节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-12-28
难易度:High
关键字:professional, creativity, dwell on, carefree, bring to the table, vocal
percussion
We're continuing to learn about O-Kai today.
And we've also learned a little bit about how things are looking up for them.
They've already achieved many things in their musical careers.
And things are looking up; they have a lot to look forward to as well.
And we have more to learn in the next part of our lesson for today.
O-Kai.
Looking forward.
O-Kai continue to push forward with more performances and projects with no signs
of their energy running low.
As I am talking to them, Sean even uses spare moments to practice his vocal
percussion.
Before I hear them sing, they create a zoo of musical sounds to warm up, caring
little if anyone hears.
Though their schedule is packed, they still gather around their music like
carefree children.
Perhaps their hearts are still back in that village church around the piano.
O-Kai is certainly looking forward as many other musical groups should.
They should focus on the positive.
And we read: O-Kai continue to push forward with more performances and projects
with no sign of their energy running low.
And this is great news for those of us who really enjoy their wonderful, unique
and new sound that they bring to aboriginal music in Taiwan.
And it's true, there are no signs of their energy running low.
I like that phrase.
There's no sign of something.
That means there's nothing that tells you that their energy is running low.
There's no indication.
How else can you use this phrase?
Well, you could talk about the fact that they have no signs of exhaustion.
There's no sign that they are getting tired.
How else can you use that phrase?
Well, you might hear someone say that there's no signs of stopping.
So you are going to continue doing whatever it is you are doing.
There are no signs of stopping, no signs of slowing down.
Maybe no signs of letting go.
You're going to work through whatever challenges you are facing.
Or maybe you're waiting for your friends to show up.
They're not here.
And they're not even calling.
You could say: There are no signs of my friends anywhere.
OK, so... there are different ways to use this phrase.
And of course with O-Kai, there's no signs of their energy running low.
And we continue reading here:
As I am talking to them, Sean even uses spare moments to practice his vocal
percussion.
So Nathanael, our author, got to interview O-Kai.
And then he noticed that Sean liked to practice his vocal percussion.
And that is something that you had mentioned before, Gabe, that they can do
beatboxing,
or vocal percussion, using your mouth, your voice, your vocal chords to produce
sounds that sound like instruments.
(Background Noise).
Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt you, Carolyn.
I just wanted to use my spare moments and practice my vocal percussion.
I see, Gabe.
Well, that was very good.
Maybe you can talk to Sean and get some tips from him.
I think I should.
I really enjoy his beatboxing.
And I have heard him do it before.
And it's true, he is always practicing his beatboxing.
OK. Well, Nathanael continues here.
Before I hear them sing, they create a zoo of musical sounds to warm up, caring
little if anyone hears.
Well, that is very impressive.
I think a lot of people are a little bit nervous about warming up in front of an
audience or warming up in front of other people.
They like to do that in private.
But here they are not just warming up, they are creating a zoo of musical
sounds, and they don't mind if people hear them do it.
Interesting.
A zoo of musical sounds?
I think Liz wants to share a little bit about this word in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
Here's today's Grammar Tip sentence:
Before I hear them sing, they create a zoo of musical sounds to warm up, caring
little if anyone hears.
Our focus is on the word "zoo." And no, we're not talking about that fun place
where you can see all kinds of animals. No.
Instead, the word "zoo" in today's sentence simply means a situation where there
is a lot of confusion.
So in today's sentence, the writer is describing how there were all kinds of
musical sounds being made in an unorganized way.
It was a zoo of musical sounds.
OK, let's have a look at some more examples of how we can use zoo.
The teacher had only left her classroom for five minutes, but when she got back,
it was a zoo.
Or: Brent avoids going to the mall during the holiday season in order to stay
away from the zoo of shoppers.
Now it's your turn.
Think of a situation that is very disorganized and very confusing, and try using
"zoo" to describe it.
And if you'd like to see some more example sentences, then 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.
And it is very interesting to know that they create a zoo of musical sounds
during their warm-up.
Now continuing here:
Though their schedule is packed, they still gather around their music like
carefree children.
And I like that phrase there: Their schedule is packed.
That means that they really don't have a lot of free time, right, Gabe?
It's true.
Now usually you use the word "pack" when you're talking about maybe packing up
your suitcase for a trip or something like that, or unpacking.
But here we're talking about a schedule that is packed.
And your schedule, that is your time schedule, what you need to do.
So if your schedule is packed, that means you don't have much free time.
That's right.
So it's not that you can pack it in your suitcase, like our question here: Do
you pack your schedule?
But if you write it out, you could pack your schedule and take it along with
you.
It's true. But make sure you don't pack your schedule too tight.
If you're going on vacation or something like that, you want to make sure that
you can also just relax and have some free time.
I think that is very good advice.
And you know, there's another word in this sentence from our Word Bank:
carefree.
They're described as carefree children gathering around their music.
What does this mean, Gabe?
Well, I wish I could be more carefree sometimes.
That means you have little to no responsibilities for things in life.
You're carefree.
It's not that you don't care about things, but it's just that you don't have too
many responsibilities and you can just be free.
And so usually children are described as being carefree because while, yes, they
are very busy studying,
they do not have the same responsibilities that adults do, which are much more
demanding.
It's true.
How often do you feel carefree?
Maybe you never feel carefree.
You always have to think about paying bills and getting your work done and
things like that.
I think it's important sometimes to also feel carefree.
Well, we continue here.
Perhaps their hearts are still back in that village church around the piano.
Well, I... I would agree.
I think they had a great way that they started their relationship and this
group, and so it's good to be refreshed by that memory.
It is a wonderful memory as well.
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed learning with us today.
And now it is time to continue learning with Michelle in the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And now let's head back to our program.
The past three days we have been learning all about the musical group O-Kai that
works so hard to put their music together, to create these a cappella songs.
But they still feel like carefree children.
Now I wonder, do you have anything in your life that creates that kind of
passion, you feel so strongly about something that it's not work anymore?
Gabe, do you ever feel that way?
Well, that's kind of how I feel about playing drums.
I mean, I love to play drums.
And so even though it takes work to know what to play with a certain group of
people, it's a lot of fun for me.
I also enjoy working with the kids at my church to the point where it doesn't
seem like work because I'm enjoying these relationships.
What about you, Carolyn?
Well, I really love learning languages.
And learning a new language is not easy.
It takes a lot of work and practice and time, but it's so much fun.
It's true.
OK. Well, what kinds of things do you have a passion for that make it kind of
fun to do?
Thank you for joining us here today and learning about O-Kai.
It has been quite fun.
And we have more to learn next time right here at Studio Classroom.
See you.
(Music).