节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-04-23
难易度:Medium
关键字:twinkle, sparkle, inspiration, launch, debut
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
My name is Carolyn.
And today we will be learning about a very special person, Wenlan Chia.
Each month we get to learn a little bit about a person who is having an impact
on the lives of others or making a big impression in their field of work.
Wenlan is a fashion designer from Taipei with a special eye for things that
sparkle.
Open up your magazine and let's begin to look at the life of this talented
designer with the first part of our reading today.
(Music).
Wenlan Chia.
This Taiwanese designer "twinkles" in the fashion world.
Wenlan Chia is a big name in the fashion world these days.
This Taipei native has successful lines of ready-to-wear clothing, accessories
and items for your home.
She's even published books!
Each of her lines contains the word twinkle and no wonder - her creations
sparkle and shine.
Chia's inspiration to design clothing came early in life.
Her mother was a pattern maker and made clothes for Chia and her sister when
they were young.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, in our lesson today we learn that Wenlan "twinkles" in the fashion world.
Now twinkle is one of our key words, and it means that a light shines brightly
and gets softer and then shines brightly again.
Usually we use the word "twinkle" to describe the way stars shine in the sky.
There's even a song called "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
But what does it say if we... what does it mean if we say that "a person
twinkles"?
Well, that means that a person shines brightly or attracts other people's
attention.
Twinkle is a happy, positive word.
You could also say that someone's eyes twinkle.
That means that their eyes are very happy and bright.
Do you know anyone whose eyes twinkle?
Well, Wenlan certainly twinkles in the fashion world.
She is a big name these days.
And we should look at that phrase: big name.
If someone has a big name, that means that they are very important or famous.
So you could say that Peter Jackson is a big name in the film industry.
He is a very famous director, and lots of people go to see his movies.
He is a big name.
Right.
But you could also use this to talk about someone that perhaps isn't quite as
famous, but is well-known in a certain industry or has a reputation among a
group of people.
For example, not many people know about that music artist, but he is a big name
in Los Angeles.
So people in LA know who he is, but not many other people know about him.
Great.
And Wenlan Chia may not be as famous as some other people, but she is a big name
in the fashion world these days.
And we should also talk about the phrase "these days."
And that means that something is happening recently.
This phrase is used to talk about the present time and compare it with the past.
For example, "Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days,"
which means that having a smartphone was not very common in the past, but that
has changed.
And now, almost everyone has one... except for me.
Uh-huh. That is true.
So not everyone has a smartphone, but it is much more common these days.
Can you think of anything else that is happening these days?
Sure. You could say everyone is studying very hard these days to prepare for the
big exam.
So maybe people weren't studying very much earlier, but now they are studying
very hard to prepare for the exam.
That is a good thing to do.
Try asking someone what they are doing these days.
Find out what they have been doing recently.
Well, Wenlan is a big name in the fashion world these days, and she is a Taipei
native.
If you are a native of some place, that means that is where you grew up.
So you could say I am a West Virginia native because I spent most of my life in
West Virginia.
And you could probably say that I am a Taichung native since that is where I
grew up.
So if you have lived in one place for a long time, you can be called a native of
that place.
Are you considered a native of any place?
Talk about it in English.
Well, are you a native of Taipei like Wenlan or do you call somewhere else home?
Wenlan has many successful lines of ready-to-wear clothing.
And we should talk about that term, "ready-to-wear."
If something is "ready-to-wear," then you don't need to make any changes to it.
You can wear it right away.
Now this type of phrase is useful to know because you can replace the word
"wear" with other verbs.
For example, you could say that something is "ready-to-eat."
This means you don't need to cook it or do anything to prepare it, you can just
eat it right now.
And in our modern world that is based on convenience, we love things that are
ready-to-eat, ready-to-wear, ready-to-use.
We like to be ready all the time for everything that we do.
I think this is very true.
What other things can you think of that are ready-to-verb?
Try to come up with some of your own examples.
Now something very special about Wenlan's clothing lines is that each line
contains the word "twinkle."
And in our lesson we learn that this is no wonder because her creations sparkle
and shine.
There's something in that last sentence that Liz would like to tell us more
about in the Grammar Gym.
So let's join her now.
Hello, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's lesson we see this sentence:
Each of her lines contains the word twinkle and no wonder - her creations
sparkle and shine.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
It just means each of her lines contains the word "twinkle," and this should be
no surprise because her creations sparkle and shine.
Notice the pattern of the sentence: [Situation] and no wonder - [explanation].
Use this pattern when you want a short and more direct way of saying it is no
wonder that a situation is the way it is because blah blah blah.
For example:
Camille can never find anything in her room and no wonder - she is so
disorganized.
Or: Rats were seen in the kitchen and no wonder - food was always left out on
the counter every night.
So now it's your turn.
Think of a situation and an obvious explanation for it, then practice using this
pattern.
If you want to see some more example sentences, then check out today's Grammar
Tip section in your magazine.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
It really is no wonder that her clothing lines contain the word "twinkle."
Her clothes are certain to catch your eye.
Carolyn, that is a great phrase to know: to catch someone's eye.
If you catch someone's eye, that means you do something to get their interest or
attention.
For example, the brightly-colored purse caught my eye.
It got my attention because of its bright color.
You could also say, "I went shopping yesterday but nothing caught my eye, so I
didn't buy anything."
So there wasn't anything that really interested you while you were shopping.
So what sort of things catch your eye, things that are big, bright, shiny?
Things that sparkle or twinkle would probably catch your eye,
which means that Wenlan's clothing and jewelry would probably catch your eye.
Many of her clothes include bright colors and a unique style.
And we learn from our lesson and that she is not the only one in her family that
makes clothes.
Right.
Her mom was a pattern maker and made clothes for Wenlan and her sister.
But what exactly is "a pattern maker"?
That is a person who creates guidelines or patterns that show you how to make
something.
Usually a pattern maker is used to talk about someone who creates clothing
designs that other people can follow to make their own clothing.
So if you want to create a type of design, you might follow a pattern that
someone else made.
The person who made that pattern is called the "pattern maker."
If you are interested in sewing or knitting, you have probably followed other
people's patterns to make your creations.
Unless, of course, you are also a pattern maker.
Now that takes a lot of creativity and skill.
But even following someone else's pattern takes a lot of practice and skill.
I always love receiving hand-knitted things from people.
Things that have been made by hand are very special and show that a person was
willing to put a lot of time and energy into making something for you.
Oh, what sort of handmade things do you have, Carolyn?
Well, last Christmas I received a beautiful hand-knitted stocking with my name
on it.
It took a very long time to make, and it is very beautiful.
And there are many other handmade things that people have given me in the past.
Well, that's very nice and very sweet.
It makes for a very nice gift.
Well, right now, of course, it is time for us to take a break.
But we'll see you right after this.