書會 每周一句2012/12/27

english club 英文讀書會

每周一句2012/12/27

coincide with something與---一致----

to agree with or match something

例句:

1. My tastes and habits coincide with those of my brother.

我的愛好跟興趣恰好和我的弟弟相同。

2. I happened to coincide with you on this point.

在這一問题上，我與你不謀而合。

3. My birthday coincides with Billy's.

我和比利同一天生日。

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感恩!

感恩! 再感恩! 世界末日剛過 很慶幸 你我都活著
趕快!趕快! 謝謝你身邊所有的人

平安是福 埋怨不平 消失無蹤
新的生命  新的一年
將會帶給您無限新的希望


Billy

 

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Merry christmas & 新年快樂

Merry christmas & 新年快樂

Sherry

Michael

Angela

James

Aaron

佛烈德  原諒我 忘記英文spelling

Elvis

Brian

Water

Frank

James 2

祝 您們 :

新年 事事如意 平安健康 上帝 媽祖 阿拉真主 各地神明 保佑您們 事事如意 更圓滿的新的一年

感謝您們 今年踴躍的參與 謝謝

Billy 謝謝各位

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merry christmas and happy new year2003

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英文讀書會 2013/1/8 文章

英文讀書會
因12月25日聖誕節及1月1日元旦
碰巧都是星期二，因此二周聚會暫停

會員好朋友們: 請利用假日，多陪陪家人及所愛的人
祝大家新年快樂，平安幸福，感謝您本年度的踴躍參與，
明年見囉。


Ps. 林小姐及王先生來電詢問 加入讀書會資訊 竭誠歡迎您們

先鋪上 1/8 文章 您們先參考 您們也可做預習 謝謝
 

 

會員好朋友們大家好: 2013年1月8日將討論兩主題---

1/8 Topic1.女性領導能力 Topic2.拍馬屁

Questions:

1. Do women make better leaders than men?

2. Why Women Make Better Leaders?

3. How to be a good leader?

What are the characteristics of a good leader?

4. Do you think a female leader would make a good leader for your country?

5. In your opinion, do you think women's power has surpassed men in today's society?

 

(希望之聲電台)韓國總統大選於當地時間12月19日落下帷幕，執政黨新國家黨人候選人朴槿惠以51.55%的得票率當選為韓國第18任總統，同時成為韓國憲政史上第一位女總統，備受矚目。

不可否認地，無論在職場上，或在各方面上，現代女性的表現，一直都很優秀，一些國家的領導人，也由女性擔任，也非常出色，現代女性在國際上，已有舉足輕重的地位。

這件新聞給了比利一點想法 大家來探討現代女性的領導力，分享一些您的看法。

Why Women Make Better Leaders Than Men?

(By SiliconIndia/siliconindia news)
 

Bangalore: In the present world, women are no less than men. They are into every field where we think only men are capable of it and they are bagging top notch positions in almost all the sectors and have proved their efficient leadership from all extremes.
 

According to Debra Burrell, a psychological social worker and regional training director of the Mars-Venus Institute in New York, most women of women managers tend to have more of a desire to build than a desire to win and also women are more willing to explore compromise and seek other people's opinions.

There are many women strengths to be a better leader than men like, most of the time women tend to be better than men at empowering staff, they encourage openness and are more accessible, they respond quickly for assistance, they identify problems quickly and accurately and they are better at defining job exceptions and providing feedback.

There are powerful women leaders all over the world serving effectively in their respective fields and most of them are politicians. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor is the best example. She heads Europe's most vibrant economy and is widely viewed as the de facto leader of the EU. In a recent poll conducted in France showed that the French had more faith in Angela than in their President, Nicolas Sarkozy. She is one of the powerful women leaders in the Forbes list. We cant forget Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State have shown her impressive marks by handling difficult situations like Osama's death, WikiLeaks' release of sensitive American diplomatic cables etc. She has successfully handled many difficult situations till date. Like them there are many women leaders Sonia Gandhi , Persident of Congress party in India, Christine Lagarde, the first woman to run the IMF are among the successful women leaders.

So, what qualities might make women suited to be good leaders?

1. Communication:
 

Communication is always the key to effective leadership. Harvard Business School professor, Nitin Nohria told that every time the good leaders will always spend lot of time in communicating. Usually women make better verbal communication by discussing their thoughts. Communication helps in easier control and co-ordination of business activities, it helps in successful decision making etc. These factors will always not only for leaders but for all the professionals. Have a Vision:

If you desire to become a leader, you must always have a vision which a leader must communicate with an employee. The very essence of a good leader is to have a vision. Developing a vision s not an easier task, a leader must be capable of developing a vision into reality. For making it work, a leader must be capable in directing their juniors towards success. The leadership always goes beyond organization's mission statement. The vision is manifested in the action, values and goals of your organization's leaders.

