节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-03
难易度:Low
关键字:fantasy, fireplace, messy, shovel, wonderland, subtropical
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
Today we are continuing our LIFE IN AMERICA series.
That's right.
Each month we've learned a little bit about Pauline's experiences while living
in the United States.
What topic will we be talking about this month, Gabe?
Well, we're going to find out what winter is really like.
For many people who live in places that don't have snow, this is something that
they wonder about.
What would it be like to live in a place that turned into a winter wonderland?
That is a great question.
And we want to find out Pauline's answer to this question.
Get your magazine ready as we begin with the first reading for today.
And then we'll visit Michelle in the Language Lab to learn some important terms.
So let's get started with today's article: Winter Wonderland.
(Music).
Winter Wonderland.
What winter is really like.
"Is it snowing?" That is the question my children often asked when we first
moved to America.
Growing up on a subtropical island, we had a fantasy about a snowy winter
wonderland.
We imagined the falling snow or a family sitting around their fireplace enjoying
steaming hot chocolate.
It seemed so cozy.
In reality, snow can be really messy.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
Hey, Carolyn.
Uh, yes, Gabe?
Is it snowing?
No. This is a subtropical island.
It doesn't snow here.
Oh... Yeah.
Snow isn't something that you usually see here, though sometimes there are small
amounts of snow high in the mountains.
That's true.
But when people ask about snow, they usually aren't talking about a handful of
snowflakes that melt in less than a day.
They are imagining a winter wonderland.
And that is the title of our lesson today.
And it's a great phrase to know about when talking about winter.
This phrase was made popular in the 1940s through a Christmas song by the same
name, Winter Wonderland.
It brings to mind a romantic image of snow-covered fields, sleigh bells, cozy
fires, snowmen and enjoying walking around in the crisp winter air.
And that sounds like a wonderful scene indeed.
The author and her family seem to have imagined a similar scene.
Looking at the article, we see that they imagined things like watching the snow
gently fall to the ground,
or a family sitting around the fireplace drinking steaming hot chocolate.
That is a beautiful scene.
And it is common to see that image in many holiday movies, pictures and greeting
cards.
One item that seems to be required for winter, especially in the U.S., is the
drink - hot chocolate.
However, it hasn't always been called by that name.
You're right about that.
Ken and Steve have more to share with us on this name change and the term that
goes with it in the Information Cloud.
Let's join them now.
Chocolate lovers, can you imagine a time when chocolate candy didn't exist?
Unthinkable!
Well, chocolate has been around for many centuries but not always in the solid
candy bar form we know and love today.
Years ago when people talked about having chocolate, they meant having it as a
drink, what we today call hot chocolate.
This makes hot chocolate a retronym,
which is any word or phrase that's created because an already existing word
needs to be distinguished from the term describing the new development.
OK.
So the term "hot chocolate" was created because the already existing word
"chocolate" - the hot, sweet, chocolately drink - needed to be distinguished
from the new development:
chocolate, the sweet, solid candy.
Let's look at another more recent example: snail mail.
It was created because the existing word "mail" - letters sent through the post
office - needed to be distinguished from the new development, email, letters
sent over the Internet.
And my favorite retronym: acoustic guitar.
For decades, it was simply called a guitar.
But after the arrival of the electric guitar, a retronym was needed so we
wouldn't confuse the two.
English is full of retronyms.
Can you think of any?
(Chinese).
Thank you very much, gentlemen.
Hey, Carolyn, would you like some chocolate?
Well, that depends, Gabe.
Are you talking about chocolate as in a piece of candy or chocolate as in hot
chocolate?
Uh, hot chocolate, of course.
It is winter, Carolyn.
Oh. Well, hot chocolate does sound nice, and it's an interesting retronym.
That's right.
English includes many retronyms to help make the names of things clearer.
Yes, it does.
And Steve and Ken told us all about retronyms.
And I can think of one more: 2-D.
Before 3-D movies became popular, everything was in 2-D, so there was no reason
to have a name for it.
But now that 3-D movies are common, we have the retronym 2-D to describe things
that aren't 3-D.
Interesting.
Well, our article uses the retronym "hot chocolate," which the author imagines
as part of a cozy winter scene.
That's a really great word to describe how the author feels about thinking of
hot chocolate, just drinking it around a fireplace on a cold winter day.
Cozy. And cozy means that you feel warm and comfortable.
That's right.
It also means that you feel relaxed and don't plan on moving around very much.
Sitting on a comfortable couch with a blanket and warm drink would definitely be
very cozy on a cold day.
It does sound very cozy, especially if that drink you have is hot chocolate.
Unfortunately, as our author finds out, snowy days are not always cozy days.
That's right.
She imagined a beautiful fantasy that's wonderful until you actually live in a
place with snow and need to worry about things like going to school or work.
Yeah. Actually, trying to go to work in the snow is no fun at all.
In fact, it can be very messy.
It sure can.
Clearing snow from the roads is no easy task.
So true.
And we'll continue learning about what winter is really like when wecome back.