节目资讯
刊物:名人特写
日期:2009-01-07
难易度:Medium
关键字:in spite of, close-knit, the sky’s the limit, awar
(Music).
Hi, everyone.
Thanks for joining us today here at Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Well, The Jonas Brothers have been our topic for the last two days.
We’re taking a closer look at what makes these three brothers so popular.
Obviously they’re very, very talented singers.
But we’re finding that people love their positive messages and wholesome lyrics,
too.
There’s no doubt about it.
They’re very, very different from other boy bands.
Well, life sometimes brings us some unexpected difficulties.
Today we’ll learn about the youngest Jonas brother, Nick, and how he’s dealing
with diabetes.
Some key words to know include ”association” and the idiom ”in spite of”.
Let’s look at association first.
association,
as in:
You can learn all about heart disease on the American Heart Association’s
website.
The second one:
in spite of,
as in:
In spite of the bad weather, we still plan to go out for dinner.
OK friends, let’s turn to page seventeen.
We’re on line eleven for today’s reading.
The Jonus Brothers.
American Diabetes Association.
In two thousand five, Nick began losing weight very quickly,
experiencing frequent thirst and making frequent trips to the bathroom.
A hospital checkup revealed that he had diabetes.
Almost four years later, Nick has learned how to manage his disease.
In fact, he maintains a busy schedule and full life in spite of it.
He speaks about it openly at many of his concerts and encourages other young
people with diabetes.
Through their foundation, the band hopes to raise awareness of diabetes and
money for the American Diabetes Association.
Hi, friends.
I’m Chip.
And I’m Esther.
And we’re talking about The Jonas Brothers,
this boy band consisting of Kevin, Joe and Nick.
And yesterday we learned quite a few positive things about this boy band.
We’ve been learning about how this boy band is not your typical boy band.
They strive to be good role models.
They are extremely charitable or generous with their money.
And they encourage their fans to also be very generous with their money.
And now we’re learning a third way.
One of the charities that they donate to and make... want other people to donate
to is the American Diabetes Association.
That’s right.
The American Diabetes Association.
And diabetes is a condition when you have too much sugar in your blood.
So people who have diabetes,
they either have to take drugs or they have to get shots of a chemical called
insulin to help their bodies balance the level of blood sugar.
That’s right.
And I guess, you know, a body needs enough... er... the right amount of sugar to
stay awake and stay alive.
And so our bodies have a natural way of controlling the amount of sugar in our
bodies.
Uh, not too much, not too little.
And so diabetes is a disease that happens when somebody has lost the ability to
control the amount of sugar in the blood.
That’s right.
So why do they support the American Diabetes Association?
Well, we find out that four years ago in two thousand and five, something
happened to Nick.
He lost weight very quickly and he often got very thirsty.
He wanted to drink water.
And he often went to the bathroom.
Very... yeah, frequent trips to the bathroom.
He went to the bathroom very frequently.
And so with those symptoms, with those effects, he decided to go to the
hospital,
which then told him that he had diabetes.
That’s right.
A hospital check... checkup revealed that he had diabetes.
So I’m sure they did some tests, maybe um, have samples taken of his blood and
found out that he had diabetes.
So this is a condition that usually doesn’t go away.
And it’s something, as Nick was only twelve at that time, that he had to face.
It was a big change in his life.
That’s right.
So now four years later, Nick has learned to manage his disease.
And in fact, he maintains, as the article says, a busy schedule and a full life
in spite of the disease.
What does that mean, that phrase in spite of?
Well, in spite of, it means that even though you are doing something or even
though this is a fact, but something is true.
So even though he has diabetes,
but it’s true that he is still able to maintain a very busy schedule and live a
very full life.
That’s right.
That phrase:
in spite of.
If you do something in spite of something else,
then you’re doing it almost in disregard or almost disrespect of something else.
You... that... that something is trying to get you to not do it, but you’re
going to do it anyway.
You’re doing it in spite of.
So here he’s faced a serious challenge and yet he’s still able to experience
success.
That’s right.
And not only does he manage his diabetes, but he is also to... he is also able
to speak about it.
In fact, he openly speaks about it at many of his concerts,
and encourages other young people who have diabetes to face diabetes, manage it
and to live a full life.
And now we’re going to go to a Did You Know...
And we’ll be right back.
The three Jonas Brothers write most of their own songs.
Nick is the main songwriter for the group.
He wrote ”A Little Bit Longer” about his experience with diabetes.
Other Jonas Brothers hits include:
”When You Look Me in the Eyes,” ”Kids of the Future,” and ”Good Night and
Goodbye.”.
Wow, that was very interesting.
Well, through the Jonas Brothers’ foundation ”Change for the Children,” the band
hopes to raise awareness and helps...
wants to help other people know about diabetes.
So they want to raise awareness.
They want other people to be aware or to know about diabetes.
That’s right.
Uh, awareness is a More Information word there.
And... to be aware of something means simply to know that it exists, to know
that it’s real.
And so if you go to a Jonas Brothers concert, they will probably talk about
diabetes during the concert.
They will probably tell you some things that you didn’t know about diabetes.
And they will also probably encourage you just a little bit to give some money
to help the American Diabetes Association.
That’s right.
And I think this is wonderful that not only are they singing, not only are they
performing, not only are they good role models,
but they are also helping raise money for charity and help people to become
aware about diabetes,
because many people have diabetes.
In fact, just two years ago, Chip, my father found out that he had diabetes.
And for a while he had to take insulin shots.
But thankfully, now he can just take medicine.
Yeah, that can be a very challenging disease for people.
And it really is amazing that these Jonas Brothers maintain a very fast-paced
lifestyle.
And Nick especially maintains a very fast-paced lifestyle, busy full life in
spite of diabetes.
Very impressive.
That’s right.
Even though he has diabetes, but he still carries on.
Well, let’s watch a skit now.
Ah, playing the drums is harder than it looks.
Yeah.
(Music).
Something must be wrong with this guitar.
We sound terrible.
Well, in spite of the way we sound, we can still have a great band.
Can’t we?
Maybe we should practice more.
I’m sure we can improve.
But it will take time.
Well, let’s practice every day!
We can’t.
We need to spend time with our families.
True.
A close-knit family is important.
I have an idea.
Let’s use our family ties to improve our music.
What do you mean?
Well, our family members can play in the band, too.
Good idea!
My sister can sing.
And my brother plays the drums.
My cousin is good on this guitar.
And my dog is learning the piano.
Great!
Haha.
With all this talent, our band can do anything.
Yeah!
The sky is the limit.
Yeah!