Dedication and openness:

To be successful good leader, spending time and energy is necessary to accomplish the task. The leader must be dedicated to what ever the work takes to complete it. A leader must also develop the quality of openness to listen to new ideas; they must be open to accept new ways of doing things. Openness helps in building mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers.

Questions:

1. Is Flattery Good or Bad?

2. Do you think Flattery make people perform better?

3. Do you think flattery helps get good chances of

promotion?

4. Do you flatter people?

How to Flatter Someone ?

Why Flattery Works?

5. How do you respond to flattery?

6. Is Flattery Important For Success?

 

 

Flattery will get you anywhere!

Evidence shows that compliments make people perform better

(By Anna Edwards)

The old adage of 'flattery will get you anywhere may just have been proved as scientifically true.

A team of researchers have found evidence that we do actually perform better when we receive a compliment.

Being told nice things can stimulate the brain in the same way as being rewarded with cold hard cash to make us improve our work.

Complimenting someone could be key to improving their performance in work and school

The findings have led the team of Japanese scientists, lead by National Institute for Physiological Sciences Professor Norihiro Sadato, to suggest that compliments could be used to help improve performance in schools.

Professor Sadato said: 'To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money.

'We've been able to find scientific proof that a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise.

More...

Scientists discover how to make time pass faster (or slower)

The Pill 'helps prevent you getting dementia': Effects on memory last for years after giving up use

'There seems to be scientific validity behind the message 'praise to encourage improvement'. Complimenting someone could become an easy and effective strategy to use in the classroom and during rehabilitation.'

The team had previously discovered that the area of the brain known as the striatum is activated when a person is rewarded a compliment or cash.

But their latest research, published online in PLOS ONE, the scientific journal published by the Public Library ofScience, could suggest that when the striatum is activated, it seems to encourage the person to perform better during exercises.

You can catch more flies with honey: People respond better to compliments than criticism

For the study 48 adults were asked to learn and perform a specific finger pattern, pushing keys on a keyboard in a particular sequence as fast as possible in 30 seconds.

Once they had learned the finger exercise

they were separated into three groups.

One included an evaluator who would compliment participants individually, another involved individuals who would watch another participant receive a compliment, and the third group involved individuals who evaluated their own performance on a graph.

When the participants were asked to repeat the finger exercise the next day, the group of participants who received direct compliments from an evaluator performed better than participants from the other groups, indicating that receiving a compliment after exercising stimulates the individual to perform better afterwards.

The evidence chimes with Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, which was outlined in his 1943 paper 'A Theory of Human Motivation'.

The psychologist believed that every human had fundamental needs and, as the most basic ones like water and food were achieved, the individual would then begin focusing on less crucial needs, like spontaneity and problem solving.

As part of the needs, Maslow said that esteem was a crucial factor.

He believed every human needs to feel respected have good self-esteem.

Most people try to achieve this through a profession or hobby, where they can be recognised for their performance.

When people do not have self-respect, they feel incompetent and weak.

Therefore by complimenting someone, you can raise their self-esteem and they will feel stronger for the praise.

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Christmas is coming soon!

What will you do on Christmas Eve?

I'll join a Christmas party!




Sherry

Christmas is coming soon!

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12／18星期二讀書會照片SOAPBOX ENGLISH CLUB

Soapbox English Club

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english 英文讀書會 經典名句 2012/12/20

英文讀書會
經典名句 2012/12/20

By all means marry, if you get a good wife, you'll be happy, if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. (Socrates)

不管怎麼說還是结婚吧，娶到好老婆，你會幸福快樂；娶到壞女人，你將會成為哲學家。

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english club Taipei-- news 2012/12/20

english club
新聞字彙 2012/12/20

(China Post)---South Korea elected its first female president Wednesday, handing a slim but historic victory to conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye, daughter of the country's former military ruler.

Park scored a decisive victory in Wednesday's vote, ensuring that South Korea's conservatives, who pushed through a free trade agreement with the United States, hold on to the powerful presidency for a second consecutive time after the end of incumbent Lee Myung-bak's mandatory single term in office.

 

hold on to something保住，守住---

to continue to keep something and prevent it from being taken away or given to someone else

examples:

1. A crafty politician who knew how to hold on to power.

狡猾的政客知道如何抓牢權力

 

2. No, one night stand! Billy is determined to hold on to his principle and virginity

一夜情！不行！比利堅持守住自己的原則及貞操.

