节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-09
难易度:Low
关键…
节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-09
难易度:Low
关键字:skate, cherish, popularity, medal, puck, bring home the gold
Do you enjoy fast sports, sports that involve running around a lot?
Do you like ice?
If your answer was yes to those questions, then maybe ice hockey is perfect for
you.
Today we're talking about this sport that is loved in different places around
the world.
In the sport, you wear ice skates and push a puck around a big ice rink into the
other team's goal.
In the first section, we read that a puck can travel at speeds up to 160.9
kilometers per hour.
Actually, the record is even faster.
Someone hit a puck at over 177 kilometers per hour.
Now that's fast!
Let's learn more about hockey now.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Ice Hockey.
Many people play hockey just for fun.
But each year, professional teams play for the Stanley Cup.
That is hockey's most cherished prize.
One would think people would be careful with such an important prize, but no.
It was once left by the side of the road by accident!
Hockey's popularity is especially high in Russia and Canada.
In fact, it's Canada's national sport.
Both Canada and Russia have won eight Olympic gold medals in men's hockey.
That's more than any other country.
Both hope to bring home the gold at next month's Winter Olympics.
(Music).
OK.
(Chinese).
And now let's see what our teachers are up to.
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, of course, everyone hopes to bring home the gold in the Winter Olympics.
Bring home the gold.
That's a fun way of saying "Win the gold medal." If you bring home the gold, you
have won first place.
That's right.
Well, let's go back a little earlier in this section.
We see that many people play hockey just for fun.
What about you, Gabe?
Do you play hockey just for fun?
No, Carolyn, I don't play hockey at all.
But if I were to play, believe me, it would be just for fun.
I wouldn't compete for a gold medal.
Well, I wouldn't either, but that's what professional teams do every year.
They play for or compete for a prize called the Stanley Cup.
Stanley's cup?
That doesn't seem like much of a prize, a little cup.
No, no, Gabe. This is the Stanley Cup.
It's not a little cup.
It's a cup that is about 89 centimeters tall and weighs about 15.5 kilograms.
Well, I guess you're right.
That is no small cup.
No wonder it's hockey's most cherished prize.
That's right.
And you used a great word there, Gabe, cherish.
You cherish something that is valuable to you.
What do you cherish, Gabe?
Hmm, good question. What do I cherish?
I cherish the time that I have with family and friends.
Especially if I haven't seen someone in a long time, I really cherish the time I
can spend with that person.
What do you cherish, Carolyn?
Well, I really cherish my relationship with God.
He's done a lot for me, and it's the most important relationship I have, so I
cherish it.
That's a great thing to cherish.
And many hockey players cherish the Stanley Cup.
We read here:
One would think people would be careful of such an important prize, but no.
It was once left by the side of the road by accident.
"One would think..." hmm.
I think Liz has something to share about this sentence in the Grammar Gym.
I think you're right. Let's join her now.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In our article today, we see this sentence:
One would think people would be careful of such an important prize, but no.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
It just means that it is to be expected that people would be careful of such an
important prize.
But the truth is, it didn't happen that way.
Our focus today is on the sentence pattern: One would think..., but no.
This is a great sentence pattern to use when you want to talk about how most
people would expect a certain situation to be a certain way,
but in reality, things happened differently.
Let's have a look at some example sentences.
One would think that a GPS would give me clear directions, but no. I actually
got lost.
Or: One would think that a hotel package deal would include a free breakfast,
but no. We have to pay for breakfast.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, I'd like to talk about another phrase there: by accident.
You know what an accident is - something you didn't mean to do.
You might do something by accident.
I spilled my drink by accident.
Right. You did that by accident.
And you could do something on purpose.
That's the opposite.
You meant to do it.
But notice the words "by" and "on." You do something by accident or on purpose.
I poured my drink on top of Carolyn's head on purpose.
Hey, that's not nice.
That should have been done by accident.
I know, I know.
Well, let's talk about hockey's popularity here.
It is a popular sport.
When I think of popular sports, I think of basketball and football, not hockey.
Right. Those sports are popular around the world.
