节目资讯
刊物:大家说英语
日期:2013-02-11
难易度:Low
关键字:holiday, member, young, inside, snake
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to Let's Talk in English.
My name is Andrea.
And we also want to say Happy New Year!
Yes, today we are going to talk about a special Chinese holiday.
The title of our lesson is Happy Chinese New Year!
We are going to learn how to talk about this special holiday, and also how to
explain some of its customs.
And I'm glad Kevin is here to celebrate with us.
I'm glad I am here, too.
Happy Chinese New Year, friends.
My name is Kevin.
Thank you for joining us today.
Now we have our Let's Begin reading just for you.
You will see all of today's key words in this reading.
And it will help you get ready for today's lesson.
Kevin's going to read it today.
Ready?
Let's Begin.
Rob has a Chinese New Year gift for Joe.
It's a red envelope!
Joe doesn't know much about the holiday.
So Rob tells him about red envelopes.
Family members give red envelopes.
Parents give them to their young children.
There is money inside the envelopes.
What a great gift!
Happy Year of the Snake!
Yes, Happy Year of the Snake!
Well, let's begin with Conversation A.
Hi, Joe! I have something for you.
Hey, Rob. Is it some work?
No. I have a gift for you!
A gift? Why?
Yesterday was Chinese New Year's Day.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Here's a red envelope for you!
A red envelope. Thanks!
You don't know much about this holiday.
I don't! I'm sorry.
Hey, Kevin, I have something for you.
You do?
I do. Yes.
Here is a candy for you.
Oh, yeah! I love candy.
Ooh, great.
Uh, I have something for you, too.
You do?
Yeah, um...
I have a high-five for you.
Oh.
Yeah.
Ya! Wow, thank you.
Thank you, Kevin. Thank you.
Now if you want to give someone a gift or give them something, you can use these
phrases.
I have something for you.
Here's a [something] for you.
I have something for you.
Here's a gift for you.
I have something for you.
Here's a red envelope for you.
In our conversation, Rob gave Joe a red envelope.
Now Kevin, in English sometimes you can say one word in two ways.
So I say envelope.
And I say envelope.
So you can say envelope or envelope.
Both are correct in English.
So the choice is up to you.
Well, giving red envelopes or giving red envelopes is a custom for Chinese New
Year.
And Chinese New Year is a special holiday.
Let's talk about this key word.
holiday.
Now a holiday is a time to celebrate something special.
Chinese New Year is a holiday.
Christmas is a holiday.
Can you think of any other holidays?
In America, we celebrate Thanksgiving.
That's a holiday.
We also celebrate the day we were independent - Independence Day.
Well, Joe is learning more about this special holiday we are celebrating today.
And we are going to keep learning with Conversation B.
Red envelopes are a traditional gift at Chinese New Year.
So people give them to their friends?
Most people don't.
Family members give red envelopes.
Parents give them to their young children.
So your parents don't give you a red envelope anymore?
No, I'm not a child anymore.
I have a job now.
Well, now our friend Joe is learning some more about Chinese New Year.
He is learning about the giving of red envelopes.
Now Rob tells Joe that family members give red envelopes.
And that brings us to our first key word.
member.
Now a member is someone that is a part of something.
So a family member means that that person is a part of a family.
Andrea, do you have any other family members?
Yes, I do.
I have family members here in Taipei.
And I have family members in Canada and other places.
So when you are a family member, you are part of a family.
Are you a member of anything else?
Are you part of a club or a sports team?
Well, if you are, then you are a club member or a sports team member.
So let's use "member" in some sentences.
Hanna's family members will visit us today.
Or, those people are members of the dance club.
Now Rob tells Joe some more about giving red envelopes.
He said parents give red envelopes to their young children.
And here we have our next key word.
young.
Now "young" means not old, or usually someone that is not an adult yet.
But "young" basically means not old.
You can say many things are young.
Can you give us an example, Andrea?
Well, we can say a puppy is young.
This puppy is not even a dog yet, so he is young.
Let's use "young" in some more sentences.
Luke is young, but he can help us a lot.
Or I can say my boss wants to hire someone young.
Well, poor Rob.
He tells us he's not a child anymore, so he doesn't get red envelopes from his
parents.
Well, let's keep learning more with Conversation C.
Why are you giving a red envelope to me?
Red envelopes are also for fun.
I'm giving them to friends at the office.
But that's not the custom?
No. So what's inside a red envelope?
Can you guess?
Money? Am I right?
You're right!
Thanks, Rob.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Happy Year of the Snake!
So what's inside a red envelope?
Well, we found out that money is usually inside a red envelope.
Let's look at our key word here.
It's the word: inside.
Now if something is inside an envelope, that means you need to open the envelope
to see it.
"Inside" is the opposite of "outside".
You can find all of these key words and conversations inside our Let's Talk in
English magazine.
Well, Rob ends our conversation by saying "Happy Year of the Snake!" Yes, this
year we celebrate the Year of the Snake.
Let's look at that key word together.
It is "snake." Now a snake is an animal.
A snake does not have hands or legs.
Snakes just crawl around on the ground.
Sometimes they go up trees.
They can be in water.
Oh, you know, I actually don't really like snakes.
You don't like snakes?
I don't.
When I see snakes, I usually yell and run away.
Well, some snakes can help people, and some snakes can hurt people.
I like the snakes that help people.
They eat a lot of bugs I don't like.
Yes, that's true.
I guess some snakes can be good.
Well, this is a special year - the Year of the Snake.
And because we are celebrating something special, a special holiday, Kevin, I
have another gift for you.
Really?
Yeah.
Another gift? What is it?
Well, can you guess?
Is it another piece of candy?
No, it's not another piece of candy.
Can you guess again?
Is it a car?
No, no, Kevin, it... it's not a car.
Can you guess again?
No, I... I can't.
OK, OK, I'll just give it to you.
Kevin, here is a red envelope for you.
Thanks, Andrea!
Wh... why are you giving me a red envelope?
Well, we're celebrating Chinese New Year.
And I thought it would be fun.
You don't even know if there's anything inside yet.
Well, let's review our key words together.
You can open that later, Kevin.
Please say them with us.
holiday.
holiday.
Christmas is my favorite holiday.
member.
member.
This party is just for our family members.
young.
young.
Tori is young.
She is only 7 years old.
inside.
inside.
No letter was inside the envelope.
snake.
snake.
Peter saw some snakes at the zoo.
Great job, everyone.
Now we'll be rightback.