节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-04-25
难易度:Low
关键字:colony, pioneer, witness, carpenter, buff, Pilgrim, blacksmith, mock
Welcome back.
How did your country begin to be a nation?
Where did the first people come from who live in your country?
How much do you know of the history of where you live?
Well, if you are a history buff, then you may enjoy learning about some of the
answers to these questions about American history.
So far today we've discussed a little bit of the history of Jamestown, one of
the communities included in the Historic Triangle in Virginia.
Let's continue learning about Jamestown, and then we'll move on to Colonial
Williamsburg.
(Music).
Learn From the Past.
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas are brought to life.
A walking tour helped us better understand the fort and Indian village of the
17th century.
Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
Our next stop, Colonial Williamsburg, is a living history museum.
You can become a citizen at war and witness the victory of independence.
Or you can visit the Capitol, the Governor's Palace, a blacksmith shop and more.
See how carpenters work, or participate in a mock trial.
Tired? A horse-drawn carriage will take you around the city.
(Music).
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, we do learn a little more about Jamestown in this section.
And we see some familiar names: Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.
Have you ever seen any Disney cartoons like Pocahontas?
Have you seen Pocahontas, Carolyn?
Yes. It's not my favorite cartoon, but it was entertaining.
Well, you know, that movie teaches us a lot about American history, right?
Actually, no.
But it was based on true events, right?
Well... some names were similar.
But if you want to know the true story, maybe you should read history books.
Yeah, maybe you're right.
If you want to know who Captain John Smith and Pocahontas really were, maybe you
could check out Jamestown.
John Smith and Pocahontas are brought to life.
Now what does that mean?
Well, that's kind of like the meaning of living history.
You are made to feel like an event in history is coming alive right before your
eyes.
Now we are not sure if these characters are brought to life through the
introductory film mentioned earlier or not.
Right. Perhaps they were brought to life through a live drama.
Whether it's in a movie, television show or on stage, actors bring stories and
characters to life.
And right now Liz has somthing she would like to explain further about this
phrase in the Grammar Gym.
(Music).
How are you doing today, friends?
My name is Liz.
And thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
Here's our Grammar Tip sentence from today's lesson.
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas are brought to life.
Notice the phrase at the end of the sentence: brought to life.
That's our Grammar Tip focus.
To bring to life means to make something lifelike or have energy.
So going back to today's sentence, the writer is not saying that two dead
people, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, they came back to life.
No, no, no.
But by visiting Jamestown and watching the introductory film, people got to know
Captain John Smith and Pocahontas as if these two were alive.
This phrase, "to bring to life," can be used to describe different situations
and not just about history lessons.
For example, we can use the phrase to describe something imaginary like:
The child's imaginary pet was brought to life through his drawings.
Or we can also use it to talk about how something is made more exciting like:
The party was brought to life when the live band began to perform.
So friends, that's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
I'll see you next time.
(Music).
Thank you, Liz.
Well, let's move on.
We read: A walking tour helped us better understand the fort and Indian village
of the 17th century.
What's a "walking tour?"
Well, it's a kind of tour.
It's mostly a guided tour, meaning it's led by a tour guide.
You and your tour group walk around in an area and learn about everything there.
And you will certainly learn about the history of the place if the place is
Jamestown.
What kinds of places have walking tours?
Well, some museums do.
Ancient villages that are visited by tourists do.
And my university did... or does, actually.
I remember a few of my friends had jobs as tour guides, and they would conduct
walking tours through my university.
These walking tours are for people who are thinking about attending the
university.
Ah, if you go on a tour like this, it betters your knowledge about a place.
Now, notice I use the word "better" as a verb just like our lesson does.
Usually it's an adjective, but you can use it as a verb.
You can better understand something.
That means you begin to understand it better.
You can "better know someone," which means you get to know them better.
You can "better yourself," which means you become a better person.
And you are learning with us here at Studio Classroom, bettering your
understanding of English.
Now let's move on to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
We read: Our next stop, Colonial Williamsburg, is a living history museum.
This is something you would hear from someone who is traveling, and that's what
our author is doing.
When you travel to more than one place, you can call each of those places
"stops."
Right. For example, last year I traveled to India with some friends.
Our first stop was in Sarni.
The next stop was in New Delhi.
And our third stop was in Goa.
And the last stop was at Mumbai.
But even if you are on the way home from work or school, you could say something
like: I need to make a stop at the convenience store.
Well, the folks in our lesson made a stop at Colonial Williamsburg, which is a
living history museum.
And I think now we start to better understand what our lesson means by "living
history."
You're right about that.
We read that here you can become a citizen at war and witness the victory of
independence.
So you can become the characters in history.
That's really cool.
You can experience what it was like to be at war... kind of.
In a living history museum like this, they want you to have an idea of what life
was really like back then.
Now, let's look at the phase: at war.
What does that mean?
Well, if you are "at war" with another country, that means you are "in the
middle of a war."
You can use the word "at" with "war," but remember that you cannot use the word
"at" with "battle," which is also a fighting event.
Don't say "we are fighting at battle," say "We're fighting in a battle."
But you can say you are at war with someone.
Well, we do see some occupations listed here.
Let's look at some of them.
A "blacksmith" is someone who works shaping iron.
Their job is a little dangerous as it involves working closely with fire.
A "carpenter," on the other hand, is someone who works with wood.
And they don't want to get anywhere near fire.
Well, now it is time for us to review with the Editor's Summary.
Let's join Linda right now.
Today we're going with Pauline and her family as they go on spring break to a
couple of places in the Historic Triangle in Virginia, Jamestown and
Williamsburg.
If you visit Jamestown, you will find the first lasting English colony even
before the Pilgrims landed.
There's an introductory film that gives the history of the settlement.
And you can take a walking tour of the fort and Indian village from the 17th
century.
And then going on to Colonial Williamsburg, you will feel like you're in a
living museum.
You can visit many historic places like a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop or
even witness a mock trial or witness the victory of the country becoming
independent.
Thank you, Linda.
OK, we've learned a lot about two of the communities within the Historic
Triangle.
And we have another place to learn about tomorrow when we'll continue our lesson
"Learn From the Past."
See you then right here on Studio Classroom.
(Music).