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字彙介紹 酒測器 2012/12/19

英文讀書會 2012/12/19

 

交通部長毛治國17日在立院表示，102年元旦起酒駕處罰標準的吐氣酒精濃度由每公升0.25毫克下修至0.15毫克，並限3類駕駛人。(中央社)

 

報載酒駕處罰標準將更嚴格執行

比利在此介紹有關於酒駕的英文單字

字彙介紹

Breathalyzer酒測器---

a device for estimating the amount of alcohol in the breath: used in testing people suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol

例句:

1. The policeman asked the driver to blow into the breathalyzer.

警察要那位駕駛人對著酒測分析器吹氣。

2. The driver question the result of the breathalyzer test. 那位駕駛人對酒測器測驗结果表示懷疑。

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每周一句 2012/12/18 kick back

english club 學英文

每周一句2012/12/18

kick back has tow meanings----

 

examples:

kick back回扣 ---an amount of money that is paid to someone illegally in exchange for secret help or work

1. Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 5 per cent of the contract price to the official.

赢得建築工程的承包商 得抽出合同中價格的百分之五的回扣给那官員

2. Several legislators were accused of accepting kickbacks.

數個國會議員被指控收取回扣

kicked back放鬆一下----To take it easy; relax

1. We like kicked back at home and watched TV after work.

在工作之後 我們喜歡在家看電視 放鬆一下

2. As soon as you've finished up, you kick back and wait for the next order.

你們一完工後 就休息一下 並等待下一個指示

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RAINBOW - Matthew Lien

Every snow flake is different!!

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新聞字彙2012/12/18 向犧牲的老師們致哀

english club


新聞字彙2012/12/18
 

美國校園槍擊案 老師們犧牲的精神 令人感傷敬佩

向犧牲的老師們致哀並致上崇高的敬意

We express our condolences to the families of the victims, teachers and We have highest respect for those teachers.

All of members of Soapbox English club

說吧英文讀書會全體

 

CNN -- Facing down a gunman, placing yourself in the path of flying bullets, forfeiting your life to protect innocents. It's a job description fitting for a soldier or police officer, but for a school teacher -- an elementary school teacher at that?

What the teachers and principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School did for the children in their care could win a soldier in a war zone a Purple Heart.

 

＊forfeiting your life to protect innocents.

犧牲生命保護無辜者

 

＊ a Purple Heart紫星勳章

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award that is still given to members of the U.S. military, the only earlier award being the obsolete Fidelity Medallion. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York. (Wikipedia)

26 dead in US school shooting (Bangkok Post) 12/15/2012

A man killed his mother at home and then opened fire Friday inside an elementary school, massacring 26 people, including 20 young children, as youngsters cowered in their classrooms and trembled helplessly to the sound of gunfire reverberating through the building.

The 20-year-old killer, carrying two handguns, committed suicide at the school, bringing the toll to 28, authorities said.

Examples:

cower捲縮---

The dog cowered under down the table when his master shouted angrily.

當主人生氣地喊著，那狗抖縮在桌子下邊。

The frightened children cowered in the corner.

受驚的孩子們捲縮在角落裡.

reverberate回蕩著---

I heard a voice reverberating in the air of the church, Billy I’ll make you rich, buy a lottery ticket.

我聽到一個聲音在教堂空中回蕩著，比利買張彩券吧!我將讓你富有! ”

toll死亡人数---

The death toll from the violence has reached 26.

由暴力事件引起的死亡人数已經達到28人.

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12/18 Topic1.錢買不到? Topic2.「憂」2012

英文讀書會

會員好朋友們大家好: 12月18日將討論兩主題---

12/18 Topic1.錢買不到? Topic2.「憂」2012

哈佛教授桑德爾 談錢買不到的東西【聯合報】

著名的哈佛大學教授邁可‧桑德爾（Michael Sandel）昨晚在文化部邀請下舉行大師講座，以「錢買不到的東西」為題在台大小巨蛋引導現場六千名聽眾進行金錢與正義攻防。

昨晚現場如同將哈佛大學講堂搬到台灣，桑德爾以該不該搶購五月天演唱會開始，在現場進行即席「投票」，贊成和反對買黃牛票的人數各半。相反的，對於高價購買有限的外科手術掛號、以現金獎勵小朋友讀書，觀眾則多表反對。有趣的是，桑德爾即席調查在場觀眾，發現絕大多數與會者都曾因為考試進步，收過父母親給的獎金。至於媒體壟斷獲絕大多數反對票。

