New School

station wagon: an automobile that has a passenger compartment which extends to the back of the vehicle, that has no trunk, that has one or more rear seats which can be folded down to make space for light cargo, and that has a tailgate or liftgate

tailgate: the door that opens upwards at the back of a car (called a hatchback) that has three or five doors

liftgate: a rear panel that opens upward

A college feeder is a school, typically a high school, that sends a disproportionately high number of students to a particular college or university, or a specific type of higher education institution.

disproportionately: in a way that is too large or too small when compared with something else

abolish: abolish something to officially end a law, a system or an institution

While A Separate Peace has not been banned, it has been challenged six times between 1980 and 1996 in six different counties. Most of the complaints about the book cite offensive language; several complaints also include homosexual themes and negative attitudes expressed by characters.

county: one of a number of areas that some countries are divided into, each with its own local government

clip: to cut something with scissors or shears, in order to make it shorter or neater; to remove something from somewhere by cutting it off

upperclassman: ​(in the US) a male student in the last two years of high school or college

fame: the state of being known and talked about by many people

championship: a competition to find the best player or team in a particular sport

forestry: the science or practice of planting and taking care of trees and forests

the ropes [plural]: the fence made of rope that is around the edge of the area where a boxing or wrestling match takes place

A glee club is a group of people who sing together, often in a school or university setting.

shtick: a style of humor that is typical of a particular performer

goof-off: ​a person who avoids work or responsibility

fellowship: (formal) a feeling of friendship between people who do things together or share an interest

depiction: the act of showing somebody/something in a particular way in words or pictures, especially in a work of art

loner: a person who is often alone or who prefers to be alone, rather than with other people

nerd: a person who is boring, stupid and not fashionable

obnoxious: extremely unpleasant, especially in a way that offends people

Avid generalist refers to someone who is highly skilled and knowledgeable across a broad range of subjects or fields, rather than specializing in a single area.

crew cut: a hairstyle in which the hair is cut very short

pump-fake: in football and basketball, an action in which a player deceives their opponent by pretending to throw the ball in a particular direction, or by pretending to move in a particular direction

clown: a person that you think is bad because they act in a stupid way

sting: to make somebody feel angry or upset

redeem somebody/something: to make somebody/something seem less bad

crib: to dishonestly copy work from another student or from a book

deluge: a large number of things that happen or arrive at the same time

opus: an important piece of literature, etc., especially one that is on a large scale

exhortation (to do something): an act of trying very hard to persuade somebody to do something

oblige: DJ[əˋblaidʒ] to help somebody by doing what they ask or what you know they want

extensive: including or dealing with a wide range of information

Bill Gates "Source Code"

Online Dictionaries Used:

hk.dictionary.search.yahoo.com

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

www.merriam-webster.com

Some explanations are from Google AI Overview.

20 mg Simvastatin q.d.

Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are medications that can be purchased without a prescription from a healthcare professional. They are used to treat a variety of common ailments (minor illness) and their symptoms. While readily available, it's crucial to use them safely and responsibly.

In Hong Kong, most cholesterol lowering drugs can only be obtained from pharmacy with a prescription. They should be used under close supervision by healthcare professionals.

for loops

In C++, vector<int> is a dynamic array from the Standard Template Library (STL) that stores integers. Unlike regular arrays, vectors can grow or shrink in size during runtime.

for (initialization; condition; update) {

    // Code to execute in each iteration

}

average += laptimes[i];

is equivalent to

average = average + laptimes[i];

average/= laptimes.size();

is equivalent to

average = average / laptimes.size();

Microsoft Copilot

Contemporary Club

run-up (to something) a period of time leading up to an important event; the preparation for this

orchestrate something: to organize a complicated plan or event very carefully or secretly

dessert: DJ[diˋzə:t]

masterful: showing great skill or understanding

wrestle: to struggle physically to move or manage something

horse around: to play in a way that is noisy and not very careful so that you could hurt somebody or damage something

get off the hook: to manage to get out of the awkward situation you are in without being punished or blamed

awkward: difficult to deal with

weave: to put facts, events, details, etc. together to make a story or a closely connected whole

a jolt of electricity: a sudden, brief, and often painful sensation caused by the flow of electrical current through the body

devise something: to invent something new or a new way of doing something

edge up: to approach or move toward a target little by little

patent: an official right to be the only person to make, use or sell a product or an invention; a document that proves this

downtown: ​in, towards or typical of the center of a city, especially its main business area

fictitious: invented by somebody rather than true

contemporary: belonging to the present time

Gondoliers are more than just boat men. They are the keepers of a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation.

brim: the top edge of a cup, bowl, glass, etc.

