节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-11-19
难易度:Medium
关键字:myth, practically, website, reputation, auction, scam artist
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
We're continuing our lesson called Consumer Conflicts.
It's the idea that some people like to go to stores to shop, and others would
prefer to shop online.
And so there's this conflict, which one is better?
Well, what did we learn from yesterday's lesson, Carolyn?
Well, we learned that Nellie likes to shop online.
Right now she's looking at a pair of jeans.
Maybe she'll buy some shoes.
And her friend Laura was very surprised because she thinks that buying clothes
online can be very risky and troublesome.
That's right.
And so of course she would prefer to go to a mall to a store to shop for clothes
and other things like that.
All right. Well, we have more to learn from their conversation here today.
So let's get started - Consumer Conflicts.
(Music).
Consumer Conflicts.
I also like to shop in stores to support local businesses and the people who
work in them.
However, I have purchased a couple things from online auction sites.
Online auctions are so exciting!
What did you buy?
One time I bought an old book of myths that's not sold in stores anymore.
I couldn't find it anywhere!
When it came, it was just what I was expecting.
I was so pleased.
That's the great thing about online shopping!
You can find practically anything!
(Music).
Yes, you can find practically anything anywhere on the Internet.
Well, let's go back to the beginning of this conversation.
Laura has a line here.
Let's continue being our characters, OK.
So I will be Nellie.
And can you be Laura?
Oh, yes. I shall continue being Laura.
I also like to shop in stores to support local businesses and the people who
work in them.
Well, let me interrupt you here for a moment, Carolyn... Laura.
She says that she likes to shop in stores to support local businesses.
All right. So what is a local business?
It's not a really big or popular or famous business sometimes.
It's... it could be just a store that is opened only in your neighborhood.
Maybe there isn't a store like it anywhere else.
That's right.
So it is local; it is only in that place.
And Steve and Ken have something they want to tell us about local in the
Information Cloud.
Let's go there now.
The Internet has revolutionized our lives in many ways, one of which is how we
shop and buy stuff.
In today's lesson, Laura makes an interesting statement that I think could be
expanded upon.
She says she likes to support local businesses and the people who work in them.
We call this going local.
Going local helps a community because every time you shop locally, that's more
money that stays in the community.
This means more money for local parks, schools and things like community events.
Another good reason to go local is that independent local businesses create jobs
for you and your neighbors.
And they're the largest contributors to local charities.
So if going local helps your community, then is the opposite also true?
When you don't go local, when you buy things online, for example, do you hurt
your community?
If every purchase you made was outside the community, then yes.
But studies show if you go local just once every five times, that's enough to
offset the other four non-local purchases.
So friends, if your community is important to you, then whenever you shop, eat
or have fun, go local.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
It is a good idea to buy local when you can.
So Laura is talking about how she likes to buy local when she can, and she likes
to support local businesses.
She continues saying:
However, I have purchased a couple things from online auction sites.
Hmm, so she also has bought things online.
Well, hey, let's take a look at something from that sentence here.
Laura has purchased a couple of things.
Um, Carolyn, does that mean she has purchased two things?
No, Gabe, it doesn't mean that she has only purchased two things.
Here "a couple" just means some.
So one, two, three, four, not very many, but not a lot.
So just a couple.
It doesn't mean "two" here.
That's right. OK.
And of course she's talking about online auction sites like eBay.
That's an example of an online auction site.
OK. Well, Nellie continues here. She says:
Online auctions are so exciting.
What did you buy?
That is a very interesting voice there.
Nellie, I forgot how deep and manly your voice was.
Yes, of course. I do have a cold.
Well, what did Laura buy here?
Ah, yes. She says:
One time I bought an old book of myths that's not sold in stores anymore.
Well, let me interrupt you here.
We need to talk about that word "myth." All right.
A myth is a kind of story, but the story is not true.
But it's popular.
People tell these stories for many years and many generations.
Now what kinds of myths are there, Carolyn?
Well, there are many different kinds of myths.
Most popular are probably the Greek and Roman myths, which talk about different
gods and their interactions with people.
Now of course these stories are not true, but they are traditional stories that
have been passed down from one generation to the next.
That's right.
And you could call the study of these kinds of myths mythology,
M-Y-T-H-O-L-O-G-Y, OK, or the idea of these myths.
So Laura is interested in myths, in these kind of stories.
Now what does she say next?
Ah, yes, I shall continue, so.
Talking about how this book was not sold in stores anymore, she says:
I couldn't find it anywhere.
When it came, it was just what I was expecting.
Hold on a second.
"Just what I was expecting." And that's just what I want to talk about here,
Carolyn.
That's a good phrase to... to know: just what you are something. OK.
So just what Laura was expecting.
Well, you can use this phrase in other ways.
It means it's exactly what you want.
For example, you said something.
Well, hey, that's just what I was thinking! I was going to say that.
How else could you use that phrase?
Well, you could say:
That's just what I was wanting!
How did you know I wanted that pair of shoes, Gabe?
Well... um, I don't think you want this pair of shoes.
Are you sure these shoes are just what you want?
No... not that pair.
Oh, right. Well... anyway, it could be just what you want, exactly what you
want.
And this is just what Laura was expecting.
She got something, and she couldn't find it anywhere.
It was just what she was expecting.
And she was what, Carolyn?
She says: I was so pleased.
That's the great thing about online shopping.
You can find practically anything.
And it's true.
If you are shopping online or doing some online shopping, you can find almost
anything.
That's right.
And we have that word "practically," which does mean almost or close to.
So you might go shopping and there's a huge sale.
And the clothes are so cheap that the store is practically giving them away.
That's right.
We're practically just giving them away for free.
Or you could talk about being so tired, you are practically asleep.
Well, I'm not really asleep right now, no.
We are learning more, and there's more to learn later.
But first, we're going to go and learn what Michelle has for us in the Language
Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.