节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-10-12
难易度:Low
关键字:valuable, technology, pop into, sweatshirt, dumbbell, rewinder, hood
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And your English will improve today.
We're continuing to talk about Five Funny Inventions (That We Don't Really
Need).
Already yesterday we've talked about some silly inventions.
The noodle fan.
And we had one other invention, right, Carolyn?
What was that other silly invention?
The portable chin rest.
It was very silly.
We tried to use it, and I... I'm not sure that I would really want to take that
places with me.
No. I think other people might stare at you kind of strangely.
Um, well, there are some things that are very useful in the world, very useful
inventions.
Well, do you have any ideas for what you might possibly invent?
What could be a useful invention?
And why do you think that we need that thing?
Carolyn, do you have any cool ideas?
Well, I had this idea for an invention...
Well, I was talking to one of my friends, and he came up with this idea for an
app that you take a picture of an animal...
Yeah?
... and then the app will tell you the name and all the information about that
animal.
Interesting! That's a really good idea.
You know, someone might steal that idea after they watch Studio Classroom today.
That is a great idea for an app.
I would download that app, Carolyn.
Great! Now if they... if they take that idea and make the app, then I can use
it.
Exactly.
Well, that's a good idea for a useful invention, a good app for your smartphone.
Well, today we're continuing to learn about some more silly invention ideas.
Let's get started with the telephone dumbbell.
Five Funny Inventions (We Don't Really Need).
The Telephone Dumbbell.
The battle between doing work and working out continues.
You are gaining weight, but you work in an office all day!
Who can spend valuable time exercising?
Meet the telephone dumbbell.
This telephone is attached to a weight.
You can answer the phone and exercise your arms!
The DVD Rewinder.
Years ago, people had to rewind a videotape after watching a movie.
What a pain!
But it's the modern age of DVDs now.
And with a new era comes new technology.
The DVD rewinder is a great time-saver.
(Music).
We will continue learning about the DVD rewinder in a little bit.
But first, let's look back at the telephone dumbbell.
Now Gabe, it looks like you're... doing a little workout there with the
dumbbell.
Yes. Yes, it's true.
This is good exercise, Carolyn.
I'm working out my right arm with this dumbbell.
As you can see, a dumbbell is a kind of weight.
And usually you just use one hand to carry.
You lift a dumbbell.
Another kind of weight is a barbell.
It's longer, and you use two hands to lift it.
But this is my big dumbbell.
Well, we're talking about the telephone dumbbell.
Oh, yes.
So, the battle between doing work and working out continues.
You are gaining weight but you work in an office all day.
And that is a very common battle that many people face.
It's true.
Now we saw a phrase there... actually, a couple phrases in that first sentence:
doing work and working out.
Both of the phrases use the word "work." But what's the difference?
Well, you know what doing work is.
You're doing your homework.
Or you're at your office and you're getting your job done, you're doing work.
Carolyn, what is working out?
Working out is what you're doing now, Gabe - exercising, working your muscles,
trying to stay healthy and strong.
That's right.
So you can go to the gym or a special place like that to work out.
So you're gaining weight, you work in an office all day.
Who can spend valuable time exercising?
Well, let's take a look at that key word there.
It is "valuable." If something is valuable, it's precious.
You don't want to lose it.
You don't want to waste it.
It is valuable.
It is worth a lot.
Gold is very valuable to most people.
They think that it is a very valuable or worth a lot of money.
Now some other things that are valuable are diamonds, other gems, these
birthstones that we've been talking about each month.
October is the opal.
That is also a valuable stone.
That's right.
That's a valuable stone.
Many jewels, of course, are valuable.
Well, think about the things that you have in your house.
What things do you own that are valuable?
What valuable things do you have?
Talk about them in English.
Right now it's time, of course, for us to talk about the dumbbell, the telephone
dumbbell.
We see this sentence: Meet the telephone dumbbell.
And yes, I have my dumbbell here.
And of course I have my smartphone.
And so if I need to work out while I'm talking on the phone, I can just answer
the phone, lift the dumbbell up and start talking to my friend.
Hello!
Well, that is a very interesting invention, Gabe.
And we saw this phrase: meet the telephone dumbbell.
And right now it is time for us to meet Liz in the Grammar Gym to learn more
about this phrase.
Hi there, friends.
Thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's article, the writer says: Meet the telephone dumbbell.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the word at the beginning of the sentence: meet.
Normally we use "meet" to talk about seeing someone for the first time like:
I'm so glad to meet you.
And when we are introducing someone new, we can say: I would like you to meet
our special guest.
But in today's sentence, the writer is not introducing a person.
Instead, the writer is using "meet" to introduce the telephone dumbbell.
This is a great word to use when you want to introduce something new to your
audience.
For example, if you're at a computer convention, you might hear:
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the latest tablet computer!
Or, if you're at a local amusement park and there's a new rollercoaster ride,
you might hear:
Friends, meet the fastest rollercoaster ride in the history of this city!
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Bye.
Thank you, Liz.
So of course, you saw what the telephone dumbbell kind of looks like.
Now this telephone is attached to a weight.
Just like I was carrying before, the phone is attached to a weight.
And you can answer the phone and exercise your arms.
It's a great way to get a good workout, Carolyn.
While you are at work!
You can work out while you work.
Well, that sounds useful but a little bit silly.
Now we do have another invention, a very interesting one, the DVD rewinder.
And a rewinder is something that goes back.
You use it to return something to the beginning.
That's right.
You usually use this word when you're talking about maybe a videotape, VHS.
Do you remember? VHS is videotapes?
Ah, so many of you have never even seen a videotape.
Now all we use is DVDs when we're watching movies.
But before, we had videotapes, and we would rewind them in a rewinder.
Actually, there was always a sticker that video stores had.
They said: Be kind. Please rewind your videotapes.
That's right.
And we read here:
Years ago, people had to rewind a videotape after watching a movie.
What a pain!
It could take a while, especially if it was a long movie.
That's right.
But it's the modern age of DVDs now.
And with a new era comes new technology!
There's a phrase there in that sentence: with a new something comes new
something else.
OK, so you could use it like this:
With a new job comes new responsibilities.
How else could you use that phrase?
That is a great example.
You might also say: With a new house comes new expenses.
You have to spend money on things that you didn't spend money on before when you
were renting an apartment.
And of course, with a new era comes new technology.
Now we have DVD rewinders.
Let's take a look at our key word: technology.
Of course people are making more and more things these days that are very
useful.
Computers, new kinds of cellphones and smartphones, all the technology that is
around us is very helpful.
That's right. So these are things made with scientific knowledge, machines,
things that we use.
And it's hard to say how much technology will improve or change over the next
few years.
And the DVD rewinder is a great time-saver.
It's true.
We have more to learn about how to use the DVD rewinder.
But first, let's take a look at the Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.