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
Well, today we're continuing to learn about some funny inventions that um, we
don't really need in life.
And of course the first one we talked about today was the telephone dumbbell.
Of course everyone is leading busy lives, right?
You have to go to work, you have no time to exercise, so why not attach a
dumbbell to your office phone?
So whenever you answer a call, you will be working out at the same time.
Of course another thing we're talking about is the DVD rewinder.
What a very, very... ah, it's kind of a silly invention.
Who needs to rewind DVDs, right?
Well, we're going to continue learning how to use this DVD rewinder.
Let's do that now.
Five Funny Inventions (We Don't Really Need).
After you finish your movie, just pop the DVD into the rewinder!
It will rewind back to the beginning in no time!
The Sweetheart Sweatshirt.
How close are you to your girlfriend or boyfriend?
Whatever your answer is, it's not close enough.
You need a 2-person sweatshirt.
This sweatshirt has four arms and an extra-big hood.
Show your loved one how much you care.
Invite them to join you in your two-person sweatshirt.
These inventions are intended to be "useful." But sometimes it's easier to do
things the old-fashioned way!
(Music).
Well, inventions should be useful.
And let's learn a little bit more about this DVD rewinder to see just how useful
it is.
After you finish your movie, just pop the DVD into the rewinder.
Well, that sounds pretty easy.
Yes, it sounds pretty easy, but not something that we really need to do with a
DVD.
But we do need to look at those key words: to pop into.
Of course you can pop the DVD into the rewinder.
That means you are putting it in place so that the rewinder can do its job.
You also pop the DVD into the DVD player when you want to play it.
You can pop a CD into the CD player when you want to play your music.
That's right.
So pop something into something just means to fit it in or place it or snap it
so it doesn't move, and then you can use it.
Maybe you could say:
Just pop your head into the theater.
You just stick it in there very quickly and then pop out.
So there are different ways that you can use this phrase.
All right.
So after you finish your movie, pop the DVD into the rewinder.
What will it do?
Something magical.
It will rewind back to the beginning in no time!
Well, I think we need to take a look at that phrase: in no time.
Carolyn, what does that mean?
Well, it means that it won't take very long.
It will just take a short amount of time.
You could say that oh, don't worry, your computer will be fixed in no time.
It will be fixed very soon.
OK. It's uh, kind of a long trip, but we will be there in no time.
We'll be there very soon.
Or, my homework will be finished in no time.
I will finish my homework very soon.
Well, it's time for us to learn something with Steve and Ken in the Information
Cloud.
If you noticed, our author is writing in a way that kind of seems serious.
But is she really serious about this stuff?
Let's listen to what Steve and Ken have to say.
Does today's author really think the five inventions in this lesson are things
we should go out and buy?
At a quick glance, it might seem that way.
But no, she really doesn't.
This article was clearly written tongue-in-cheek.
And by that, I mean it was not written to be taken seriously.
Right.
Things that are said or written tongue-in-cheek are done so for the purpose of
being humorous, subtly humorous.
In the second paragraph of today's lesson, our author is just raving about the
DVD rewinder.
She seems quite excited about it.
But actually, she thinks it's ridiculous.
It's not that the author is being dishonest or insincere, she's attempting to be
humorous.
And I think it works to good effect.
Right.
And if you haven't caught them already, the author does give us a few clues that
what she's writing is not intended to be taken at face value.
Can you find them?
Friends, if you're writing an e-mail or text message containing subtle humor and
you want to be sure your reader knows you're kidding,
use the tongue-in-cheek emoticon - a colon, a hyphen and then the capital letter
J.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
Yes, our author does seem to be using a little tongue-in-cheek when writing this
article.
And we have one more invention to look at: the sweetheart sweatshirt.
Now pay attention to those words there, sweetheart and sweatshirt, two different
sounds.
That's right.
The sweetheart sweatshirt, what is this?
Well, let's first take a look at that word, sweatshirt.
It's a kind of clothing that you can use.
Especially when it's cold outside, you might wear a sweatshirt to keep yourself
warm.
Often athletes will use a sweatshirt.
It makes them sweat.
They want to sweat a little bit.
And so this helps to do that.
That's why it's called a sweatshirt.
That's right.
So if it is cold where you are right now, put on a sweatshirt and you will be
warmer.
Well, let's learn about this sweetheart sweatshirt.
How close are you to your girlfriend or boyfriend?
Hmm, that's an interesting question.
How close or how intimate are you with your boyfriend or girlfriend?
Her answer is whatever your answer is, it's not close enough.
OK, I just want to say here now that out author is joking.
Don't do anything that you shouldn't do.
If you're dating someone, remember to keep good boundaries with that person.
That is very true.
But here we're talking about an interesting invention, and our author is using
tongue-in-cheek to make fun of these things.
So it's not close enough, you need a two-person sweatshirt.
Interesting.
OK, a two-person sweatshirt.
This sweatshirt has four arms and an extra-big hood.
Aw... how cute!
People can snuggle together inside one sweatshirt.
Well, if it is with your sweetheart, perhaps!
And you can show them your love.
And we read: Show your loved one how much you care.
Invite them to join you in your two-person sweatshirt.
OK, all right.
Well, how do you show your loved ones how much you care?
There are many ways.
Today we have an odd suggestion - to invite someone into your two-person
sweatshirt.
Well, friends, these inventions are intended to be "useful." But sometimes it's
easier to do things the old-fashioned way.
I agree with that.
These things seem kind of silly to me, Carolyn.
These inventions do seem a little bit silly, Gabe.
But, never know!
You might find one or two of them to be at least a little useful.
Well, I know something that is always useful - learning with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
Let's do that now.
(Chinese).
And now I'll give the time back to our teachers.
We've learned about some very interesting and silly inventions the past two
days.
And I wonder, do you think any of them are useful?
Would you want to use any of these inventions?
Gabe, what do you think?
Hmm... Well, I do think that the telephone dumbbell is kind of interesting.
Actually, if I really got into that, I would be having someone call me maybe
every 10 minutes so that I could exercise while I was at the office.
Well, I don't know if that's really helpful to getting any work done.
But it would certainly help with your arms.
It's true.
Well, what about you, Carolyn?
What invention would you like, or is any of this useful?
Well, I don't think any of them are really too useful.
What do you think?
Talk about it in English with your friends.
And we will see you next time here on Studio Classroom.