节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-11-04
难易度:Low
关键字:fade, plot, fireworks, electronic, promote, parliament, veteran
(Music).
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
We're talking about the month of November.
Yes, of course we do this every month.
We talk about things that are special about that month.
Well, what kinds of things are special about November?
Can you think of any?
Carolyn, what is special about November?
Well, in the United States, November is pretty special because that's when we
celebrate Thanksgiving.
But Gabe, I noticed something very special about your appearance today.
You noticed?
You have a mustache.
You're right about that, Carolyn.
I have a mustache, a nice, thick, black mustache.
And do you know why?
Well, I've heard that November has also been called Movember, Mustache November.
Mustache November, beginning with an M.
That's right.
Many guys grow out of their mustaches to raise awareness about prostate cancer,
a certain type of cancer that some men get.
They want to change the face of men's health. OK.
So if you want to raise awareness and help in this way, then you can also grow
out your mustache.
All right.
Well, we have a lot to learn about the month of November.
So let's get started.
(Music).
November.
There is a lot to celebrate in November!
In the north, cold winds blow.
The rich colors of autumn have faded, and winter is not far away.
But in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is just heating up!
Whatever the weather, there is plenty to celebrate in November!
Britain celebrates Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.
They remember the plot to blow up the English parliament and King James I in
1605.
Thankfully, the plot did not succeed.
The English remember this day and celebrate it with big fires and fireworks.
(Music).
Guy Fawkes Day sounds like a very exciting holiday.
But before we talk about it, let's go back to the beginning of our article.
There is a lot to celebrate in November!
And as we read:
In the north, cold winds blow.
The rich colors of autumn have faded, and winter is not far away.
So the seasons are changing.
That's right.
Of course our first sentence here, we read: Cold winds blow.
Now you see an S at the end of the word "wind." That's OK.
You could talk about the wind blowing or the cold winds that are blowing.
And of course here we see a word from our Word Bank.
It is faded, or to fade.
The rich colors of autumn have faded.
Now if something fades, that means it used to be a nice, rich color, but now
it's kind of turning a little bit maybe white or dead, maybe a little bit pale.
It fades.
Well, what else can fade?
Well, your clothes can fade.
If you leave your black clothes in the sunlight, they will fade.
So be careful where you put your clothes so that they don't become faded.
Oh, that's a great point, Carolyn.
I have some T-shirts at home that have faded.
They were... they are not now the original nice color that they were before.
Well, what else could fade?
Maybe you could talk about someone's popularity fading, or someone's fame
fading.
So they're not as famous as they were before.
Well, we continue here.
Winter is not far away.
But in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is just heating up.
OK. Well, for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is approaching.
But in the Southern Hemisphere, it's just heating up.
Let's take a look at that phrase.
What does that mean if something is heating up?
Well, if it's heating up, then it is getting started.
It is just beginning.
You could say that the game, the basketball game is just starting to heat up.
So the players are getting ready to start playing.
All right. It's heating up.
Of course here in our lesson, it means it's getting started as well as it's
getting hotter.
But it could also mean getting more intense.
For example, a conversation could be heating up.
People might start to discuss and argue about things if something is heating up.
That's right.
Well, whatever the weather, there is plenty to celebrate in November.
And that is true.
We will be talking about so many things that are celebrated this month.
Well, let's get started.
But first, let's learn something with Liz in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's article the writer states:
Whatever the weather, there is plenty to celebrate in November!
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
It just means no matter what the weather is, there is plenty to celebrate in
November.
Notice the phrase at the beginning of today's sentence: whatever the
[something].
It means no matter what something is.
You can begin a sentence with this phrase "whatever the something" when you want
to talk about how a situation is a certain way no matter what something may be.
For example:
Whatever the outcome, the contestants are all glad they have this chance to
compete in this tournament.
Or: Whatever the material, this style of dress is very comfortable.
Now it's your turn.
Think of a situation that is a certain way no matter what, and practice using
this phrase at the beginning of your sentence.
That's all the time we have for today.
Thanks for joining me here.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Now let's learn about some of these great holidays, celebrations that happen in
November.
We read: Britain celebrates Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.
They remember the plot to blow up the English parliament and King James I in
1605.
Well, this is a very interesting holiday to be celebrating.
Well, I think so, too.
Guy Fawkes Day.
This is about a plot to blow up parliament.
Let's take a look at that word "plot." You have a plot to do something.
That means you have a plan in mind, but it's not just any old plan.
This kind of plot or plan is usually illegal.
It's kind of illegal to do.
And it's usually kept a secret.
You don't want other people to know what you are plotting.
So for example, you might say, if you remember, in August we learned about the
Great Train robbery, the men plotted to rob the train.
They didn't tell anyone that they were going to do it.
That's right.
And Carolyn just said they plotted to do this.
As you can see, this word can be a noun or a verb.
We're learning about the plot to blow up parliament, or they plotted to blow up
the English parliament and King James I.
OK. Well, let's take a look at this "parliament" word.
Well, parliament is the law-making of a country, especially a country like
England.
Now this plot was pretty interesting.
Carolyn, what do you know about this plot?
Well, it's been made into a movie.
So if you're interested in that, you can look up a movie about Guy Fawkes.
And there's actually a popular poem that goes along with this day.
Really!
Yes, so that no one will forget.
All right.
Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
the Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
I know of no reason the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.
I like that.
Very good! Nice, Carolyn.
I can appreciate that kind of poem.
Well, Guy Fawkes, he tried to do this.
And I think that uh... well, it did not succeed, we find out here.
Thankfully, the plot did not succeed.
The English remember this day and celebrate it with big fireworks.
All right.
So we remember Guy Fawkes Day with big fireworks.
That's also another word from our Word Bank: fireworks.
Well, you can use fireworks to celebrate something like the Fourth of July or
the New Year.
Fireworks.
That's right.
And they're a lot of fun.
And people do use them for many different holidays, so.
People use fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, Chinese New Year and the Fourth of July
in the United States.
And here we learn that the British don't only use fireworks, they also celebrate
with big fires and fireworks.
So this is quite an exciting holiday.
That's right.
Well, there's another word that's similar to fireworks.
It's the word firecracker.
Now what's the difference?
Kind of the way they sound - firecrackers are loud and kind of annoying to me.
Fireworks, they usually make a sound that goes up into the sky... (Background
Noise) and then they explode.
Kind of like that, except a lot louder.
That's right.
OK, so fireworks and firecrackers.
Well, thank you, Gabe.
Right now it is time for us to learn something with Michelle in the Language
Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.