节目资讯
刊物:旅游精选
日期:2010-03-23
难易度:High
关键字:captivate, scenic, riot, flaunt, hybrid
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
We’re traveling to the Netherlands, that European country famous for its art,
tulips, cheese, and so much more.
The word ”nether” means down, below, or beneath.
And the word ”land” means, well, land.
So the word ”Netherlands” literally means the land below.
Or, put another way, the low lands.
This makes sense because half of the country lies below sea level.
Much like the Italian city of Venice, large portions of the Netherlands are
constantly in danger of being swallowed up by the sea.
OK, let’s change topics and talk about tulips now.
Today’s reading begins on page 43 under the title ”Tulips, tulips, tulips”.
(Music).
Enjoying the Netherlands.
Tulips, tulips, tulips.
A short distance from Amsterdam sits the charming town of Leiden, home to the
oldest Dutch university.
If museums captivate you, you’ll love this town - it’s loaded with them.
That should be no surprise as Leiden is the great painter Rembrandt’s
birthplace.
Enjoy wandering the streets, and if you have time, take a boat trip on Leiden’s
scenic canals.
Not far from Leiden lie the Keukenhof gardens, a riot of color in the spring.
The gardens were once the hunting area and kitchen gardens of a countess, hence
the name Keukenhof (keuken is kitchen).
(Music).
Hi, friends, and welcome.
I’m Chelsea.
And I’m Chip.
And thanks for joining us for our second day in our TRAVEL article this month.
We’ve been talking about the Netherlands.
And we’ve been hearing about how the Netherlands aim to please - their goal is
to make people happy.
Yesterday we talked just a little bit about some other things that you can do in
the Netherlands, and specifically, some of the things there in Amsterdam.
But today, Chelsea, what are we going to start off talking about?
Well, today we will be talking about Tulips, tulips, tulips.
And as we explained yesterday, a tulip is a beautiful and brightly colored
flower.
So today we’re going to be traveling away from Amsterdam to another area of the
Netherlands that has plenty of tulips.
So our article starts off today by saying a short distance from Amsterdam sits
the charming town of Leiden.
And Leiden happens to be home to the oldest Dutch university.
And ”Dutch”, of course, explains and describes the culture in the Netherlands,
and it’s also the language.
So we’re in an... maybe an older part of the Netherlands now.
Wow, so maybe seeing the oldest Dutch university would be pretty interesting to
you.
Or, possibly, if museums captivate you, then you’ll love this town because it’s
loaded with them.
So if a town is loaded with museums, that means it has so many museums that it
sounds like it’s full of museums.
It... it might not have room for one more museum.
And if something captivates you, that means that it holds your attention by
being extremely interesting or extremely exciting or pleasant or attractive.
We might say, ”The singer captivated the audience.”.
That means that she kept their attention very well.
So if museums do that for you, this might be a place you’ll want to visit.
And it shouldn’t be a surprise that they have a lot of museums in Liden, and why
is that, Chip?
Well, because Leiden is the great painter’s home.
And we’re... when we’re talking about the great painter, we’re talking about
Rembrandt.
And this is his birthplace - he was born there in Leiden.
So it sounds like they probably have museums with a lot of his paintings in
them.
So that’s one thing that you can do in Leiden.
And you can also enjoy wandering the streets, and if you have time, take a boat
trip on Leiden’s scenic canals.
Those would be waterways throughout the city.
Uh, if they’re scenic, that means they’re very beautiful - you can probably see
a lot of Leiden by taking a little trip on a boat down the canal.
Right, ”scenic” is a very good word to know if you’re going to be traveling
because when you travel, you often try to enjoy the scenery.
So you’re trying to enjoy scenic places in your journey.
And you might choose a more scenic drive or more scenic way to get to a place
when you’re on vacation,
than you would a... a not so scenic drive or not so scenic journey.
And there are plenty more scenic things to see here in the Netherlands.
Our article goes on to say not far from Leiden lie the Keukenhof gardens, a riot
of color in the spring.
Now this is a very interesting use of the word ”riot”.
Oftentimes, when we think of a riot, we think of people fighting, people who
experience tension between one another.
And it’s not usually a good situation if there’s a riot going on.
Right, there’s a lot of chaos and disorder.
But here we’re talking about a riot of color, so we’re talking about, uh, lots
of bright colors coming together.
And maybe they are kind of fighting with each other and producing a lot of
noise, or visual noise, is that possible?
I think that might be possible.
Just know that if we’re talking about a riot of color, we’re talking about many
vibrant colors.
They’re very beautiful.
And so, of course, these colors would be located within a garden.
You can see many flowers in bloom in their beautiful, beautiful colors.
Now this garden is pretty special - Keukenhof - because the gardens were once
the hunting area and kitchen gardens of a countess.
Now that’s kind of a unique word there - a countess - it’s not one that we use
normally in English.
But a countess would have been the wife of a count.
And a count was a noble man or a person of very high rank uh, in Europe many
years ago.
So this would have been a wealthy woman, and uh... she probably would have had
her gardens taken very well care of.
And our article teaches us a little bit of Dutch - a little bit of the Dutch
language.
So ”keuken” means kitchen in the Dutch language.
So ”Keukenhof” is an appropriate title, uh, because we’re talking about, uh, the
kitchen gardens of this countess.
So this place that used to be the hunting area and kitchen gardens for this
countess is now a wonderful tourist location for people from all over the world,
who come every year to see the beautiful riot of color that happens here when
flowers bloom.
Well, right now we’re going to take a break, and then, before that we’re going
to visit the Chat Room.
And we’ll see you back here in just a few moments.
That feels a lot better.
Wow, Ken, you’ve got quite a load there.
What’s in the bag?
Actually, I’m returning a bunch of books I checked out over the past few months.
I’ve received the library fine notice in the mail.
Oh... so your bag was loaded with overdue books?
I... think so.
Wait, what do you mean by ”loaded”?
I mean your bag was full of books.
Anytime you use ”loaded with” or ”loads up,” you’re saying that there is a lot
of something.
Then... yes, my bag is loaded with books, and unfortunately, they’re overdue.
Are you loaded with money?
Do I have a lot of money?
Not really, but enough to pay for my library fine, I hope.
Did you enjoy your books?
Were they loaded with lots of good information?
Yes, they’re loaded with helpful information.
Wow ! We can really use this phrase in many different ways!
Ken, why don’t you take a load off?
Take a load off?
Well, you’ve been carrying those books around all day, and I’m sure you’re
tired, so why don’t you have a seat?
Oh... So ”take a load off” means to rest, have a seat, or lie down?
Right.
You know, Ken, now that you’re returning those books, it really takes a load off
my mind.
What?
I was afraid that you have lost the books, and that I would have to charge you a
lot of money for them.
Then the library would have to order new looks to replace them...
So you really took a load off my mind.
Oh... I see.
You mean that you’re relieved that I’m returning those books.
Exactly.
Well, Ashley, I’m sorry I’m returning these books so late.
Next time, I’ll try to return them on time.
That’s OK, Ken.
Loads of people return their books late.
That’s why we keep the library fines lower compared to other libraries.
I’m glad you like to read.
Let me take some of those books off your hands now.
Thanks for your help, Ashley.
(Chinese).