清大學生陳為廷現身時，現場響起掌聲。這回他為家鄉的社區小雜貨店發聲。他說，農村裡的雜貨店不只賣雜貨，還賣鄰里自己種的菜，著重社區的互動。與超商充斥「偽善的謊言」的市場邏輯不同。

桑德爾表示，超商不只是生意的問題，也可能遭大財團壟斷。他要求觀眾闡述雜貨店vs.超商，並與媒體壟斷之間進行聯結。一位學生說，超商著重的是便利性，半夜有超商提供熱騰騰的泡麵，當然會受歡迎。但人們希望媒體能提供不同意見、不同的聲音以及挑戰，供我們思考及回饋。不希望媒體被壟斷。

桑德爾在總結時表示，我們經常排除爭議而說：「由市場決定吧！」以致全世界都缺乏公共論述。他說，公共論述的目的並非為了得到單一的結論，而是讓生活更有價值，讓每個人成為更好的公民。

 

1. What does money mean to you?

2. How much money is enough?

How much money is really enough to retire on?

3. How Much Money Do You Really Need To Be Happy?

4.. Reasons Money Can Buy Happiness? Reasons Money Can not Buy Happiness?

5. Good or Bad For Students? Debating on social issues?

Harvard professor in Taiwan to speak on money, markets

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Noted political philosopher Michael Sandel is visiting Taiwan for the first time to share his views on justice and ethical issues, including money and markets, as part of Human Rights Day events in Taiwan, the organizers said Sunday.

Sandel, a professor at Harvard University whose course on justice has become one of the most popular in the university, was to attend a public discussion with Taiwan's Culture Minister Lung Ying-tai that day in Taipei, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Shortly after his arrival that day, Sandel attended a news conference and said his talks in Taiwan will focus on the questions of what should be the role of money and markets in a good society.

"I very much look forward to engaging in a dialogue with readers of my books," said Sandel, whose books "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" and "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets" have received wide interest in Taiwan.

The culture minister said at the news conference that justice has many facets and becomes a complicated issue when it involves the power of the government and the power of markets.

Meanwhile, asked about concerns over the media concentration in Taiwan that could arise from a recent media acquisition, Sandel said many countries around the world face the serious problem of concentrated control of the media, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

"It's important to try to avoid the media from being concentrated in very few hands," because it will damage free exchanges of ideas through the media, he added.

Although he did not put forward a solution specifically for Taiwan, he suggested that generally, creating a system of regulation and law that limits a market power or monopoly power is one way to preserve a media industry that is competitive and gives expression to many voices.

When asked to comment on other contentious issues in Taiwan such as the death penalty and same-sex marriage, Sandel said the debate surrounding both issues has raised strong competing, ethical ideas and contending philosophies of justice in many countries around the world.

He added that while discussing these issues, "I don't tell my students or readers what they should think about these questions."

Instead, Sandel said he tried to promote and trigger a debate on such difficult questions that highlight opposing ethical convictions.

During his four-day visit, Sandel will also give a lecture Dec. 11 at National Taiwan University.

Both events will be broadcast online and on the Public Television Service, the organizers said.

More than 5,000 people have registered to attend the events, the organizers said.

(By Elaine Hou)

「憂」字居冠，成為這一年全民心靈與社會亂象的寫照【聯合報】

台灣二○一二年度代表字大選昨天揭曉。經歷廿一天、六萬二千一百零八通的全民電話票選，「憂」字以八千零九十四票居冠，成為這一年全民心靈與社會亂象的寫照。

由遠東集團徐元智紀念基金會、聯合報合作舉辦的「台灣年度代表字大選」，今年邁入第五年，去年選出「讚」字。今年第二到十名依序為：漲、轉、感、慘、鬱、苦、怨、窮、爛。前十名中，僅第三名的「轉」字為正面字。

「憂」字的原始推薦人是中研院副院長陳建仁。他指出，這一年來，無論是末日預言、國際形勢、歐債危機、貧富差距、薪資倒退、物價上揚、朝野族群對立、台灣競爭力落後等，「在在令人『憂』。」

主辦單位請來倫敦奧運奪牌選手許淑淨、曾櫟騁，曾櫟騁並以其充滿力量的雙手寫下「憂」字。

「有擔心、才有未來！」曾奪下台灣奧運舉重首面獎牌的蔡溫義說，台灣選出「憂」字，「代表大家醒了」，未來希望大家以「憂」字自我要求，將「憂」化為動力。與會的體委會主委戴遐齡說，「憂」字代表今年體育界的整體心情，她說，就是憂慮在倫敦奧運時無好成績，就更加努力。

