节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-06
难易度:High
关键字:brace, awesome, illuminate, check out
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And here at Studio Classroom, we only give you the best.
So for the next few days, we will be talking about the best winter festivals
around the world.
Winter doesn't just have to be an uncomfortably cold season that you want to
spend indoors.
There are places to visit in the winter that are exciting.
That's right.
So what are we waiting for?
Let's read a bit about winter festivals.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
(Music).
The World's Best Winter Festivals.
Enjoy the season at these winter celebrations.
It's January, which means it's time for coats and mittens and chilly weather.
While many of us are bracing ourselves for the cold weeks ahead, in some cities
winter is the "hottest" season of all.
So take a look at this list of awesome winter festivals.
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
Located in northeast China with temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius,
Harbin knows winter.
Every year, from January 5 until the end of February, tourists flock to Harbin
to experience its famous winter festival.
The festival began officially in the 1980s, but even before then, Harbin enjoyed
a thriving winter tourism season.
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
Thanks, Michelle.
Well, as we read at the very top of our lesson, enjoy the season at these winter
celebrations.
And I don't know about you, but I am already enjoying winter with my mittens.
Ah, Carolyn, you are not the only one enjoying winter.
I brought my gloves.
We are certainly ready for the chilly weather.
Are you ready for winter?
Well, let's look at the words mitten and glove.
Our article mentions mittens.
They're both things that you wear on your hands to keep them warm or to protect
them.
But Gabe, how are they different?
Well, as you can see, gloves separate your fingers from each other, whereas when
you're wearing mittens, only the thumbs are separated.
Ah, yes. I see.
Both keep your hands warm.
But I think mittens are better because the body heat of your fingers next to
each other actually keeps them warmer than gloves do.
Hmm... Well, you... you can't point with mittens.
Well, it's not nice to point.
Oh. Well, you're right.
Well, moving on we read:
While many of us brace ourselves for the cold weeks ahead, in some cities winter
is the "hottest" season of all.
Well, let's take a look at that word "brace" for a moment.
It means to prepare or position yourself so that you're ready for something
different and maybe uncomfortable.
Right. I often hear the phrase: brace yourself.
When do you have to brace yourself?
When something might impact you.
If you're standing on a bus or a train, and it suddenly starts moving, if you
don't brace yourself, you might fall over.
And in the same way, if you don't prepare for cold weather, winter will take you
by surprise.
So brace yourself.
Well, in that sentence, I saw a great phrase: the hottest season of all.
You can use this phrase when comparing things.
You want to say that something stands out from the rest.
For example, I love many states in the United States, but West Virginia is the
best of all.
Oh, is that so?
Or all kinds of pizza taste delicious, but I think pepperoni pizza is the
tastiest of all.
Try to use that phrase sometime today.
Well, right now Steve and Ken are waiting in the Info Cloud to talk about that
word "hottest" - why is it in quotations?
Today let's take a look at something that may seem insignificant but it's, in
fact, quite meaningful: quotation marks.
Steve, what can you tell us about quotation marks?
Well, as the name suggests, quotes are used when we quote someone's words.
That's the most common usage of quotation marks.
Yes, that's one usage.
But there's another function of this punctuation mark: irony, which is the use
of words to express something different from their literal meaning.
In other words, what's quoted is an unusual meaning of the word.
There's a good example of this in our lesson today.
Our author mentions that in some cities winter is the "hottest" season of all.
The word "hottest" is placed in quotes.
Now we all know that winter is anything but hot.
But here our author is not referring to "hot" as being very warm but is using a
different definition of hot - popular and exciting.
The quotes indicate that the word "hottest" is used in a definition that the
reader would not expect to be used to describe winter.
OK. Another usage of quotes is to convey insincerity or sarcasm.
Here's an example.
John claimed he was too "busy" to help me.
If I put "busy" in quotes, I'm actually doubting whether he was really busy.
Friends, did you see that?
When Ken said the word "busy," he uses fingers to indicate quotation marks.
That's what we call air quotes.
When people speak, they'll sometimes use their fingers to indicate quotation
marks giving what's quoted an ironic or unusual meaning.
(Chinese).
Thanks, guys.
Well, Carolyn thinks that mittens are better.
But I can think of a reason why gloves are better.
And why is that?
Well, Carolyn, try doing air quotes with mittens.
Uh, OK.
Carolyn, why are you waving goodbye?
We're just getting started.
Fine, Gabe.
Both mittens and gloves are awesome in the winter.
And I think it's time for us to look at this first awesome winter festival - the
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
Wow, very long name.
First, we read something about the location of Harbin.
It's in northeast China and its temperatures can get as cold as -30 degrees
Celsius.
Oh, that's cold.
You're right about that.
Now Carolyn, you said -30 degrees.
Is there another way to say this temperature?
Actually, there are a few ways to say it.
You could also say negative 30 degrees.
But I like saying it another way, too: 30 degrees below zero.
Oh, I like that, too.
When you say 30 degrees below zero, most people will assume you're talking about
Celsius, so you don't need to say 30 degrees below zero Celsius.
Just say it's 30 degrees below zero.
And I hope I never understand how cold that is.
Oh, me, too.
Well, Harbin knows... or understands winter.
Every year, from January 5 until the end of February, tourists flock there to
experience its famous winter festival.
Later we read about Harbin's thriving tourism season.
So here you can see different forms of the word "tour": the person - tourist,
and the industry - tourism.
That's right.
I can be a tourist in Harbin enjoying their tourism industry.
Can you think of any other words like that?
Well, right now it's time for us to join Liz in the Grammar Gym.
And then we'll see you again in a few minutes.
Hello, friends.
Thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In our TRAVEL article today we read:
The festival began officially in the 1980s, but even before then, Harbin enjoyed
a thriving winter tourism season.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus is on the word "then." Normally we use the word "then" to talk about
what happens next, like:
First we'll go to store and then the post office.
But in today's sentence, the word "then" is used to mean that moment or time
which was just mentioned.
So today's sentence just means even though the festival began officially in the
1980s, Harbin enjoyed a thriving winter tourism season before the 1980s.
However, using the word "then" just shortens a sentence.
So if you're ever talking about a certain time that was just mentioned, consider
using the word "then." For example:
Things were different before we had the high speed rail.
Back then, it took a long time to travel from Taipei City to Kaohsiung City.
Or: You have a medical exam in the morning.
Remember that you cannot eat or drink anything right before then.
If you turn to today's Grammar Tip section, you'll find more example sentences
there.
That's it for today. This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you nexttime.