December 14, 2014　=========
☆ virtuous 　高潔な
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A virtuous person is someone who behaves in a moral and correct way. You could also say that they are a “good” or “ethical” person. We also use virtuous to describe someone who is pleased with themselves because they have done what they are supposed to have done; “He was feeling virtuous after finishing his homework before dinner.”
Another way to use “virtuous” is in the noun, “virtuous circle.” Have you ever heard of this? To be honest, I’ve never used this in my life; however, I have used the opposite word which is a “vicious circle.” Have you heard of that one?
Virtuous circle – this describes a situation where once a good thing starts happening, other good things start happening, which cause the first good thing to continue happening. For example, exercise creates a virtuous circle, because once you start and do it regularly, you’ll feel so good that you’ll want to continue.
Vicious circle – this describes the opposite situation, where a problem creates new problems which then cause the original problem to occur again. For example, many people argue that antibiotics create a vicious circle because the bacteria become resistant to the medicine, and so doctors must continually create stronger medicines to kill the bacteria.
Can you think of a virtuous or vicious (or both!) cycle in your life at the moment?
Bye,
Chris