节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-11-23
难易度:High
关键字:proceeds, underlying, hygiene, at random, draw
We are continuing to learn about Charity Engine and how it uses the proceeds
from renting out this computer power to different charities.
And many of those charities are trying to solve the underlying causes of poverty
around the world.
Organizations like Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders are just a few.
Well, we have more to learn about these charities in the next part of our
reading.
So let's continue.
Charity Engine.
Another of its charities, Sightsavers, works to prevent and reverse blindness
through medical treatments and provides training for the blind.
Charity Engine helps many other organizations as well.
An added bonus.
Charity Engine returns the other 50 percent of its earnings to the people who
made it all possible.
The app users are entered into draws.
Chosen at random, the winners receive thousands of dollars in prizes!
Thanks to Charity Engine, computing power that would have gone to waste is
fighting poverty and bringing healing and hope.
All right. Well, let's go back to the beginning of this section here.
We've been learning about certain charities that Charity Engine sponsors... or
that Charity Engine helps around the world.
Of course we mentioned Oxfam, CARE International, Doctors Without Borders,
WaterAid.
And we read here:
Another of its charities, Sightsavers, works to prevent and reverse blindness
through medical treatments and provides training for the blind.
Well, this sounds like another very helpful organization.
Yes. All of these charities that Charity Engine is trying to support and help
with these proceeds all seem very worthwhile.
We continue reading:
Charity Engine helps many other organizations as well.
So these are just a few of the charities that they try to support with these
proceeds.
Well, we've talked a whole lot about Charity Engine.
We've already learned a lot about what it does.
But I want to see a little video about Charity Engine.
Let's do that now.
(Music).
Ten years ago, the $350,000,000 Earth Stimulator was the ultimate super
computer.
It was about as fast as a dozen of today's PCs.
There are now around two billion PCs in the world, many of them idle.
Think of all that wasted ability.
So we built the Charity Engine to tap into the spare power and create the
world's biggest supercomputer for use in cutting-edge research.
The money it raises goes to charity.
Download and learn it today and help change the world one bit at a time.
Well, that video, Gabe, is a very clear idea of what Charity Engine does, so.
If you think that this is a good idea, download that app.
Help them out a little bit with that extra power from your computer.
We continue on to the next section: An added bonus.
Charity Engine returns the other 50 percent of its earnings to the people who
made it all possible.
So you remember before, earlier in our lesson, we said that 50 percent of the
proceeds go to charities.
And now we're finding out what happens to that other 50 percent.
It goes to the people who made it all possible.
Well, who made all of this possible?
People like you and me, people who have PCs.
And they want to help uh, charities around the world with the extra power from
their computers. OK.
We are the people that can make this possible.
The app users are entered into draws.
OK, the app users.
You just saw a video.
It encouraged you to download the app.
And you can do that.
If you do this, you will be entered into a draw, and maybe you can win some
prizes.
Well, that sounds like a great idea.
But before we continue learning about these draws, we need to go see Steve and
Ken in the Information Cloud,
where they can give us a little more information about that word app.
Back in 2010, a group of linguists, editors, writers and historians voted "app"
as the Word of the Year.
App is a great example of a clipped word, that is words that are reduced,
shortened or clipped down to a component part.
Why do words get clipped?
Because compared to their original, clipped words are easier to pronounce and
spell.
Clipped words save our time and our breath.
OK. Most clipped words remain in the slang category, but many do, over time,
graduate to become official English vocabulary words.
Now sometimes a word gets clipped off at the end, like the word application got
its end clipped off, giving us app.
Examination got clipped to exam.
And gasoline got clipped down to gas.
Right.
Sometimes the beginning of a word gets clipped.
The word airplane got clipped to plane; telephone to phone.
And the omni in omnibus got clipped off, giving us bus.
Other times the end and the beginning of a word gets clipped off, like
refrigerator, shortened on both ends, giving us fridge.
And influenza got reduced to the more manageable word flu.
Clipped words are another unique way words enter the English language.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
OK. So we've just learned about how app users, the Charity Engine app users are
entered into draws.
Now we're continuing here to learn about maybe how you can win some money or
some prizes.
Chosen at random, the winners receive thousands of dollars in prizes.
OK. So this is chosen at random.
Well, that's a good phrase to know.
If something is chosen at random, that means there was no real plan involved.
They just kind of happen by chance.
That's right.
And so if a number is chosen at random, that means that you cannot predict or
know what the number will be.
There's no way to control what the number will end up being.
So this sounds like a pretty good system and very fair to the people who are in
the draw.
I think so, too.
Well, what else can be chosen at random?
Maybe in your high school years you had to give speeches, right? Of some kind?
And the teacher might have chosen at random who would go in what order.
Kevin's going to go first.
Bart's going to go second.
And then Monica.
It's chosen at random.
You don't know who's going to go first or last.
That's right.
And we continue reading:
Thanks to Charity Engine, computing power that would have gone to waste is
fighting poverty and bringing healing and hope.
So they're using something that would have gone to waste to make a big
difference in people's lives.
And I think that's a really great phrase.
If something goes to waste, Gabe, what does that mean?
Well, if it goes to waste, that's another way of saying it is wasted somehow.
So of course you don't want anything to go to waste.
Don't let your food go to waste.
Eat it or keep it to have later as leftovers.
Don't let it go to waste.
That's right.
You might also say, "Don't let your time go to waste." Use your time wisely so
that you can get as much done as possible.
Well, I think that you shouldn't let your computing power go to waste.
Download that Charity Engine app now and help save people around the world.
Now it's time for us to continue learning with Michelle in the Language Lab.
All right.
(Chinese).
And now I'll give the time back to our teachers.
Well, we've learned all about how you can help people around the world by
downloading the Charity Engine app.
And of course there are many charities around the world.
We've only talked about a handful in our lesson today and yesterday.
But what other charities are there?
Can you think of any other important charities?
Carolyn, what can you think of?
Well, there is one based in Ohio in the United States called CoEd or Cooperative
for Education.
And they help schools in Guatemala by creating sustainable textbook, computer,
reading and scholarship programs with the money that they receive.
And it's very important that it's sustainable.
So even when people stop donating, these programs can continue.
All right. Well, I'm all for charities or organizations that help with
education.
Can you think of any other charities that can help around the world?
Well, thank you for joining us today.
And of course, we'll see you next time right here at Studio Classroom.
See you.
Download the Charity Engine app, by the way!
OK. See you later.