节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-04-18
难易度:Medium
关键字:astonish, aggressive, wave of the future, touchscreen
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And you are joining us for the second day of our VIEWPOINTS article - How Much
Screen Time?
Yesterday we started a conversation with Sean and Tim.
And we learned that Sean's son Jeff can have as much screen time as he wants.
Tim's daughter Alice, on the other hand, is limited to two hours per day.
Open your magazine, and let's see what Sean and Tim have to say in today's
lesson.
(Music).
How Much Screen Time?
Really! Jeff doesn't spend that much time in front of a screen.
You would be astonished at how fast it all adds up.
Calculate all of his time on TV, computers, tablets and cellphones and see.
I guess so.
But he's shown me several of the educational games on his tablet, so I'm not too
worried.
He's learning things.
Yeah, but I doubt that your son plays educational games all the time.
I bet he's playing some violent video games, too.
Too much exposure to those can cause kids to become aggressive.
(Music).
(Chinese).
Thank you, Michelle.
Now our lesson yesterday ended with Tim saying that a lot of kids Jeff's age
spend more than seven hours a day in front of a screen, and that's a lot.
It really is.
But Sean has a hard time believing that children actually spend that much time
in front of a screen.
And let's take a look at that phrase: to not do something that much.
This could have several different meanings.
Since Tim just said that many children spend more than seven hours in front of a
screen, "that much" can refer to the number of hours - seven.
So Sean doesn't think that Jeff spends seven hours in front of a screen.
That's too many hours.
But we can also use this phrase in other ways.
Right.
We can use this type of structure when we want to make it clear that something
isn't as bad as it sounds or it's not that serious.
For example, if someone has a bad habit, they might say that they don't do it
that much, so it isn't a problem.
So someone could say, "I don't drink alcohol that much, so don't worry."
But that might not be true.
His friends might be concerned that he does drink alcohol too much.
Another example would be, "She doesn't exercise that much."
So she should exercise more.
You can also use this phrase to show that someone should do more of something.
And Sean thinks that his son doesn't spend that much time in front of a screen,
so he thinks that it's a lot less than seven hours, and it's not really a
problem.
However, Tim says that the time kids spend in front of a screen can really add
up.
And "add up" is a great phrase that Liz wants to tell us more about in the
Grammar Gym.
Let's join her now.
Hello, friends.
How are you doing today?
My name is Liz, and thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
Let's go ahead and take a look at today's Grammar Tip sentence:
You would be astonished at how fast it all adds up.
Our focus is on the phrase at the end of the sentence: to add up.
Normally, to add up means to do some math and see what amount you get when you
put numbers together, like:
We need to add up the amount from each receipt to see how much we spent.
But in the case of today's sentence, we're not really talking about doing math
calculations.
Instead, "add up" means to grow or to increase.
So the writer is saying that it's astonishing to see how fast things can
increase.
We use "add up" when we want to show that something is growing in amount.
For example: With all Henry has to do at the office and at home, it's no wonder
he feels all that stress adding up.
Or: If you don't take care of your money problems soon, your bills and debt are
going to add up.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, we certainly know that the time you spend practicing English can really
add up.
And the more you practice, the more you will improve.
That's right.
Even practicing for 10 minutes a day can really add up over time.
Now practicing English for 10 minutes and studying English for 10 minutes are a
little bit different.
You're right about that.
If you practice, that means you are using the skills that you have learned.
So for English, that would be having a conversation with someone or writing
something down in English.
But studying could just be listening or reading.
Studying is important for learning new things, but it's also important to use
the things that you learn.
So try practicing what you know for 10 minutes every day and see how quickly the
time adds up.
Great.
Well, the amount of time that you spend in front of a screen each day can also
really add up.
And Tim tells his friend Sean to add up all of the time that Jeff spends in
front of the TV, computer, tablet and smartphone and see.
And we should look at those two words: and see.
If someone says to do something and see, that means that they want you to pay
attention to the result.
Perhaps the most common way we hear this used is "wait and see."
And that means you don't know what the result will be or you don't want to tell
someone what will happen, so they have to wait.
And once a certain time arrives, they will know the result.
Ah. For example, Gabe, my birthday is in a few days, what did you get me?
Well, Carolyn, you're going to have to wait and see.
I'm not going to tell you.
Oh. Well, I tried.
Yeah.
So yes, I have to wait and then I will see what my birthday present is.
Yes, you have to wait.
Now in our lesson, Tim just says "and see."
He wants Sean to calculate the hours and see how much time Jeff spends in front
of screens each day.
And it could be a very high number.
But Sean still doesn't seem worried.
He says a great sentence here that we should look at: I guess so.
If someone says "I guess so," then they agree that what you say is true but they
are reluctant to admit that it is true or they don't want to agree or they don't
care.
For example, if you like to talk on your cellphone while you drive your car,
someone might tell you that doing that is very dangerous.
This is true.
It is dangerous.
But if you aren't worried about it and plan to continue talking on your phone
while driving anyway, you could respond with "I guess so."
That's very scary.
I hope you don't say "I guess so" to that.
I hope you say "You're right. I'll stop driving while talking on my cellphone."
But another example is someone asks you if you like a certain music group.
If you don't really care about those singers or their music, you could just say,
"I guess so."
It could also be that you just don't know very much about that music group, so
you don't want to say yes or no.
You're not sure, so you can say "I guess so."
And Sean isn't sure that his son spends too much time in front of screens.
He's also not too worried because Jeff has plenty of educational games on his
tablet.
But we know that kids don't play educational games all the time.
And let's look at the phrase "all the time."
If something happens all the time, that means it happens constantly or every
time you do something.
It can also mean that you do something frequently.
For example, he's on his phone all the time.
Every time I see him, he is using his cellphone.
Or another example, we go to the movies all the time.
That means that we go to the movies often.
But you don't stay at the movie theater.
It's just something that you do frequently or often.
But you could also say that he sleeps all the time.
So if you ask what he's doing, the answer is probably sleeping.
Wow, he must be very tired.
Well, Tim thinks that it's not possible for Jeff to play educational games all
the time or every time he uses his tablet.
And that's probably true.
Tim is also worried that Jeff might be playing violent games that could make him
become more aggressive.
And of course no parent wants to hear someone say that about their child.
And we will have to find out Sean's response to this right after this.