节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-04-30
难易度:Low
关键字:lunge, retreat, exhaust, discovery
Welcome back.
In our lesson today, Flora fled from the giant snake by climbing a tree.
But that wasn't enough because the snake climbed after her.
After being struck with a rock and hit with a tree branch several times, the
snake finally retreated to find an easier meal.
Well, I hope that Flora and Jared don't run into any more snakes in the jungle.
Let's find out what happens next.
(Music).
Into the Jungle.
Flora was shaking like a leaf.
But she knew they couldn't let the grass grow under their feet, so she climbed
down.
Using the map, Jared led the way back to their camp.
They arrived after dark and found the rest of the team waiting for them.
Flora was exhausted, so she hit the hay.
The next morning Flora felt fresh as a daisy, and the team returned to the
jungle.
They worked hard, but their efforts bore fruit, and they made several important
discoveries.
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thank you, Michelle.
I'm glad to see that Flora and Jared were able to make it back to their camp
safely.
And the rest of the team was OK, too.
But we see some really great idioms in this part of our lesson.
So let's take a look at the first one: shaking like a leaf.
If there is a strong wind blowing through the trees, the leaves on the tree will
shake back and forth.
So if someone is "shaking like a leaf," that means they are shaking a lot.
And when might a person shake a lot?
Well, when they are scared.
So if someone is very scared, you could say that they were "shaking like a
leaf."
For example, after watching the scary movie, Lisa was shaking like a leaf and
refused to turn off the lights in her bedroom.
She was very scared because of the movie.
And I'm sure that Flora was shaking like a leaf after being attacked by a giant
snake.
Now there is another really great idiom about leaves that is not in our lesson:
turn over a new leaf.
This means that someone makes a good or positive change to their life.
So someone starts to behave in a better way.
For example, "After stealing money for many years, the thief turned over a new
leaf and started helping people instead."
Another example might be "God's love can cause even the worst person to turn
over a new leaf."
One great example of someone who turned over a new leaf in the Bible was Paul.
He is a very good example, Gabe.
Paul's name used to be "Saul," and he went through a big change.
Try reading about Paul's story and what caused him to turn over a new leaf.
So someone who might be a snake in the grass could turn over a new leaf and
become a really wonderful person.
Nice job, Gabe.
You just used the two new idioms that we learned today.
Well, let's not let the grass grow under our feet.
Let's talk about that idiom.
Grass doesn't grow very quickly.
So if you let the grass "grow under your feet," that means that you are moving
slowly or wasting a time or an opportunity.
For example, don't let the grass grow under your feet; take this opportunity to
travel while you're young.
So if you have the chance to travel now, take it!
Don't wait until the opportunity is gone.
You could also say, "We can't waste time and let the grass grow under our feet.
We need to leave now, or else we will be very late."
So, is there anything that you need to take care of?
Try not to let the grass grow under your feet.
Take the good opportunities that are available and don't waste them.
Well, Flora and Jared couldn't waste any more time.
They needed to get back to camp and find the rest of their team.
Fortunately, Jared was able to lead the way back to camp.
If you "lead the way," that means that you go first, you show other people how
to go somewhere or do something.
Now this phrase is not just limited to leading someone through a jungle like in
our story.
If you lead the way, that could also mean that you are doing something for the
first time.
For example, "This hospital leads the way in cancer treatments."
So that hospital is doing something that other hospitals aren't to help people
suffering from cancer.
You could also say "That company is leading the way in green technology."
They are doing a lot to create technology that is less harmful to the
environment.
So if someone is "leading the way," that means that they are the leader in
something.
Right.
And in our story, Jared led the way back to camp.
Fortunately, the rest of the team was already there waiting for them, so they
didn't need to lead a search party out into the jungle.
Gabe, that's a great phrase, too: search party.
A search party is a group of people who go out to look for a missing person.
For example, "When the little girl went missing, the neighbors formed a search
party to find her."
So "party" is another word for a group of people.
You could also say "The police formed a search party to find the thief."
They didn't know where the thief was, so they got a group of police officers to
go out and look for him.
Well, they might have sent a search party to look for Jared and Flora, but
fortunately, they came back.
And now it's time for us to continue learning something with Steve and Ken in
the Information Cloud.
Then we'll enjoy a review skit, and of course, join Linda for the Editor's
Summary.
We often judge fluency in a second language by the speaker's ability to
understand and use idioms correctly.
Our lesson today offers us a total of 14 plant idioms, and I'd imagine many of
you hard-working students have probably memorized all of them and can't wait to
use some of them in your compositions.
But English idioms are not really the same as Chinese idioms and proverbs.
When we cite Chinese proverbs, we exhibit a profound understanding of Chinese ,
as many of these proverbs are highly regarded sage words of poetry to have
lasted for thousands of years.
English idioms, on the other hand, are commonplace and often overused.
And when a saying is overused, it becomes cliché.
So while it might be advisable to cite Chinese proverbs in your Chinese essays,
you should think twice before using an English idiom in your English writing,
especially in formal writing.
Teachers often consider students who rely heavily on idioms lazy writers,
because using too many idioms may give your reader the impression you don't have
a clear idea of what you want to say.
So, next time you write a composition and get the urge to use a particular
idiom, first ask yourself if there's another more original or more creative way
to convey the same message.
(Chinese).
This is a great lesson.
Yes. This great lesson reminds me of the great outdoors.
Yes. And let's review some of the great idioms.
Well, OK. How about "the grass is always greener on the other side"?
What does that mean?
It means that what we don't have looks better than what we do have.
Oh. So just like a cow looks at the grass on the other side of the fence and
thinks it's greener and tastier?
Right.
But is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence?
No, not usually. It just seems that way.
Right. Well, in the lesson, there was a snake, but it was no garden-variety
snake.
What does that mean?
Well, if something is garden-variety, it's something that's not unusual.
It's plain and ordinary like ordinary flowers in a garden.
Right. But if something is not a garden-variety, then it's strange and unusual.
Maybe like a cactus in a flower garden?
Right. It's out of the ordinary.
Yeah. Hey, let's do one more.
But aren't you tired?
No. No, no. I'm as fresh as a daisy.
I feel brand new. I have lots of energy.
Oh, OK.
A daisy is a common flower.
And if you're fresh as a daisy, you feel clean and fresh and ready for action.
Yep, that's me.
So let's do some more idioms, OK?
Um... Oh, sorry, we are out of time.
Let's just say goodbye.
OK. Goodbye.
Bye, everyone.
See you next time.
See you.
Well, Flora's trying to back away from the snake she ran into.
But it lunges at her, and she jumps into a tree, not realizing that the snake is
coming up, too.
So Jared throws a rock at the snake, trying to stop it.
And between him and Flora, who is hitting it with a tree branch, they managed to
keep the snake away until it just gets tired and leaves.
So she's shaking like a... like a leaf when she climbs down the tree and heads
back to camp with Jared.
The rest of the team had already found their way back, and they were there
waiting for these two to arrive.
Well, after a good night's sleep, they headed back to the jungle again where
they made some important discoveries.
Thank you, Linda.
The past three days had been filled with great plant-themed idioms.
How many of them do you remember?
Practice using some of them with your friends.
Just remember Steve and Ken's advice and try not to use them too often when you
write in English.
Well, we hope you enjoy this lesson, and we will see you next time right here at
Studio Classroom.
(Music).