节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-23
难易度:High
关键字:specialize, corporate, robust, supplement, heavyweight
Hello, everyone.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And we want to welcome you to Studio Classroom.
And today we are continuing our lesson on Industries to Watch.
There is a lot to talk about, and we have three more industries that we'll be
looking at today.
That's right.
Yesterday we talked about the increasing popularity of wearable computers and
online education.
And those two industries have come a long way and seem to be moving forward very
quickly.
But we have much more to learn about today, so let's begin with the first
reading of our lesson.
And then we'll learn some new words with Michelle in the Language Lab.
So open up your magazine and let's begin.
(Music).
Industries to Watch.
Specialty Travel.
The travel industry is growing, but it's also changing.
People are flying more and renting more cars but spending less on hotels and
restaurants.
More of the travel business is moving online, and today's travelers are
increasingly drawn to personalized, high-quality experiences.
Services like Airbnb, which provides a platform for people who want to rent
unused living spaces to short-term guests, are growing.
So are companies that specialize in luxury or adventure travel to unusual
places.
3-D Printing.
This technology has already had a big impact on small businesses that focus on
specialized work.
Now, its influence is growing.
(Music).
(Chinese).
Thank you, Michelle.
All right.
If you look in your magazine, we'll start by talking about the first section:
Specialty Travel.
If you have specialty something, that means that it is different from the usual
thing.
What is specialty travel, Gabe?
Well, we see a few examples in the article - things like living in other
people's homes for a short amount of time or deciding on luxury or adventure
travel packages.
You mean like going on a cruise or going on a luxury safari.
Well, those are certainly some possibilities.
Well, those certainly are special.
It's also interesting to see the growing trend of people flying more but
spending less on hotels and restaurants.
Why do you think that's happening?
Well, that's a good question.
But before we answer it, let's take a look at that sentence: to do one thing
more but do another thing less.
Ah, I can think of an example.
The travel agent sold more tickets but made less money.
That's not bad for the travel agent.
Now to answer your question earlier,
I think the reason people are flying more but spending less on hotels and
restaurants is because they want to experience places at a local level instead
of paying lots of money on expensive hotels.
Ah, I see.
So, they really want to go out and see the place they are visiting rather than
staying in their hotel rooms the whole time.
I think that could be the reason.
Another reason might be that they want to try something different.
They are tired of staying in hotels and eating at usual places.
They want to have a unique experience.
Those seem like pretty good reasons to me.
Another change that's happening in the travel industry is that people are able
to book their own flights and make their own travel plans online.
And they can get personalized, high-quality experiences.
Yes, they can.
And with services like Airbnb, there are lots of options.
You could rent a space on someone's couch, a private room in a house or even an
entire house or apartment.
Wow! These unused living spaces are made available by the owner for short-term
guests to use.
Another great word, Carolyn.
If something is short-term, that means it doesn't last for a very long time.
It's a short amount of time.
For example, she is taking short-term leave to visit her sister for two weeks.
She's not leaving for a long time.
It's only two weeks.
But the opposite of short-term is long-term.
That does mean that it happens for a long time.
For example, we have a long-term guest staying with us for the next six months.
That is a long time.
As interesting as specialty travel is, though, Gabe, I am very excited to talk
about 3-D printers today.
Well, we've talked about them before.
And this industry continues to make new advancements all the time.
It's already even had an impact on small businesses, and it continues to grow.
It sure does.
But we will have to continue talking about 3-D printing in a moment.
We'll be back right afterthis.