straw: stems of wheat or other grain plants that have been cut and dried. Straw is used for making mats, hats, etc., for packing things to protect them, and as food for animals or for them to sleep on.

think tank: a group of experts who provide advice and ideas on political, social or economic issues

spin out: ​to make something last as long as possible

leash: something that restrains : the state of being restrained

in retrospect: thinking about a past event or situation, often with a different opinion of it from the one you had at the time

waver: to be or become weak or unsteady

replica: ​a very good or exact copy of something

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905.

in the fall: in autumn

tuition: the money that you pay to be taught, especially in a college or university

tank:  tank (something) (North American English, sport) to lose a game, especially deliberately

deliberately: done in a way that was planned, not by chance

prevail: (of ideas, opinions, etc.) to be accepted, especially after a struggle or an argument

Bill Gates "Source Code"

Online Dictionaries Used:

hk.dictionary.search.yahoo.com

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

www.merriam-webster.com

Some explanations are from Google Search Engine.

Observing adults

confer: to discuss something with somebody, in order to exchange opinions or get advice

gist: the main or general meaning of a piece of writing, a speech or a conversation

recount: to tell somebody about something, especially something that you have experienced

stunned: very surprised or shocked

dash: ruin

stake out: to clearly mark the limits of something that you claim is yours

intuitively: by using your feelings rather than by considering the facts

give in: to admit that you have been defeated by somebody/something

ease up: to become less strong, unpleasant, etc.

come out: to be produced or published

choke up: to find it difficult to speak, because of the strong emotion that you are feeling

strip something out: to ignore particular numbers or facts in a situation in order to understand what is really important

brink: if you are on the brink of something, you are almost in a very new, dangerous or exciting situation

intrigued: DJ[inˋtri:gd] very interested in something/somebody and wanting to know more about it/them

animatedly: in a way that shows interest and energy

consequential: happening as a result or an effect of something

Dictaphone: a small machine used to record people speaking, so that their words can be played back later and written down

Xerox: a process for producing copies of letters, documents, etc. using a special machine

decipher: to succeed in finding the meaning of something that is difficult to read or understand

scribble: to write something quickly and carelessly, especially because you do not have much time

peek: to look at something quickly and secretly because you should not be looking at it

meticulous: paying careful attention to every detail

deposition: a formal statement, taken from somebody and used in court

oversee: to watch somebody/something and make sure that a job or an activity is done correctly

coolheaded: calm; not showing excitement or nerves

unwavering: not changing or becoming weaker in any way

metrics [plural]: a set of numbers or statistics used for measuring something, especially results that show how well a business, school, computer program, etc. is doing

accomplishment: an impressive thing that is done or achieved after a lot of work

In the card game bridge, a bridge partner refers to the other player on your team. 

Bill Gates "Source Code"

Online Dictionaries Used:

hk.dictionary.search.yahoo.com

www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com

www.merriam-webster.com

Some explanations are from Google AI Overview

Selecting the right while loop

while (condition){

    // Code to execute

}

do{

    // Code to execute

}while (condition);

The do...while loop is executed at least once.

negate: to stop something from having any effect

The exclamation mark ! is the logical NOT operator. It inverts a boolean value.

getline is a handy function in C++ for reading a whole line of text, especially when you're dealing with strings that might include spaces.

getline(cin, userInput); // reads full line including spaces

std::getline(std::cin, playerName);

using std::getline from the <string> header to read a full line of input into playerName

\n is a newline character used in C++.

do{

    // Code to execute

}while (choice != 3);

repeats until they select option 3

Microsoft Copilot

While loops

In C++, the auto keyword is used for type inference, which means the compiler automatically deduces the variable's type from its initializer. It’s incredibly handy when dealing with complex types or simply to make your code cleaner.

Pointer = next(Pointer, 1);

Pointer = std::next(Pointer, 1);

++Pointer;

Think of an iterator as a pointer-like object that lets you access and traverse elements of a container. It abstracts away the underlying structure, making your code flexible and reusable.

The keyword do in C++ is most commonly seen as part of the do...while loop—a control structure that executes code at least once before checking a condition. It's great when you want to ensure a block of code runs before validating any exit condition.

do {

    // Code to execute

} while (condition);

++count: increments count before its value is used

count++: increments count after its value is used

In C++, .size() is a method used to retrieve the number of elements in a container from the Standard Template Library (STL). It’s simple but powerful when you need to know the container’s current size.

std::vector<int> scores = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

I declared and initialized a std::vector<int> named scores with the values {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

std::cout << "First score: " << scores[0] << std::endl;

scores.push_back(6);

std::cout << "Total scores: " << scores.size() << std::endl;

Microsoft Copilot