节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-11-07
难易度:Medium
关键字:bustle, geographical, calligraphy, imaginary, nocturnal, tram
(Music).
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
Today we are going to Singapore.
OK, no. We are not traveling to Singapore.
But we will be talking about some fun things that you can do if you have a
chance to visit Singapore.
Well, of course there are fun things to do in any country.
All over the world there are fun things to do.
What kinds of fun things can you do in your home country?
Carolyn, what kinds of fun things do you do where you're from?
Well, I'm from the United States.
So it's a very big country, and there's a lot of different things that you can
do.
It really depends on what you're interested in.
If you like beaches or history or going outdoors and exploring national parks,
there's something for everyone, really.
Now Gabe, I think you might enjoy visiting battlefields from the Civil War.
Actually, you're right.
I would enjoy doing that, learning about things in history and places where
wars... uh, took place.
That sounds kind of interesting to me.
Now I am American, but I grew up in Taiwan, so Taiwan is kind of my home
country.
And something fun to do here is go to the night markets.
There are night markets in almost every city in Taiwan.
Well, what are some fun things you can do in your home country?
Talk about that in English.
Right now let's get started with our lesson: Ten Fun Things to Do in Singapore.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Singapore.
This country may be small, but its possibilities are endless.
A bustling city.
Historical sites.
Amusement parks.
Tropical beaches.
You can find all this and more packed into the 715-plus square kilometers of
Singapore.
If you visit this small but impressive country, here are some sights you won't
want to miss.
Night Safari.
One of Singapore Zoo's most famous attractions, Night Safari lets you see
nocturnal animals in their natural environment.
Walk through the park at night for up-close views of animals from seven
different geographical zones.
Or take a tram ride with a guide who will share fascinating facts and stories.
(Music).
Well, I've been to the Night Safari, and it is quite fun.
Let's go back to the beginning of our lesson here today.
We read a sentence there.
This country may be small, but its possibilities are endless.
What does that mean if something's possibilities are endless?
That means that the things that you can do there, the things that you can
experience, there's just no end to them.
There's no limit.
There are so many, many different things that you can do or ways that you can do
something.
And it's true about Singapore.
And it's a small country, but there are lots of things to do.
The possibilities are endless.
And the first thing we read here is about a bustling city.
We're learning about Singapore.
A bustling city.
Historical sites.
Amusement parks.
Tropical beaches.
All these short sentences, they're short for emphasis.
But we have something to learn from that first sentence: bustle.
Straight from our Word Bank, the word "bustle." That means there's a lot of
activity going on.
That's right.
So it's a very busy city, a bustling city.
You could also use this to describe other places.
Maybe you want to go shopping, and it's a Saturday right before a holiday.
The mall is bustling.
There are so many people there.
All of the stores are very busy.
And of course, I was talking about night markets before.
Sometimes the night markets can be very bustling.
Or you could talk about a bustling party.
There was a lot of activity.
Lots of people were having fun.
Here we're talking about Singapore; it is a bustling city.
There are historical sites.
I love amusement parks and of course tropical beaches.
Do you like going to visit beaches, Carolyn?
I do. They are very nice for relaxing.
And you can find all this and more packed into the 715-plus square kilometers of
Singapore.
So it's just a small island, but there is a lot to see and do.
That's right.
So there are some things listed here in our lesson.
You can do all this and more.
Let's take a look at that phrase: all something and more.
All this and more or all that and more.
If you just listed some things you want to do, you can add this phrase.
For example, you need to buy some shaving cream and some fruit.
Well, if you go to the supermarket, you can buy all that and more.
That's right, you can.
And maybe you want to take a vacation, and you're working with a travel agent to
plan your trip to Singapore.
Well, they might tell you all of the different things you can do there and give
you a list.
But that's not all.
There are so many things to do.
You can do everything on the list and more.
That's right.
OK. So there's a lot to do in Singapore.
And we continue here.
If you visit this small but impressive country, here are some sites you won't
want to miss.
But before we take a look at some of those sites, there's a little word we want
to talk about in that sentence.
It's the little word "but." This is a great way to use it.
You see this... the phrase: this small but impressive country.
Adjective but adjective.
Carolyn, how else could you use this phrase?
Well, you could say this car is small but expensive.
Or this car is very fast but cheap.
So you can use it to describe a car or anything, really.
That's right.
Or maybe the car has a tiny but powerful engine.
Or you could talk about the basketball player.
He is a short but powerful basketball player, or short but fast basketball
player.
OK, so comparing two things.
Now it's time for us to learn something with Steve and Ken in the Information
Cloud.
Hello, friends.
What's the difference between spoken and written language?
Lots of things.
For example, when a language is spoken, we usually get to see the speaker's
facial expressions and body gestures.
We get to hear the speaker's tempo and tone of voice, all of which add meaning
to what's being said.
Spoken language is more informal, too.
Sentence structures change, grammar rules are relaxed and words get slurred.
Why?
Because it saves time and effort.
As an example, let's use the two words "want to" from this sentence in the first
paragraph of today's lesson.
Here are some sights you won't want to miss.
Now when we speak, the words "want to" often get slurred together so that they
sound something like this:
Here are some sights you won't wanna miss.
Did you hear it?
Listen carefully and you'll also hear English speakers say "gonna" instead of
going to.
They'll say "gimme" instead of give me.
And "what are you" when spoken gets slurred into "watcha" as in: Watcha doing?
Because they are so informal, slurred words aren't usually taught in the
classroom.
But you need to be aware of them and train your ear to listen for them because
English speakers love to slur their words.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
We're "gonna" continue with our lesson and look at our first thing on the list.
Number one, the Night Safari.
One of Singapore Zoo's most famous attractions, Night Safari lets you see
nocturnal animals in their natural environment.
Well, Gabe, have you been to the Night Safari in Singapore?
I have, Carolyn.
And I loved visiting the Night Safari.
I especially loved the Bat Enclosure.
They just flew all around you, big, giant bats.
And of course the flying squirrel.
You didn't know where it was, and all of a sudden, you see this thing coming
flying over you, gliding over across the path.
It was very exciting.
Did you like the Night Safari when you went?
I did like the Night Safari.
It was a wonderful experience.
And the bats were very cool.
Some people don't like bats flying around their head, but I think it's nice.
I grew up with that kind of environment, lots of animals.
And it was really neat to see all of the nocturnal animals in their natural
environments outside instead of behind a glass wall.
That's right.
And of course, a nocturnal animal is one that is awake or active mostly at
night.
Well, we continue reading here.
Walk through the park at night for up-close views of animals from... seven
different geographical zones.
OK. That word is from our Word Bank: geographical.
It's talking about geography.
And of course the world has many different kinds of terrain or geography.
That's right.
So you might ask someone what the geographical location is like.
Are there a lot of mountains or rivers?
Is it flat?
You can ask them about the geography or what type of geographical zone they live
in.
That's right.
And of course, if you visit the Night Safari, there are animals from seven
different geographical zones.
So we see here you can take a tram with a guide who will share fascinating facts
and stories.
All right.
This tram could be on rails or it could be kind of like a bus.
At the Night Safari, it's more like a bus.
OK. Right now it's time for us to learn something new with Michelle in the
Language Lab.