节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-10-21
难易度:Medium
关键字:algebra, information, thorough, noticeable
Today we are enjoying a conversation between two classmates, two friends,
Miranda and Violet.
They are talking about skipping school.
Their algebra test is tomorrow at 1:00, and they are not quite ready.
They still need to study some more.
And Miranda suggests that they both skip school until lunch.
Violet is very surprised and wonders where she got that idea.
Well, we will see how this conversation continues in the next part of our
lesson.
Skipping School.
But if we do skip, we might miss a lot of really important information in the
other classes.
We can just get the notes from our study partner, Tessa.
You know she takes really thorough notes.
I know she does, but our absence would be noticeable.
I don't want our teachers to get upset.
They won't get upset.
It's not like we skip school all the time.
After all, sometimes there are good reasons to skip.
What about when someone has a family emergency?
I think teachers understand when someone has to miss class.
(Music).
Hmm, yes.
Well, I can see Miranda's point here.
What do you think about this?
Let's go back to the beginning of this part of our conversation.
Violet says:
But if we do skip, we might miss a lot of really important information in the
other classes.
That is a great point, Violet.
You used a key word, a word from our Word Bank: information.
Now information is knowledge or facts about a certain topic.
You go to school to learn lots of great information in many different subjects.
It's true.
Teachers inform you.
That's the verb: I-N-F-O-R-M.
They inform you on many things.
Of course you can get information in other ways, too.
Especially now in the information age where many people have smartphones and
computers with them all the time, we have information all around us that we can
access.
Now there's a phrase in English we sometimes use to let someone know some kind
of information.
We might say "for your information," or you could just use the letters FYI.
That means for your information.
That's right.
That is something that you might hear, so.
If you are learning something, that means that you are getting information.
And Violet doesn't want to miss any important information in their other
classes.
But Miranda has her response ready:
Well, we can just get the notes from our study partner, Tessa.
You know she takes really thorough notes.
Excellent! Excellent!
Let's look at our key word there.
Miranda says that their friend takes thorough notes.
Well, what does it mean to be thorough?
That means to do everything... that means to do something in the best way, the
complete way so that you don't miss anything.
You do a thorough job.
Whatever you're doing, it's important to do a thorough job.
Don't miss any details.
That's right.
So you do all that is possible or necessary.
If you are a journalist and you are asking lots of questions,
you want to make sure that your questions are thorough so that you won't miss
any important information.
And you want to do some thorough research if you need to write a paper about
something.
You can do it thoroughly, T-H-O-R-O-U-G-H-L-Y.
Do everything you do thoroughly.
Well, that is great advice.
Now Violet, you have the next line.
Ah, yes. They're talking about Tessa.
I know she does, but our absence would be noticeable.
Great! I will stop you there, Vi. I'm sorry.
But we have a key word: noticeable.
If something is noticeable, then it is obvious.
It can clearly be seen.
It is not hidden or a secret.
That's right.
Now here we're talking about their absence being noticeable.
If you're absent, that means you're not there, you're not present.
And so sometimes it's noticeable when people are not there in the class.
They're usually there.
It's noticeable when they are not.
But you could also talk about things that are noticeable.
Maybe someone has a noticeable mark on their face.
Usually you can see my birthmark right up here.
It's noticeable most of the time when it doesn't have makeup on it.
That is true as well, Gabe.
Now you could also say that someone's behavior is noticeable.
There is a noticeable change in student behavior when there is a holiday.
Students get very excited.
And there's usually a lot of talking or chatter going on in the classroom.
All right. That's a noticeable change.
OK, so there are many ways to use that word.
Well, Violet continues here. She says:
I don't want our teachers to get upset.
Well, that's a good point.
But Miranda says:
They won't get upset.
It's not like we skip school all the time.
After all, sometimes there are good reasons to skip.
Hmm, interesting.
After all, sometimes there are good reasons to skip.
If you're in a conversation, you could use that phrase "after all" to prove your
point somehow.
So Miranda thinks there are good reasons to skip?
Like what?
Well, she gives you an example.
What about when someone has a family emergency?
I think teachers understand when someone has to miss class.
Interesting.
OK. Teachers might understand when you have to miss class.
But my question here is: Do these girls have to miss class just to study for a
test in another class?
Well, this is something for us to think about.
But for now, it's time to join Steve and Ken in the Information Cloud.
And then we'll enjoy a review skit and some time with Michelle.
As humans, when we feel like someone is challenging or criticizing us, we tend
to want to justify ourselves.
Right.
And what better way to do that than to compare ourselves to people we think
aren't as good as we are?
And this is what Miranda does in today's dialogue two times.
And she does it using the phrase: it's not like.
Miranda feels like Violet is challenging her, so she tries to justify herself by
saying: It's not like we skip school all the time.
Here, what she's really saying to Violet is:
If we did skip school all the time - like the bad students do - then, and only
then, would you have reason to challenge my idea.
Now let's pretend a man is dieting, and his wife catches him eating a piece of
chocolate cake.
So she scolds him.
The man, wanting to justify himself, might say: Well, it's not like I ate the
whole cake.
Similar phrases which are used for the same purpose include "at least" and "it's
not as if".
Right.
At least, I'm not like them.
And it's not as if I did what he did.
(Chinese).
Oh, no. It's just too much!
Too much?
What's too much?
All the schoolwork!
We have too much to do.
Hmm, we have been working hard.
Yeah! Homework, reading, reports!
Yeah, you're right.
It is too much.
And tomorrow is the big algebra test!
Oh! That's right!
And there's no time to study! Oh...
Hey, I have an idea.
What's that?
Let's skip school tomorrow morning.
Skip school!
What do you mean by that?
We'll study tomorrow morning and take our test in the afternoon.
Skip school and miss our morning classes?
Why not?
We'll just miss a period or two.
Skip school!
We might miss some important information.
We'll get the notes from our study partner.
She takes thorough notes.
Skip school!
Our absence would be noticeable, and our teacher will be upset.
It's not like we do it all the time.
Besides, we have a good reason.
Skip school!
There is no good reason to skip classes.
Yes, there is!
It's an emergency.
An emergency?
Yes, a study emergency.
A study emergency.
Well, I never thought of it like that before.
Well, think about it now.
Hello, 119? We have a study emergency.
Wow!
(Music).
(Chinese).
And now back to our lesson.
Well, what do you think about this lesson so far?
Of course, we've been enjoying a conversation between Miranda and Violet about
whether it's OK to skip class ever at school.
Well, what do you do if you have to miss a class somehow?
Carolyn, have you ever had that problem?
Well, there are times when you do have to miss class.
And when that happened to me, I would always make sure I told my teacher why I
wouldn't be there and ask what work I would be missing so that I wouldn't get
behind in my class.
Hmm, that's good.
I should be taking notes here.
That was... that was a very good point, Carolyn.
That's what I'll do next time I have to miss a class.
Make sure to communicate well with the others that it will affect.
All right.
Communication is important.
Thank you for joining us today.
And of course, we'll see you next time right here at Studio Classroom.
See you.