节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-03-11
难易度:Low
关键字:leash, accuse, condition, profit, account book
Hi again, everyone.
Today we are continuing our story called What a Zoo!
In the story, Robin and Jay let a parrot loose from the zoo.
They have been chasing the parrot and found her in a park sitting on their
cousin's arm.
We just learned a little of the backstory of their cousin Arthur who is the
family's black sheep.
He used to work at the zoo but was fired by the manager Mr. Fox.
Well, I think we will learn more about Arthur in this next part of our reading.
So let's get started.
(Music).
What a Zoo!
Arthur greeted the children happily and agreed to return the bird to them - on
one condition.
He claimed that Mr. Fox was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Mr. Fox was keeping the lion's share of the zoo's profits for himself.
When Arthur discovered this, Mr. Fox got him fired.
He had shown Robin's parents a fake account book.
Arthur wanted them to find the real one and show it to their parents.
The children agreed, went home and put Gwen back in her cage.
(Chinese).
And now let's go back to our teachers.
Thank you so much, Michelle.
Well, it sounds like cousin Arthur is a nice guy.
He is happy to see the kids and help them.
We read Arthur greeted the children happily and agreed to return the bird to
them.
How you greet someone is important.
It's nice to let people know through your smile and words how you feel about
them when you see them.
So you want to greet someone warmly when you see that person.
And it sounds like that's what Arthur does with Robin and Jay.
He greets them happily.
And he agrees to return the bird to them.
Now I know you know the word agree, which means to feel or think the same way at
someone else.
But let's talk about it in the phrase: agree to.
When you agree to do something, you are saying OK, I'll do it.
So when someone says, "Sure. I'll do it," you can say that person agrees to do
something.
I imagine Arthur probably said, "Sure. I'd be glad to help," so we can say he
agreed to help the kids.
And you can use this phrase in many ways.
You want to eat dinner with your friend, so you agree to meet at a certain
restaurant at a certain time.
Or maybe you're arguing with someone about something very sensitive.
At the end of the argument, you agree to never talk about that situation in the
future.
Sometimes we argue and argue and argue so much, and it's hard to find something
to agree on, so you end the argument by saying: Let's agree to disagree.
Let's agree to disagree, a great phrase.
And sometimes that's just what you need to do to keep certain friendships.
Agree to disagree.
But back to the story, Arthur is agreeing to help the kids and return the bird
to them - on one condition.
What was that condition?
Well, we read the condition a few sentences later.
Arthur wanted the kids to find the real account book and show it to their
parents.
All right. So that's the condition, meaning that Arthur won't just return the
bird for free, he wants something as well.
Well, let's talk about that phrase: on one condition.
You might hear this from someone after you ask permission for something.
Right. For example, you really want to go to your friend's party, so you say:
Mom, can I please go?
She says: You may go on one condition - that you get back before 10 o'clock.
Or you want permission to go out for coffee during your work hours.
Your boss tells you you can go on one condition - that you bring a cup of coffee
back for him.
All right. I think you get the picture.
Try using this phrase sometime today.
Sometimes you could agree to something on two or more conditions, but the phrase
"on one condition" is the most common.
Well, back to Arthur and his story, he claimed that Mr. Fox was a wolf in
sheep's clothing.
When you claim something, it's not just saying something.
You state it to be true even if it's not proven true yet.
So perhaps Arthur can't prove Mr. Fox stole money, but he is claiming it to be
true.
What other things do people claim, Carolyn?
People often claim that things they think are the best.
Let's see, for example, my friend claims that chocolate is the best snack in the
world.
Good point.
My friend claims that the new restaurant in town serves the best pasta.
And Arthur here claims that Mr. Fox is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He is not sure, but he thinks it's true.
Now I like wolves. I think they're beautiful creatures even if they are a bit
dangerous.
You're right. They are really amazing animals to see in nature or at a zoo.
But in English, a wolf is a symbol of something bad, something that will take
advantage of you.
Right. And in our story, that's exactly what Arthur thinks of Mr. Fox.
But what's worse than a wolf is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Yeah. Why is that?
Because sheep, of course, are very nice creatures.
So when you see a sheep, you don't think it will take advantage of you.
But if a wolf wearing sheepskins, it's still a wolf underneath.
That's right.
Now have you ever met a wolf in sheep's clothing?
Well, we have other animal idioms to look at.
One more here is the lion's share.
Of course a lion is another very big animal, and it's a dangerous one, one that
can eat a lot.
So the lion's share is a phrase meaning the biggest amount of something.
It's not usually fair for someone to have the lion's share, especially if they
are not the boss.
Right.
So let's say two people start a business together, and they agree to share their
profits equally.
It would be unfair for one to get more than the other.
That would be getting the lion's share.
So Mr. Fox was keeping the lion's share of the zoo's profits for himself.
And he knew that Arthur knew this, so he got Arthur fired.
Well, it's time for us to learn something with Liz about this sentence in the
Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's lesson the writer mentions this:
When Arthur discovered this, Mr. Fox got him fired.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
It just means Arthur was fired, and Mr. Fox was the one who was responsible for
this.
Notice the pattern: to get [someone] [verb] in past participle form.
We use this phrase when we want to talk about how someone was responsible for
the verbing of someone or something.
In other words, we want to talk about how something is done to someone, and the
focus is more on the action itself.
As to who actually did this job, that's not important in this case.
Here are some examples.
Mr. Walters got his car washed at the gas station.
Or: Wanda got her nails painted at the salon.
So give this sentence pattern a try.
And if you need to see some more example sentences, you'll find them in 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 so much, Liz.
Well, there's always more to learn, but right now it's time for us to join Linda
for the Editor's Summary.
So we know that Gwen the parrot flew into a park.
And when Robin and Jay ran into the park to find her, what did they see?
Well, Gwen was sitting on the arm of their cousin Arthur.
Now Arthur used to work at the zoo.
But Mr. Fox got him fired by telling Robin and Jay's parents that Arthur had
been stealing when, in fact, Arthur said that Mr. Fox was the one.
So the children agreed to help him find out the truth about Mr. Fox.
Finally they returned to the zoo and returned Gwen to her cage.
Thank you, Linda.
Well, I am happy about one thing - Gwen the parrot is back in her cage.
Yes, that is a big relief.
It's really... really a wonderful thing to know that she is safely back in her
cage and not flying around the city.
And you know, I'm also happy to learn a little bit more about Arthur.
It seems like he's a nice guy.
It seems like he is telling the truth about Mr. Fox.
Of course we don't know for sure, do we?
No, we don't.
I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what the truth really is.
What is Mr. Fox really like?
Will Arthur be hired back to work at the zoo if it's true that Mr. Fox stole the
money?
Well, these questions can only be answered if you come back.
So we'll see you next time right here at Studio Classroom.
(Music).