节目资讯
刊物:美国行
日期:2009-01-10
难易度:Low
关键字:elegant, ladder, privacy, covers, bathmat, air mat
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Well, if you ever visit an American home, your host will likely say:
Make yourself at home.
Now that’s easier said than done, right?
Well, we hope this month’s American Culture Corner article will help you to feel
as comfortable as possible with your American hosts.
These tips are not necessarily big things.
But still they’re things that will make any stay in a new friend’s home more
relaxing.
Let’s take a look at two words.
The first word is elegant as in:
This is a very elegant restaurant.
Look at the beautiful dishes and tablecloths.
And the next word is ladder.
My mom use the ladder to reach the top shelf in the closet.
OK, again, we’re on page twenty-three in line one.
Let’s listen in to this conversation.
Follow along in your magazines.
Staying in an American Home.
Conversation A.
Jack and Laura walk into a bedroom.
Wow, I’m going to like staying with your friends!
This is a nice guestroom and the bathroom looks really elegant.
So be careful when you take a shower.
What do you mean?
Remember to use a shower curtain so you don’t get water on the floor.
OK.
But what is this?
That’s a bathmat so you don’t drip on the floor when you get out of the shower.
Oh.
And look at this bed!
It’s so high that we’ll need a ladder to get into it!
I know!
But I am really going to enjoy sleeping in it!
Hello, friends, and welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
I’m your teacher Chelsea.
And I’m Chip.
And I’m Esther.
And we’re on day two of our American Culture Corner article.
Now yesterday we talked about how you can be a good houseguest,
and then we gave you some tips.
One such tip was to take some of those pillows off the bed.
You’ll notice if you go to an American home, there will be a lot of pillows on
the bed probably.
You can take some of those off.
And also remember to sleep between the sheets and blanket if you would like to.
But you don’t have to sleep under the bedspread.
That’s right.
And you’ll also want to put the shower curtain inside the bathtub if you have a
shower bathtub combination,
because you don’t want the water from your shower to spray out on the floor.
That’s rght.
And you might also want to turn on the bathroom fan when you’re taking a bath or
shower to keep the bathroom from getting steamy.
Now let’s take a look at a conversation that is happening between a married
couple visiting a home in America.
Their names are Jack and Laura.
And Jack and Laura are houseguest.
So Jack begins this conversation by saying:
Wow, I’m going to like staying with your friends!
Now Jack and Laura have just walked into an American home.
They are inside the bedroom and they are observing and see what’s in the
bedroom.
So they’re Laura’s friends.
But Jack and Laura are both staying in this new home.
And Laura then explains to her husband Jack.
She says:
This is a nice guestroom and the bathroom looks really elegant.
Now a guestroom is simply the room that guests sleep in.
So if you visit an American home,
you will probably have your own room that has a bed and a dresser in it so you
can sleep there.
But let’s look at that word:
elegant.
It’s one of our words today.
Esther, what does the word elegant mean?
The word elegant means very beautiful and graceful and even high class.
So if the room looks elegant, then when you walk in, you might feel like it’s
very fancy.
It gives you a nice feeling when you walk in.
That’s right.
And an elegant style, it’s usually a very beautiful style.
And I think a lot of times it looks maybe a little bit expensive.
It’s an expensive look, um, but not necessarily expensive.
It’s elegant.
So Laura then goes on to tell her husband:
Be careful when you take a shower.
And Jack says:
What do you mean?
What does he mean, Chip?
Well, Laura means for Jack to be careful when he takes a shower.
He needs to use the shower curtain correctly.
Because as we looked at yesterday, in an American home if there’s a tub shower
combination,
there’s probably going to be a shower curtain that you use to keep the water
inside of the shower tub area,
and to keep it from getting outside the tub on the floor.
That’s right.
But just in case, Jack does get the water onto the floor, then he can use a
towel to wipe the floor to keep it dry.
Laura, his wife, also points out that he might use a bathmat.
A bathmat is a small rug that sits outside of the shower that you can step onto
when you get out of the bath or out of the shower.
And it will help you to keep the water there instead of on the floor.
It will absorb the water from your body.
So make sure you step on the bathmat if there is one available.
That’s right.
And a mat is a common word for a rug that fits on the floor.
So this is a bathmat, which is a rug that’s just outside of the bathtub.
Here Jack says:
Oh. And look at this bed!
It is so high we’re going to need a ladder to get into it!
What does he mean by that, Esther?
Well, often in America, people have very high beds.
Now we don’t really know if they will need a ladder.
Maybe Jack is just joking.
But a ladder is a device.
It’s a piece of equipment that people used to climb on to get to high places.
Maybe you’ve seen someone paint a room.
Well, they probably need a ladder.
Now I’ve never really seen a ladder that’s led someone up to a bed.
That would be pretty tall.
But as Esther said,
sometimes in America, the beds are a little bit higher because they put more
than one mattress on it,
or they have so many blankets or so many pillows it looks very big.
So Laura responds by laughing.
And she says:
I know!
But I am really going to enjoy sleeping in it.
So it sounds like Jack and Lara will have a lovely evening as guests in this
home.
Let’s go to a skit right now and see what else we can learn.
Thank you for letting me stay here, Mrs. Jones.
You’re welcome, (Chinese).
I love this room.
Everything is so elegant.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
Hey, I remembered to use the shower curtain.
Really?
Good for you.
Did you use the bathmat?
Oh, yes, I did.
I didn’t drip on the floor at all.
I’m glad.
Oh.
I love the privacy here.
I had the whole room to myself.
Privacy is important.
Mmhm.
Oh, and there are lots of covers and pillows.
So you really enjoyed staying here.
Oh, yes.
Staying in an American home is wonderful.
Thank you so much.
Oh, I’m so glad you liked it.
You come back anytime.
Anytime?
Sure.
Really?
OK.
I’ll come back tonight.
What?
And tomorrow night.
But I uh...
Oh, and the night after that, too.
Well, uh, actually...
Hurray!
I’m moving into an American home.
Oh, but wait!
Really...
Can my parents move in, too?