遠東集團代表、SOGO董事長黃晴雯表示，民眾的「憂」是因為關心這塊土地，「『憂』可能會帶來沮喪、也會帶來力量。」

遠東集團董事長徐旭東推薦的「轉」字高居第三，是正面字中的第一高票。黃晴雯說，「轉」代表這股力量，她期許民眾帶一個溫暖、反省的心，「揮別這一年的困頓，帶動台灣向前轉動。」

聯合報總編輯游美月表示，第一名的「憂」字反映整體社會心情，第二名的「漲」字則反映民眾的憂慮所在：「萬物皆漲，薪水沒漲」，需要政府和社會各界關心，排名第三的「轉」字，或可視為解「憂」的力量，正視憂慮，轉一下心念，尋找新的方法，讓「轉」的力量，帶動台灣正向前進。

 

1. What Do You Worry About Most In Life?

2. How Much Do You Worry About Money issues?

3. How to Stop Worrying About Money?

4. Should we be worrying about the global crisis?

5. How to Get Rid of Your Worries?

6. How to solve the economic crisis, if you were a leader of a country?

Talk of the Day -- `Worry' is word for 2012 (CNA)

"Worry" was selected in a recent survey as the word that best represents public feeling about the soon-to-end year in the fifth year that such a poll has been conducted.

The survey, jointly conducted by Far Eastern Memorial Foundation and the United Daily News, asked respondents to choose words that they think best epitomize 2012.

The results, published Friday, show that "worry" was the top choice out of a list of words recommended by nearly 100 scholars and laymen.

Next came the word "hike," followed by "turnaround," "feeling," "misery" and "blue."

The other words that rounded out the top 10 were "hardship," "grievance," "poverty" and "sucks."

Most of the words selected are negative in nature, showing collective gloom among the public about the year.

The following are excepts from coverage of the list by the United Daily News:

Chen Chien-jen, vice president of Academia Sinica, who recommended the word "worry," was a bit surprised about the result of the survey.

He said it shows that the public shares his feelings.

He pointed to the international situation, the European debt crisis, the widening gap between rich and poor, the stagnant and shrinking salaries, rising consumer prices, the confrontation between the ruling and the opposition parties, the dropping of Taiwan's competitiveness, and even the 2012 doomsday predictions, as making "every one of us worried."

But he also expressed hope that the public will try to find a way out and that "there will be no worries next year."

Fan Chiang Tai-chi, spokesman of the Presidential Office, said that due to the fallout from the European debt crisis, all countries in the world, including Taiwan, are facing rigorous tests.

Despite the economic downturn, Fan Chiang said that some positive signs have begun to show since September, including the industrial production index, exports and economic outlook taking a turn for the better.

He cited President Ma Ying-jeou as saying that he "sees a light at the end of the tunnel."

Wang Min-sheng, a spokesman of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said Ma has been in office for more than four years and that the people are not just worried this year but have been worried for a long time.

Sophia Huang, Pacific Sogo Department Store chairwoman, said said the public feel worried because they care about the country.

She said that "worry can bring depression but can also bring strength."

The word "turnaround" recommended by Far Eastern Group Chairman Douglas Hsu, ranked third, the highest of the positive words in the survey, and this word represents strength, she said.

The word "worry" is the collective mentality of the people of Taiwan and the words ranking second to 10th illustrate why they are worried.

For example, the word "hike" shows the public's concern about rising prices for everything except salaries, while the word "feeling" represents the people's feelings about the "insensitive" government in pushing its policies.

The eighth-ranking word " grievance" is a sign of worry about increasing rivalry between the ruling and opposition parties and the widening gap between rich and poor.

The ninth word --"poverty" -- is a reflection of the government's financial crisis embodied by the controversy about year-end bonuses for retired civil servants.

In 2008, the first year of the representative word survey, the word "chaos" was selected, and eight of the 10 top words were negative.

In 2009, the top word went to "aspiring," with the negative words cut to six. In 2010, it was the neutral word "light" and the only negative word was "hike."

In 2011, "like" was top and the only negative word was "worry."

This year, the fact that the only positive word was "turnaround" should serve as a warning to the government. (By Lilian Wu)

Conversation

vent his anger on me

Sherry: You look upset. What's going on? 

Billy : My wife is being unreasonable! She flared up at me, making a mountain out of molehill! 

Sherry: What's the matter?

Billy: I just paid NT$ 3,000 bought her a handbag, and I didn't think it was any big deal, but she blew up at me! 

Sherry: Well, She has been under a lot of pressure these days.

Billy : Well, I know she is careful with money

, but it doesn't mean she can vent his anger on me.

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