节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-30
难易度:Low
关键字:legend, helmet, characteristic, damp, mild, mutton, tom yum
(Music).
Hello, everyone.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And we want to welcome you to Studio Classroom.
Today we are talking about something everyone loves - food.
More specifically, we're talking about a popular winter food - hot pot.
Gabe, do you enjoy eating hot pot?
I sure do, Carolyn.
But I don't know much about its history.
Well, don't worry about that because we're going to learn all about the history
of hot pot in our lesson today - Everyone Likes Hot Pot.
It's true, everyone likes hot pot.
Or at least they will once they know just how many different kinds there are.
There are a lot out there.
So let's get started with the first reading for today.
Then we'll learn some important words with Michelle in the Language Lab.
So open up your magazine and get ready to learn.
(Music).
Everyone Likes Hot Pot.
One of the hottest meals around.
If the legends are true, one of Asia's most popular meals had big beginnings.
The hungry history.
Hungry just before a battle, a Mongolian ruler ordered mutton from his cooks.
The meat was sliced and boiled in helmets rather than cooked whole to save time.
Strengthened by the meal, the great ruler led his army to defeat his enemies.
At the very least, most agree that hot pot began in Mongolia.
From there, the cooking method spread south into China, where it took on local
characteristics.
(Chinese).
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, hot pot is much more exciting than I thought.
Well, the first time I ate hot pot, I thought it was really exciting.
I had never eaten a meal that you cooked yourself one piece at a time.
It was really fun.
Well, hot pot is a fun meal to enjoy.
In fact, it's one of the hottest meals around, Carolyn.
Yes, Gabe, hot pot is both very popular and very hot.
You can tell that just from the name.
You know, I think that most people like to enjoy this popular food with a group
of friends and just really take their time eating.
That is what most people seem to do, but that's not what happened in our lesson,
though.
In the article, we read that hot pot was eaten as a meal to save time because
the meat cooked faster when it was cut into little slices.
Hmm, interesting.
So instead of sitting down for hours to enjoy a nice, relaxing meal, they cut
the meat very thin.
Then it was boiled in a helmet and eaten before a battle.
That certainly is a big beginning if the legends are true.
Hmm? What do you mean?
Well, this happened a long time ago, Gabe.
So it's difficult to say if this was the beginning of hot pot or if the food was
being prepared this way before this story took place.
Hmm. Or it could have been eaten this way in a different place?
It's possible, but this legend is much more fun.
And it's also possible.
And you know, even if this legend isn't true, at the very least, most people
agree that hot pot began in Mongolia.
Now that's true.
And that sentence in our lesson brings us to a great grammar tip.
Let's see what Liz has to say about it in the Grammar Gym.
Hi, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's article we see this sentence:
At the very least, most agree that hot pot began in Mongolia.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence for today.
And basically, the writer is saying that people believe different things about
how hot pot began.
However, the one thing that most people can agree on is that hot pot began in
Mongolia.
Notice how today's Grammar Tip sentence begins with this pattern:
At the very least, most agree that...
When there is something that many people have different viewpoints on, this is a
great pattern to use to talk about the one thing that people can agree on.
For example, if a restaurant is famous for many dishes, but most people like the
restaurant's apple pie the most, then we can say:
At the very least, most agree that the restaurant's apple pie is the best.
Or when people visit California, there are many places to go and see.
But most people would say that visitors should check out the theme parks.
So we can say:
At the very least, most agree that visitors should visit the theme parks in
California.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
And that's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, at the very least, we're going to learn a few new words from today's
lesson.
So let's continue.
Nice use of that phrase there, Gabe.
And the last sentence in this section actually has a lot to talk about.
We see a lot of two-word phrases in this sentence, so.
Let's look at the first one: from there.
OK. So this phrase is used to show that you are moving from one place or from
one topic to another.
For example, we started the evening by eating hot pot. From there, we went to
the movies.
So you are moving from the restaurant to the movie theater.
Great example.
And the next phrase we see is: cooking method.
This is used to show that the way you cook something is different from what
might normally be done.
For example, cooking methods for Chinese food are very different from cooking
methods for American food.
Well, that can certainly be true.
People use different types of pots and pans depending on the type of food that
they are cooking.
Including hot pot.
There are lots of different pots depending on the cooking method of a certain
region.
Hmm. Well, we'll be talking about some of those pots later in the article.
But for now, Gabe, what's the last pair of words in this sentence?
I'm glad you asked, Carolyn. Took on.
This means that it adapted or changed in some way by adding something to the
original.
Carolyn, is there anything that you take on when you do something?
Actually, Gabe, my English takes on a local accent when I go back to West
Virginia in the United States.
I take on the local accent used by people in the region.
Interesting.
So not all Americans have the same accent.
Did you know that?
That is quite interesting.
It is. And it's true. A lot of Americans have very different accents.
Well, we will be right back in a bit to continue learning moreabout hot pot.