节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-03-31
难易度:High
关键字:transmit, runway, exotic, masterpiece, cutting edge
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And you are joining us for the last lesson of the month of March.
Cutting-Edge Clothing.
We always enjoy learning about technology and fashion.
And in today's lesson, we will learn about both.
So open up your magazine to the last lesson for the month, and let's begin
learning about the ways technology is impacting the fashion world.
Cutting-Edge Clothing.
3-D printers are opening up new possibilities in the fashion world.
Fashion's newest tool, 3-D printing, is expanding options for professionals and
amateurs alike.
People can design clothing on a computer, input someone's measurements and
transmit the pattern to a 3-D printer.
The printer lays down layers of material, and new, creative clothing takes
shape.
Inspiring the fashion industry.
As early as 2010, designer Iris Van Herpen was displaying 3-D printed dresses
and shoes on fashion runways.
And recently, Catherine Wales joined her.
Her Project DNA collection features masks, accessories and clothing made of
white nylon.
Their exotic designs, like the technology that produced them, seem to have come
out of science fiction.
(Chinese).
Thanks so much, Michelle.
Wow, science-fiction fashion.
New technology, like the 3-D printer, opens up new possibilities in many
industries.
It sure does, Gabe.
And we should talk about the phrase we see there near the title: open up new
possibilities.
What does this mean?
Well, I'm glad you asked.
If something opens up new possibilities, that means that things that couldn't
happen before can happen now.
For example, studying another language can open up new job possibilities.
So something that was not available or possible before becomes available or
possible.
Another example would be online college courses open up new possibilities for
students.
Now they can take classes from anywhere in the world.
And that is a great thing to have available now.
Before the invention of computers and the Internet, that couldn't have been
possible.
But now it's becoming more and more common to take online classes.
It sure is.
And in our lesson today, we are talking about the possibilities that have been
opened up to the world of fashion, thanks to 3-D printers.
Our article points out that it is benefiting professionals and amateurs alike.
And Ken and Steve want to tell us more about that in the Information Cloud.
Let's join them now.
(Music).
We know that professionals and amateurs are nothing alike.
In fact, they're complete opposites.
Today let's take a closer look at amateurs since most of us already know what
professionals are.
OK. First of all, the word amateur came from French, meaning lover of.
So immediately, an amateur points to someone who pursues something out of love
or at least a genuine interest.
And more importantly, he is not doing it for the money.
This is why amateurism, while being the opposite of professionalism, does not
always have a negative connotation.
An amateur may be in a position to approach a subject with an open mind as a
result of a lack of formal training.
And the lack of financial benefit can also be seen as a sign of commitment to an
activity.
Until the 1970s, the Olympic rules require that competitors be amateurs.
Receiving payment to participate in an event disqualified an athlete from that
event.
And in the area of art and literature, William Shakespeare and Leonardo da Vinci
were considered amateurs during their time.
Who would have thought?
So while the opposite of amateur is professional, don't ever call the work of an
amateur unprofessional.
Unprofessional means doing something in a certain field in an unacceptable
manner.
That's a very negative-sounding word.
That's right.
You may use "not professional" to describe an amateur, but not unprofessional.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
So are you an amateur at anything?
Many people are amateur photographers.
I see a lot of amateur photographers, and some of them take beautiful pictures.
So if you are an amateur at something, tell someone about it in English.
Great. There are also a lot of people who are amateur fashion designers.
With the rise of the Internet, it has become very easy for these designers to
sell their clothes.
That's right.
There are many websites that provide ways for people to make and sell their
products.
I think this is especially true of jewelry.
People who make beautiful, homemade... or handmade jewelry have many options
when choosing a site to sell their product.
And people who design T-shirts have many options as well.
Technology certainly has a huge impact on the way people do business.
And now it is having a huge impact on the materials and methods used to make
clothes.
That's right.
People are using 3-D printers to print clothes.
Now these aren't made with the hard plastic that might be used to print other
3-D objects with a 3-D printer.
No. These clothes are made with a flexible material called nylon.
In our lesson, we learned that the printer lays down layers of material.
Gabe, what does it mean to lay down?
Is the printer laying down for a nap?
No. No, Carolyn. It's not taking a nap.
That would be to lie down.
Here lay down means to put something in a place and begin to build on it.
So the printer lays down layers of material, one layer on top of another.
Ah, yes. That's right.
And these layers form together to make an object, in this case, clothes.
It would be amazing to watch the clothes take shape as they print.
Yes, it would.
And we should take a look at the phrase you just used from our lesson: take
shape.
If something takes shape, that means it begins to form.
Many things can take shape, though we often hear this phrase used to talk about
art or creative things.
For example, as the artist painted, the picture began to take shape.
So you might not have all of the details, but you can start to see what the
picture will be.
You can also use this to talk about ideas.
Henry's idea for a new app took shape while he was in college, but he wasn't
able to create it until after graduation.
So things that form like objects or ideas can take shape.
There are many new ideas taking shape right now regarding the use of 3-D
printers and fashion.
There sure are.
Some designers have been working on these ideas for years.
We learned from our article that 3-D printed fashion has actually been on
fashion runways since 2010.
And now it is gaining more and more popularity.
One recent collection called Project DNA featured masks, clothing and
accessories that had all been printed.
And we should take a look at some of the words you just used to talk about
fashion, Carolyn.
You said there was a recent collection.
A collection of what?
Uh, yes, we should talk about these fashion terms.
When you are talking about clothes and fashion, collection does not refer to
items that you collect.
Here, a collection refers to a group of clothes, shoes or other accessories that
are all from the same designer and belong together.
So usually collections will have themes.
For example, the collection Project DNA consists of 3-D printed clothes that are
all made of white nylon.
They also have a theme of being as individual as a person's DNA.
There are many parts that can be detached and rearranged.
That sounds really amazing, but it may not be for everyone.
These clothes have a very futuristic or science-fiction look, but this
collection definitely features items that are made for the individual.
All right.
Well, we have a lot more to learn, but we're going to dothat after this.