节目资讯
刊物:娱乐时尚
日期:2009-01-21
难易度:Medium
关键字:shortage, genius, villain, empathize, spunky, draw
Welcome back from the break, everyone.
You are watching Studio Classroom Worldwide.
And we know that anime keeps fans coming back for more and more and more.
It’s because it’s a unique art form that conveys fast action.
And I think it also allows readers to use their imaginations and really get into
the story.
Yes, the plotlines are interesting, too.
But the characters are unlike any others.
They’re deep and complex,
and even some possess magic powers.
And I think this helps explain just why fans can’t get enough.
Let’s post the highlight two words villain and empathize.
The first word is villain as in:
It took several years for the police to finally capture the evil villain.
The second word:
empathize,
as in:
As I read the book, I empathized with the character as she struggled to survive.
Now let’s begin our final reading on this lesson.
We’re on page thirty-three in line twelve.
Follow along as we read.
Amazing Anime.
Some very popular heroes are spunky teenagers, fighting for justice while
craving pizza.
Some heroes aren’t heroes at all but actually villains or characters who care
only about themselves.
Readers are drawn to anime because they never know what the ending will be until
it comes.
And often a major character dies or fails at what he or she was attempting to
do.
Characters are often quite complex,
allowing readers to empathize with the villains and heroes alike.
Since a good story is universal,
it is no wonder that anime has captured the imagination of the world.
H, friends. Welcome back.
And right now we’re talking about some of the popular heroes in anime.
Right.
We learned before that a lot of these anime characters are young.
They’re teenagers.
And some of them are very smart and others aren’t too bright.
But usually they’re trying to do the right thing.
And they might rush into a situation, even a dangerous situation, at times.
So let’s talk a little bit more about these characters.
And Esther, we see the word here: spunky.
Spunky teenagers.
Does that describe some of them?
That’s... Well, it sure does.
If a teenager is spunky, it means they’re very brave and determined.
And they’re not afraid of maybe taking a challenge or facing danger.
So for example, you might have teenagers who are fighting against big robots or
big mechs.
Right.
They might fight against these robots.
But at the same time, there are still everyday normal teenagers,
and they do things like crave pizza.
I think what our author is trying to say is that a lot of these characters
relate to the... the people who watch the shows,
because they... they also crave pizza.
I know sometimes I crave pizza.
Absolutely.
And every teenager I know likes pizza.
Haha.
Right.
So if they can fight for justice and crave pizza at the same time,
well, that provides for a unique and interesting character.
Well, our author also tells us that some heroes aren’t heroes at all but
actually villains.
Ooh!
Wow, this is very different because usually when we think of heroes,
we think of the good guys or the good person who help save the princess or save
the country.
But if they are villains, then they are the bad person or the person who has the
most negative role or character in the story.
Right.
I think of the opponent, right?
Maybe you are opposing someone.
We learned that word earlier.
And that person might be a villain or the bad guy.
So some of these heroes aren’t really heroes at all, are they?
They’re actually villains.
That’s right.
It sounds like some of these heroes and some of the characters in anime are
pretty complicated.
You’re not sure if they’re good or if they’re bad,
if they’re heroes or if they’re villains or if they’re both.
Exactly.
I think that’s why people like anime because it’s a little unpredictable.
Maybe some... one of the characters you think is a good character but actually
is a bad character.
And some of these characters care only about themselves.
So they only want to do things to please themselves.
That’s right.
So there’s a lot of suspense, a lot of excitement, a lot of not knowing what
will happen.
And this draws the readers in. They are attracted.
They really want to know what will happen in the story because they don’t know.
That’s right, Esther.
They don’t know what will happen in the end of the story,
which makes it a very suspense-filled story.
Right.
I kind of like those stories where you just don’t know what’s going to happen
until the very end.
So this is part of the appeal of anime.
So another thing that you might find in some of these animated cartoons is that
a major character dies or fails at what he or she was attempting to do.
So maybe it’s not always a happy ending, is it?
That’s right.
And this is very different from Western cartoons where there’s usually a happy
story or a happy ending.
Yeah.
I think the characters in anime are quite a bit more complex, aren’t they?
And that’s also the word our author uses.
Something is complex and it’s a little more... ha, it’s not simple, is it?
That’s right.
And these characters can be a little bit complicated,
and that in turn allows readers to empathize with the villains and the heroes
alike.
That’s right.
With a complex character, you might think...
You might expect the hero to do nothing but good things.
But here maybe this is a little bit more realistic where you have the hero doing
good things and also...
But... but he’s not perfect.
He also does... he or she also does some bad things.
That’s right. And because the characters are complex,
and just like how humans are complex,
then we can often relate to both the good guys, the heroes, and the villains
because we can empathize with them.
And the word empathize means that you can relate to it.
You have the same emotions that maybe they are experiencing.
I know that.
This has happened with me before.
Sometimes I empathize with the villain.
And I... I feel like I know what the villain is going through as well as maybe
the hero.
So this is the appeal of anime.
And our author says:
Since a good story is universal,
it’s no wonder that anime has captured the imagination of the world.
And I’m sure it will continue to grow in popularity.
Well friends, we hope that you have learned many new things today.
Let’s visit the Chat Room right now.
Hi, everyone.
Welcome to the Chat Room.
My name is Linda.
And my name is Ken.
Today we’re continuing our chat about anime.
I thought it was interesting that the author talks about readers being drawing
to anime.
Drawing to anime?
You mean drawn.
D-R-A-W-N.
Not drawing.
D-R-A-W-I-N-G.
Oh.
So people are draw in to anime.
Sorry, Ken.
Not draw in.
D-R-A-W I-N.
drawn.
Don’t say the ”I” sound.
OK, so it is drawn.
Perfect.
Drawn here means pull towards.
So I was drawn by it and it drew me in.
Oh, so you can use either one.
But one must be a phrasal verb.
Right, it is.
And you can use it for people, too.
I was drawn to her because of her personality.
(Chinese).
Readers are drawn to anime.
(Chinese).
Now I’ve also heard ”draw out”.
Is that the opposite?
You leave something or someone?
No. Actually that is ”draw away”.
Draw out depends on how you use it.
You can draw out a story,
meaning that you make it very long.
Or you can draw out a person.
We use that with shy people.
And if you draw out a shy person, you get that person to talk more.
Or you can draw out money from a bank or withdraw it if you have any.
(Chinese).
And here’s someone we don’t need to drop out.
Michel,
who is always ready with Language Tips for you.
(Chinese).
And that concludes our Language Tips today.
I’ll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed our article on Japanese anime.
We here at Studio Classroom Worldwide want to encourage you in your English
study.
If you have a spare moment,
visit us at our website studioclassroom.com for more tips, information and tools
you can use while studying English.
The next time we’ll meet,
we’ll travel to a place called Cat City.
Find out more what I’m talking about here a Studio Classroom.
Until then, everyone.
Bye-bye.
(Music).