节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-04-05
难易度:Low
关键字:literature, throw out, elderly, reward, community service, rake
Hello and welcome back.
Here at Studio Classroom, you're never just learning English.
And we are learning about Alex Hu's school life in America.
He is doing more than just schoolwork there.
One difference he noticed between school in Mountain Lake and Taipei is that
Mountain Lake, you could choose most of the courses you want to study.
And the thing that surprised him most is that in class, teachers and students
interact.
Let's learn more about Alex's school life now.
(Music).
Lessons in Life.
The teacher threw out questions, and the students tried to find the answers
through discussion.
I gained a lot of knowledge because I participated.
The most important thing I learned - to serve and help others.
The school placed a lot of value in helping others.
Students and teachers alike often did community service.
We helped pick up garbage along highways or raked leaves for the elderly.
And we didn't do it for a reward, but simply to help.
The most important thing I learned about in my school life there - helping
others.
(Music).
(Chinese).
And now let's go to our teachers.
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, let's go back to the beginning of this section where we continue to see
what Alex means by teachers and students interacting.
He explains.
The teacher threw out questions, and the students tried to find the answers
through discussion.
Now throw out can mean a couple of different things in English.
Right. For example, when you throw out old and rotten food from your
refrigerator, that means you throw it away like trash.
But that's not what Alex means here.
The teacher threw out questions.
That just means he or she asked questions for everyone to discuss.
Often we call these discussion questions.
Actually, we have discussion questions at the end of our lessons here.
It's a section called Talk About It in your magazine.
And for some discussion questions, there is no right answer, like most of the
Talk About It questions in our magazines.
But in Alex's class, perhaps his teachers were getting the students to come to
the correct conclusions through class discussion.
Whatever the case was, Alex says he gained a lot of knowledge because he
participated.
Sometimes we gain more knowledge by asking more questions than by getting
answers.
Right. And we usually remember things better that way, too.
Well, we can use the word "gain" to talk about similar things to knowledge.
For example, I have gained a lot of insight from my teachers in the past.
Or I gain wisdom from my pastor at church.
We gain confidence in a skill when we practice over and over again.
That is a good thing to remember for improving your English.
Let's learn something with Liz now in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's article the writer mentions:
The school placed a lot of value in helping others.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the phrase: to place a lot of value in.
It means to believe or show that something is very important.
So in the case of today's sentence, the writer is saying the school believes
that helping others is very important, and encourages students to help other
people.
This phrase, to place a lot of value in, is often used in formal situations.
For example, a company may want to let the public know what it considers to be
important, so its public relations department might say:
Our company is always involved in clean-up projects because we place a lot of
value in helping others.
Or: Mandy's family places a lot of value in getting rich and thinks she is crazy
to get a low-paying job.
So give this phrase a try.
Think of something that you think is important, and practice using this phrase
with a friend.
And if you turn to today's Grammar Tip action, you'll find more example
sentences there.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, what do you place a lot of value in?
Is it in your success?
Is it in money, time with others, serving and helping others?
Alex says that teachers and students alike often did community service.
And community service is serving your community or society in some way.
One popular way is by picking up trash, which is what Alex mentions in the
lesson.
And I've done this with a school class that I took in high school.
Our community service was picking up the trash in the neighborhood surrounding
our school.
Have you ever done anything similar, Carolyn, or other kinds of community
service?
Actually I have, Gabe.
I also did some trash clean-up, picking up litter that was on the side of the
road and pulling up weeds in a public park.
Ah, that is a different kind of community service.
Well, Alex says that it wasn't only students doing this, but students and
teachers alike did this.
That means that students and teachers were similar on that point.
And we can use that phrase in many ways.
You could say plants and animals alike need water.
We all need water.
Or young and old people alike enjoy watching Disney cartoons.
And students and teachers alike often did community service.
Alex continues: We helped pick up garbage along highways or raked leaves for the
elderly.
Hmm, raking leaves.
That's not a sight I often see here in Taipei.
Me, either.
But then again, only a few people have yards with big leafy trees here in
Taipei.
In the U.S., many houses are surrounded by yards that have big trees.
In the autumn, the leaves really start to fall.
And so the people rake the leaves into piles with something called a rake.
Now notice this can be a noun or a verb.
You can rake leaves with a rake.
And Alex says they didn't rake leaves or pick up garbage for a reward but simply
to help.
Well, right now it is time for us to enjoy a review skit.
And then we'll join Linda for the Editor's Summary.
Mountain Lake has been a great experience for me.
Oh. Well, that's good.
Yeah. I enjoyed a different kind of education this year.
Oh, really!
Well, how is education in Taipei and the U.S. different?
In Taipei, the schools choose the classes you take.
What?! You can't choose the courses you want?
No. But here we have many choices - psychology, literature, ballroom dancing and
other choices.
Well, I like choosing my own classes.
Me, too.
We can choose a class that we have a passion for, and it makes learning
interesting.
I agree.
So what did you think about your classes?
I was surprised by the way they were taught.
Really? What do you mean?
I'm used to listening to the teacher.
But here, teachers and students interact.
Well, that's true.
Teachers always throw out questions.
And students try to find answers through discussions.
Exactly. You can learn a lot if you participate.
That's right.
But I've learned something more important this year.
Really? What's that?
To serve and to help others.
Oh, like raking leaves and picking up garbage?
Right.
Community service is important.
It's not for a reward, but it's simply to help others.
I agree.
So let's get back to work.
Come on.
All right.
This month Alex talks about some of the differences between his school in
Mountain Lake and his school in Taipei.
He was surprised that in the United States, the subjects were taught through
interaction between students and teachers.
His participation in the discussion enabled him to gain a great deal of
knowledge.
And the most important thing he learned? To serve and help others.
The students engaged in a lot of community service from picking up garbage along
the highways to raking leaves for the elderly.
And was there a reward?
No. It was simply to help others.
Thank you, Linda.
And thank you for joining us here today.
We'll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
See you then.
(Music).