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
Welcome back.
Earlier today we began learning about a Taipei native named Wenlan Chia.
She is a big name in fashion these days.
And her inspiration to make clothing came to her very early in life because her
own mother was a pattern maker and made clothes for Wenlan and her sister.
We still have more to learn about this talented designer, so let's continue with
the next part of our lesson.
(Music).
Wenlan Chia.
Chia studied art in university and then moved to New York in 1991 to continue
her education.
When walking around town, she often received positive comments about the clothes
she wore.
People on the street even stopped her and asked about the items she was wearing.
So Chia turned her focus toward fashion.
She created Twinkle by Wenlan and launched her first collection in 2000.
In 2003, Chia was the first Taiwanese designer to debut at New York Fashion
Week.
Twinkle by Wenlan is worn by stars like Jessica Simpson, Kate Hudson and Maggie
Gyllenhaal.
(Music).
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, it sounds like Twinkle by Wenlan is certainly shining with the stars.
Yes, Gabe, there are movie stars that wear Twinkle by Wenlan.
She has become very popular with several different movie stars.
But for now, let's talk about her education.
Good idea.
Originally she studied art, not fashion.
And in 1991, she moved to New York to continue her education.
A great phrase: to continue one's education.
If someone continues their education, that means that they are going to school
beyond high school.
For example, someone might ask you if you plan to continue your education.
You could respond and say, "Yes, I plan to go to college." or "No, I plan to
start working right away."
Or if you are graduating from college, you could say that you plan to continue
your education and get a master's degree or a Ph.D.
My sister decided to continue her education beyond college and is working toward
her Ph.D.
And that is fantastic.
So what are your plans?
Do you plan to continue your education or do you want to do something else?
Wenlan decided to continue her education in New York.
While she was there, she received a lot of positive comments about the clothes
she wore.
That's always a really nice thing to have happen.
People love to hear positive comments about their appearance.
They sure do.
And we should take a closer look at that sentence: to receive something about
something else.
This is a fairly simple structure, and it tells you the meaning of something
that you get from someone else.
For example, "I received a letter about graduate school."
That is a very short and simple example, but you can make the sentence longer
and more complicated.
I received a long, detailed letter about graduate school application
requirements.
All right. So you can add as many details to this sentence as you want.
Have you received anything recently?
If you have, what was it about?
Maybe you received a compliment or some advice, or a gift, a phone call or a
text message.
Try using this sentence pattern to explain what it was about.
Well, Wenlan received positive comments about her clothes.
And we read in our lesson that people even stopped her and asked about her
clothes.
And that's pretty amazing, especially in New York where people have a reputation
for ignoring people that they don't already know.
But we see a great word here, "stop." They stopped her.
Usually this means that a person or thing no longer does something.
You stop a car.
But what does it mean if you "stop a person on the street"?
It means that you prevent them from walking.
So Wenlan would be walking down the street, and people would come up to her,
make her stop walking and ask her about her clothes and accessories.
She must have great fashion sense.
If someone has good fashion sense, that means they are very fashionable and know
what colors, materials and styles look good together.
And after having so many different people ask her about her style, she decided
to focus on fashion instead of art.
This seems to have been a very good... decision since she is now a famous
designer.
And just three years after she launched her first collection, she became the
first Taiwanese designer to debut at New York Fashion Week.
Now you may wonder why this is important.
But if you follow fashion, then you know that New York Fashion Week is extremely
important for fashion designers.
This year it was held from February 6 to February 13.
During this time, famous designers from around the world show off their
collections to potential buyers, the media and, of course, the general public.
And this is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world.
New York Fashion Week is first, followed by London, Milan and finally ending
with Paris.
So being able to show her collection at the New York Fashion Week was a very big
step in Wenlan's fashion career.
Now her clothing creations are worn by famous movie stars.
That's right, and we see several of them listed in our magazine.
Do you follow or know anyone who wears Twinkle by Wenlan?
If you do, you can talk about that in English.
Now it's time for us to continue learning with Steve and Ken in the Information
Cloud.
The word "native," as it's used in our lesson today, refers to a person.
A Taipei native is someone born in Taipei.
Another way to put it is a native of Taipei.
However, if we look in the dictionary, it tells us that native can also refer to
a species, meaning a plant or an animal.
So Steve, when you hear someone say a native of Taipei, do you think of a plant
or an animal?
Neither, Ken.
A native of Taipei is most definitely a person.
But if you say something is native to Taipei, then I would think it's something
non-human like a plant or animal.
So why is that?
Well, friends, we can't always rely on what the dictionary tells us.
Yes, the noun "native" can refer to a species, but 9 out of 10 times it's used
to refer to a person.
When native is used to describe a species, it's almost always used as an
adjective.
Few native English speakers would call a kangaroo in a zoo a native of
Australia.
Instead, we would say the kangaroo is native to Australia.
(Chinese).
Wenlan Chia's Twinkle collection is becoming a big name in the fashion business.
Her inspiration came at an early age, perhaps even from her mother, who was a
pattern maker, and sewed all of Wenlan's clothes along with those of her sister.
When Wenlan grew up and moved to New York, she noticed that people often
commented positively on what she was wearing, so she turned toward fashion.
In 2003, she became the first Taiwanese designer to debut at Fashion Week in New
York.
That is a pretty big deal.
And now, several movie stars are wearing her designs.
Thank you, Linda.
Well, Wenlan has certainly made an impression on the fashion world.
And she is making quite a name for herself.
Be sure to join us again tomorrow as we continue learning about this talented
designer.
We'll see you then right here on Studio Classroom.
(Music).