节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-03-18
难易度:Low
关键字:Christian, outdoor, lawn, intensely, Good Friday, the White House
Today we are continuing our lesson, Spring Is in the Air, by learning all about
Easter.
This is a very important Christian holiday because it celebrates when Jesus rose
from the dead.
Some churches even have sunrise church services on Easter Sunday to remember
when the women went to see Jesus' body early in the morning.
And they found out that He wasn't dead anymore.
He was alive.
We still have a lot to learn, so let's continue with the next part of the
reading.
(Music).
Spring Is in the Air.
Afterwards, children often have the chance to go on an "egg hunt" in the
churchyard.
Every year, the White House opens and invites children to go on an egg hunt on
its lawn as well.
This Easter tradition is as famous as the pardoning of the turkey on
Thanksgiving by the American president.
Spring is a colorful and delightful season.
No matter how harsh and intensely cold the winter is, spring always follows.
The warmth and sweetness of the season also remind us to never give up hope.
(Chinese).
And now let's go back to our teachers.
Thanks, Michelle.
Now we are continuing to learn about some traditions that go along with the
Easter holiday.
We find out that after the Easter Sunday service, children can go on an egg hunt
in the churchyard.
And there are a few things we want to look at in that sentence.
First, let's look at the phrase: egg hunt.
This is a type of game that children play on Easter.
Usually an adult or someone will hide plastic eggs that have candy inside them.
Then children carrying Easter baskets search for the eggs.
If they find one, they get to keep the candy inside.
It's a very fun little game to play with children.
And if the weather is nice, this game can be played outside in the churchyard.
Which is another word we want to look at.
Yesterday we saw the words front yard, the area in front of the house, and
backyard, the area behind a house.
But what's a churchyard?
Well, a churchyard is the grassy area around a church.
There are probably many hiding places for the eggs in a churchyard because there
are usually a lot of bushes and other plants.
Ah. So the people at the church must enjoy gardening, which we also talked about
yesterday.
Well, yes, I'm sure they do.
And the children enjoy looking for toy eggs filled with candy in the churchyard.
Now for some lucky children, they can go on an egg hunt at the White House.
Wow! They are really lucky.
And we are very lucky today because Steve and Ken want to share some more
information with us about Easter traditions.
Clearly, the origin of the word holiday comes from the words holy and day.
But does that mean every holiday is a holy day?
Of course not.
Thanksgiving is a holiday, but it's not holy.
Now there are holidays that originated as Christian holy days,
but they quickly became corrupted by non-Christian practices, like Easter, one
of the most important Christian holidays of the year.
That's right.
What does the resurrection of Christ have to do with lilies, chocolate bunnies
and colored eggs?
Well, absolutely nothing.
Their association began when early Christian church leaders decided that rather
than anger citizens by outright abolishing existing Pagan festivals,
they would have more success if they supplanted them with something Christian.
Didn't really work.
No, it didn't.
So all the eggs and rabbits of Easter, they're leftover symbols from the
pre-Christian spring fertility festivals that Easter was meant to replace.
So the holy and unholy coexist.
And the same thing happened with Christmas.
Yule logs and Christmas trees have absolutely nothing to do with the holiday's
true meaning.
So the next time you are celebrating a holiday, ask yourself: Was it originally
a holy day?
And if so, what are its true origins?
(Chinese).
Thank you, gentlemen.
You always have something interesting to share with us in the Information Cloud.
Now continuing with our lesson, we see a very interesting phrase: pardoning of
the turkey.
What does this mean, Gabe?
Well, every Thanksgiving, the president of the United States will pardon a
turkey.
That means the turkey won't be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner and will be allowed
to live out its life in a safe area with other turkeys.
Well, that seems like a very nice thing to do.
The president actually pardons two turkeys.
Last year President Obama pardoned Popcorn and Caramel.
The turkey's names were chosen by elementary school students.
Those are some great names for turkeys.
Well, the pardoning of the turkey was a tradition officially started in 1989 by
President George Bush.
While other presidents may have spared the lives of some turkeys, he was the
first to make it official and used the word pardon.
So there are a few famous traditions that occur at the White House each year,
including the Easter egg hunt and the pardoning of the turkey.
But let's continue with our lesson by watching a review skit.
Then we'll join Linda for the Editor's Summary.
What time is it?
Uh... let me look at my watch.
No. Don't look at your watch. Just look around.
What do you see?
I see flowers blooming and grass growing.
Yes, it's springtime.
Oh, yeah, spring is in the air.
People are planting flowers and growing vegetables.
Gardening is popular.
Do you have a green thumb?
No. But luckily my neighbors do.
Hey, are there any holidays in spring?
Yes, Saint Patrick's Day.
It's March 17.
It celebrates Irish culture.
Oh, yeah. And people wear green, right?
Yes, most people do wear green.
What about the holiday with chocolate bunnies and colored eggs?
That's Easter.
It's a significant Christian holiday.
People attend church and remember that Jesus died on the cross.
Died? Oh, that's sad.
Yes. But they also celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead.
That's wonderful news.
It is.
And after church, children sometimes go on an egg hunt that day.
Wow. Easter must be very special.
How can I find out more?
You can join me for the Easter sunrise service.
Great! What time is it?
It's springtime.
Huh?
Also in spring is a huge Christian holiday - Easter.
Christians celebrate the fact that Jesus, God's son, rose from the dead.
He has that kind of power to save us from our sins, too.
Churches begin to celebrate on Good Friday to remember Jesus' death and end with
Easter Sunday celebrations.
After the celebration, there are often Eater egg hunts for the children.
Even the White House invites kids to hunt for eggs on its lawn.
So spring holds hope because the cold winter is ending and the warmth of spring
is coming.
Thank you, Linda.
We've learned a lot the past two days.
All about spring and holidays and many other things.
I hope you've enjoyed our lesson.
And we'll see you again tomorrow right here on Studio Classroom.
We always have a lot to learn here, so we'll see you then.
(Music).