Hockey is popular, too, in certain parts of the world.
It's especially popular or its popularity is especially high in Russia and
Canada.
Hmm. Well, that makes sense.
I mean, I think the sport originated in Canada.
I heard it was invented by some British soldiers there in the mid-1850s.
Well, it is Canada's national sport.
And both Canada and Russia have won not one, not two or even three, but eight
Olympic gold medals in men's hockey.
Now there's something special about that word "medal." Medal, spelled M-E-D-A-L,
is an award you win.
You hope to win the gold medal.
But silver medals and bronze medals are great, too.
That's right.
And this word sounds like another word, metal, M-E-T-A-L.
There are many kinds of metals.
Gold is a kind of metal.
Iron is another kind of metal.
So are silver and bronze.
People use these cherished metals, M-E-T-A-L, to make medals, M-E-D-A-L, for
prizes in games like ice hockey.
Well, I think you deserve a gold medal for that explanation, Carolyn.
Anyway, I think that we have talked about a lot here today, a lot that has to do
with hockey.
Of course we only have so much time and space to talk about hockey.
There's so much more to learn.
There is.
And right now it's time to continue learning with Steve and Ken in the
Information Cloud.
And then we'll enjoy a review skit.
And of course join Linda for the Editor's Summary.
(Music).
Living in the tropics doesn't mean you can't be interested in the Winter
Olympics.
It doesn't mean you can't participate in the Winter Olympics, either.
The first topical nation to participate in a Winter Olympics was the Philippines
in the 1972 Winter Games held in Japan.
Since then, more than 20 nations from the tropics have participated in the
Winter Olympic Games.
However, unlike nations such as Canada and Russia, those tropical nations don't
have snow or frozen lakes and rivers to practice on.
But that doesn't stop them from sending teams to compete in skiing, skating and
bobsled events.
Speaking of bobsleds, one of the more famous topical teams to participate in a
Winter Olympics is the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team.
Honestly, they weren't good at all.
But because of their courage and their spirit, they became crowd favorites.
Their story is told in the movie Cool Runnings.
And in 1994, the Jamaican bobsled team shocked the world by placing ahead of
Russia, France and the U.S.
But still no medal.
In fact, no tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.
But that could change next month in Russia!
(Chinese).
Look what I have!
Hey, what is it?
It's a hockey puck.
A hockey puck?
Yeah. It's made of rubber.
Oh. It isn't very big.
What do you do with it?
Skaters chase it around the ice.
Then they hit it with sticks.
Really! What for?
That's what hockey... ice hockey is all about.
Oh, ice hockey.
So people hit the puck and try to get it into the other team's goal.
Well, that's just so easy.
Actually, it takes a lot of skill.
Well, so why do people play ice hockey?
Many people play just for fun.
Oh. Is it fun?
Yes. But there are also professional teams.
They play for hockey's most cherished prize.
An Oscar!
No. The Stanley Cup.
Well, who's Stanley?
The Stanley Cup is the first place award.
Oh! So is ice hockey a popular sport?
Oh, yes. Its popularity is especially high in Russia and Canada.
Oh, because those countries are cold, and they have a lot of ice.
Yes. And both have won Olympic medals in men's hockey.
Hey, I wonder who would bring home the gold in next month's Olympics.
Well, let's follow the hockey puck and find out.
Yeah, the hockey puck!
That's what it's all about.
Ice hockey is a fast-moving game where people wear skates and use sticks to try
to hit a hockey puck into the other team's goal.
Lots of people play for fun.
But there are professional teams playing for the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold
medals.
In fact, it is Canada's national sport.
Thank you, Linda.
Well, we've learned a little bit about ice hockey today.
And I'd just like to say that while I've never actually played hockey before, I
would really love to watch a hockey game.
Really? Some of my friends like to watch hockey.
But uh, why do you want to watch the game, Gabe?
Well, Carolyn, because they're so intense.
I've heard that sometimes even big fights can break out during a hockey game.
That's exciting!
They get really into their games.
Well, that's true.
And we have more to learn next time, so come back to learn more with us at
Studio Classroom.
We'll see you then.