节目资讯
刊物:大家说英语
日期:2013-05-06
难易度:Low
关键字:play, show, sound, string, make, ukulele, chord
It's time for another day of learning on Let's Talk in English.
My name is Katie.
Today we want to talk about something new.
So here's our new topic - HOBBIES.
Everybody has a hobby.
And today's lesson is called What Are You Playing?
Do you play anything as a hobby?
How about you, Nathan?
Oh. Well, uh, I'm not sure exactly what you mean.
Uh, what... what kind of playing do you mean?
Hi, everyone. My name is Nathan.
I guess we'll find out what this means when we look at today's conversations.
But first, let's begin with today's Let's Begin reading in your LTE magazine.
You can read along with Katie right now.
Let's Begin.
Susie is playing an instrument.
What is it?
It's small.
It has four strings.
How does Susie play it?
She uses her fingers.
Her left hand plays chords.
Her right hand makes the music!
Joe plays the instrument.
He doesn't sound very good.
Maybe Susie can show him.
Thanks, Katie.
Now let's see what kind of playing we're talking about in Conversation A.
Hi, Susie! What instrument are you playing?
Hi, Joe! This is my ukulele.
It's so small!
Is it very heavy?
No, it's really light!
How do you play a ukulele?
Like this. I can show you.
Nice! You're good, Susie! Can I try it?
Of course!
Now that we've seen Conversation A, we know what our lesson title means.
Joe asks Susie, "What instrument are you playing?" We're talking about playing
music.
And we all know playing is an important word because it is today's first key
word.
Let's look at it now.
play.
play.
When we talk about playing an instrument, it means that you are able to make
music with the instrument.
And now I can answer your question, Katie.
I do play something as a hobby.
I play the saxophone.
But I haven't played it much in the past few years.
Do you play something, Katie?
Well, I play music on my iPod.
But I do not play an instrument.
We also use this word when we talk about games.
We play games, too.
But Susie plays a ukulele.
That's the instrument she is holding in the conversation.
Joe thinks it's very small.
And Susie says "very light, too." It seems like a fun and convenient instrument.
Maybe that's why Joe asks how to play a ukulele.
Then Susie shows him how to play.
Yes. She says, "I can show you." And "show" is another key word today.
show.
show.
"Show" is a verb that means to let someone see something.
Susie lets Joe see how to play the ukulele.
She shows him how to play the ukulele.
So Nathan, can you show me how to whistle?
Oh. Uh, sure.
You just put your lips together and blow.
Uh, so Katie, can you uh, can you show me the money?
Hmm, I don't think so, Nathan, because I don't have any money with me.
But friends, I can show you something else to learn in this conversation.
We see that Joe says, "You're good, Susie!" When he says this, he doesn't mean
that Susie is a good person.
He means that...
Wait! Wait! Uh, that's not very nice.
I... I think Susie is a good person.
Oh, I think so, too.
But that's not what Joe is saying here.
He means that she is good at playing the ukulele.
Joe heard her play, just like we did.
And so he says, "You're good!" Or I could say:
Nathan, thanks for whistling earlier. You're good.
Oh, well, thank you.
Now let's move on to Conversation B.
I don't sound very good.
It's OK. You just need practice!
I do!
Do you practice a lot?
Yes, I play my ukulele every day.
Watch.
You're very good!
Can I learn?
Sure! I can teach you right now.
Thanks, Susie.
Maybe I can learn some cool songs.
Then I can play them for everyone!
Wow! Joe has big plans in Conversation B.
He wants to learn to play the ukulele.
But he has a lot to learn.
He tried to play, but he doesn't sound very good.
And that's a great key word.
sound.
sound.
"Sound" is a verb in this sentence of the conversation.
But you can also use it as a noun.
A sound is something that you can hear, like the sound of a ukulele.
So in Conversation B, "sound" is used as a verb.
It means to make a sound.
When Joe makes a sound with the ukulele, it doesn't sound very good.
So if you go to hear a friend sing or play piano, guitar or even the ukulele,
you can tell them later that they sounded great.
Yeah, that's a great way to use this word.
Or sometimes I think a song sounds too high for me to sing.
The sound of my voice isn't very good when I sing too high.
Well, maybe you just need some practice, Nathan.
That's what Susie says to Joe.
You just need practice.
And that's a great sentence for us to learn, too.
You just need something.
Sometimes you just need rest if you feel sick.
Or if you get cold often, you might just need to wear more clothes.
Next in our conversation, we see that Susie practices her ukulele a lot.
She plays every day.
Katie, did you know that the ukulele comes from Hawaii, (Chinese)?
Yes, I did.
In fact, there's a short name for the ukulele.
It's called a uke.
Susie plays the uke.
And Joe asks if he can learn to play the uke.
But I guess we'll find out if he learns in Conversation C.
So let's go to that now.
Look at the ukulele.
It has four strings.
I see.
What's next?
I play chords with my left hand.
I use my fingers like this.
What about your right hand?
It makes the music!
How do you play a song?
I just read the music!
How do you do that?
I can teach you in your next lesson!
We can learn about the ukulele in Conversation C.
Susie tells Joe to look at her ukulele.
The first thing she tells him is that it has four strings.
Let's talk about this key word.
string.
string.
String is often very thin rope that is used to tie things together.
Most of us have strings on our shoes.
But the strings on a ukulele are different.
They're long and thin, like other strings.
But they are actually made of metal.
You play on a ukulele's strings to make music.
These strings are not for tying.
Right. Other strings are good for tying things.
Ukulele strings are good for playing chords, which are groups of musical sounds
that are played at the same time.
So Susie plays chords with her left hand.
And she shows Joe how she uses her fingers to do this.
She touches the strings.
But Joe asks what she does with her right hand.
Did you see what she did with her right hand?
She moves her right hand over the strings, and that makes the music.
"Make" is a word that we use a lot.
And it's a key word today.
make.
make.
"Make" is the action of causing something or putting something together.
So Susie makes music with her right hand on the ukulele strings.
But you can make so many different things.
Some people make houses look nice for their job.
Other people might make food or computers.
Hmm, do you make anything for fun, Katie?
Sometimes I make jewelry.
I make earrings or bracelets.
OK. Now Joe uses today's Use It sentence.
How do you do something?
Like, how do you get home?
Well, I just walk home.
I live close to the studio.
Now let me see.
How do you talk to your family in the United States?
Good question.
Well, I'm in Asia, I usually talk to them on Skype.
Joe even uses the sentence again when he says, "How do you do that?" And how do
we practice key words here on Let's Talk in English?
We review them, of course.
Let's get started.
OK, here we go.
play.
play.
Angus can play many instruments.
show.
show.
Show me your work.
sound.
sound.
Your music sounds really good!
string.
string.
The cat is playing with a string.
make.
make.
What is making that loud sound?
Good job, everyone.
Don't forget your key words.
Practice them at home so that you can get better.
We'll be right back to teach you some more.