节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-02-12
难易度:High
关键字:sentiment, entrepreneur, consumption, dedicated
(Music).
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And we're glad that you can join us again today to continue to learn with our
lesson Giving Until it Hurts.
In yesterday's lesson we began to take a look at some of the world's wealthiest
people and why they are deciding to give over half of their fortunes to charity.
We learned about an effort called The Giving Pledge.
Do you remember which billionaires set up this effort?
That's right, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, three wealthy people,
indeed.
We began to discuss some of the incentives for giving so much to the world.
And it's time for us to continue this discussion in today's lesson.
So, let's get started.
(Music).
Giving Until it Hurts.
Businessman and mayor of New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg explained,
"If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them,
the single best thing - by far - is to support organizations that will create a
better world for them and their children.".
David Rockefeller, the former CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank, expressed a similar
sentiment.
"Our family continues to be united in the belief that those who have benefited
the most from our nation's economic system have a special responsibility to give
back to our society in meaningful ways.".
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
Thank you, Michelle.
Well, as we can see, according to our lesson, there are many reasons why people
give.
There are many reasons to be generous,
and especially significant is that there are many reasons why wealthy people are
choosing to give more than half of their wealth to people outside of their
families.
It's not because they hate their children.
Right. It's exactly the opposite.
They love their children, so they don't want to spoil them, and they want to set
an example of generosity.
We learned about a businessman at the beginning of the lesson today, but he's no
more for being the mayor of New York City - Michael R. Bloomberg.
What was his quote?
If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them,
the single best thing - by far - is to support organizations that will create a
better world for them and their children.
Now let's take a look at something from this sentence, the little phrase: by
far.
He said the best thing to do by far.
What does that mean?
Well, that means you can't compare anything with the thing you are describing.
So if Bloomberg thinks that this is by far the best decision, then no other
decision even comes close to being as good.
This decision really stands out.
How else could you use that phrase?
Hmm... I'm getting a little bit hungry.
Mary Jane's pizza is by far the best pizza place in Taipei.
Let's go there for lunch.
Or Ronnie is the smartest person in his class by far.
Nobody else's grades are nearly as good as his.
Or my last vacation was by far the most expensive trip I've ever taken.
I didn't pay as much for any other trips in the past.
And Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City,
says that by far the best thing you can do for your children is support
organizations that will create a better world for them and their children.
Now I like that phrase there: create a better world.
I do, too.
The world has changed a lot over time, and technology is always improving.
Humans hope to improve so that the world will be a better place for the future.
So sometimes we say we want to create a better world for our children and our
children's children.
Or sometimes we say we want to make the world a better place for them.
Now sometimes we also want to create other things like a better working
environment.
You can try to create a good working environment for your co-workers and
employees.
Or maybe you want to create a better atmosphere at your restaurant, so you
redecorate and make things a little different.
How can you create a better world around you?
How can you make the world a better place?
Think about that.
But for now, let's join Liz in the Grammar Gym.
She is going to tell us more about this sentence.
Here we go.
(Music).
Hello, friends.
I hope you're all doing well today.
My name is Liz. And thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
In today's lesson we see this statement:
... the single best thing - by far - is to support organizations that will
create a better world for them and their children.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the word "single." It is there to emphasize best thing.
So the speaker is trying to make the point that to support organizations that
will create a better world for everyone is definitely the best thing to do.
So if you want to emphasize how something is really the best thing, you can use
this phrase: single best [something].
For example: This restaurant serves the town's single best fried chicken.
Besides saying single best, we can also say single greatest.
For example:
The singer came out with several albums, but most would agree the first album
was his single greatest album.
We can also use "single" in the following phrase: single most [adjective] +
[noun].
For example:
The single most important thing to have with you when you go take the exam is
your exam registration paper.
Well, friends, that's all the time we have for today.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more information.
Thanks again for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz. And I hope to see you again next time.
Thanks, Liz.
So, what we've heard is that the mayor of New York City has to say about giving
to helpful organizations.
Now let's move on to another famous billionaire, David Rockefeller, the former
CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank.
And in case you're wondering, that bank merged with JP Morgan, and is now called
JPMorgan Chase.
Perhaps you've heard of it or you do your banking and investing there.
But back to Rockefeller, why does that name sound so familiar to me?
Well, Gabe, the Rockefellers are an incredibly rich family.
Well, I know that, but I mean, is there like some kind of place called
Rockefeller, too?
Ah, actually yes, there is.
David Rockefeller's father, John D. Rockefeller Jr., developed the famous
Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Yes, that's it. The Rockefeller Center is one of the most recognizable places in
New York City with an outdoor skating rink in the winter.
If you ever have a chance to visit New York, especially in the winter, don't
miss the Rockefeller Center.
Yes, it certainly does stand out.
Well, it's all in the family.
The Rockefellers have been extremely wealthy for generations.
And David Rockefeller, who is 98 years old this year, feels that much of his
wealth should be given to people outside of his family.
He has expressed a similar sentiment as that of Michael Bloomberg.
Wait a minute, what does that mean?
A sentiment?
Well, sentiment has many meanings.
But here it is an opinion, thought or feeling that is meant to be expressed in
words.
OK. Well, right now it's time for us to do something different.
We need to take a break.
But we'll be rightback after this.