节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-09-04
难易度:Low
关键字:complex, committed, resemble, inspire, sequel, honorary degree
Well, we're learning today about Tolkien's background and history, but
specifically about how The Hobbit enjoyed instant success.
We talked about how people wanted more from Tolkien, and so of course he wrote a
sequel in the story The Lord of the Rings.
And these are his main legacy, what he leaves behind us... with us today.
We found out also that Tolkien died 40 years ago this month.
And he does leave quite a legacy.
I was watching a video on YouTube about someone visiting his grave.
And they were crying visiting his grave.
This person did not even know Tolkien personally, but they have been affected by
his stories.
He does leave quite a legacy.
Let's continue learning about this in the next part of our reading right now.
(Music).
The Tale of Tolkien.
Tolkien wrote many tales besides The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
They tell about good and evil, the importance of friendship and making right
decisions.
Tolkien's life shaped his stories.
The peaceful, beautiful Shire resembles the English countryside where Tolkien
grew up.
Some think the evil land of Mordor came from Tolkien's war experiences.
His relationship with his wife inspired the love stories he wrote.
Through his work, Tolkien has brought joy, hope and encouragement to millions.
(Music).
Tolkien's life has had an impact on many people through his books and the movies
that have been based on those books.
Well, let's continue learning about those stories because those are his legacy.
Tolkien wrote many tales besides The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
So those might be the most popular or the most famous books right now.
But they aren't the only ones he wrote.
What do his other stories talk about, Gabe?
Well, actually there is a story that I'm thinking about right now.
It's the background for Middle Earth.
It's called The Silmarillion.
If you're interested in finding out more about that, you can look that up, or
maybe even get a copy for yourself.
The Silmarillion.
And he wrote these stories The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings first.
And then he created this big background, this big history for this place Middle
Earth.
Wow. Well, I haven't read that.
I will have to add that to my book list as well.
And we read some more about what his stories talked about.
They tell about good and evil, the importance of friendship and making right
decisions - all very good themes.
I think so, too.
I think many fantasy stories kind of talk about these themes as well.
Of course, there's always a fight between good and evil in many stories.
Well, Tolkien's life shaped his stories.
And we learned about that over the last couple of lessons.
We learned about his love life.
We learned about the war that he was in.
And we also learned about what he studied.
These things shaped his stories.
They did.
And some people think that other experiences from his childhood also got written
into his stories.
The peaceful, beautiful Shire resembles the English countryside where Tolkien
grew up.
And we have a word from our Word Bank in that sentence: resemble.
And resemble means to look like something or to be similar to the way something
looks.
So if the Shire or the place where a lot of the story takes place in The Hobbit
looks like the English countryside, so they resemble each other.
Well, I also think of this word when I'm talking about how someone looks like
someone else.
Someone might ask you: Who do you resemble more, your mother or your father?
Carolyn, let me ask you that.
Who do you resemble more, your mother or your father?
Well, I think I resemble my mother more than my father, but my sister resembles
my father more.
Interesting.
Or maybe in some ways you resemble you mother, in some ways you resemble your
father.
Well, talk about that with someone today in English.
Who do you resemble more?
Well, right now it's time for us to continue.
We're talking about how this place, the Shire in Middle Earth, resembles where
Tolkien grew up.
Some think the evil land of Mordor came from Tolkien's war experiences.
I can understand that as well.
Yes. So that very scary, dangerous part of his life kind of resembles the evil
land of Mordor, a very dark place in his stories.
And we continue.
His relationship with his wife inspired the love stories he wrote.
And we have another word from the Word Bank: inspire.
Now what does it mean for something to be inspired, Gabe?
Yeah. Well, you inspire someone to do something.
That means you give them an idea.
You did something or you set an example, and so someone else wants to do
something with your example.
Or because of your example, they're going to do something great with their life.
For instance, I'm thinking about Mother Teresa.
She was a wonderful woman who worked with the poor in India, the poor and sick
people in India.
And she inspired many people to do similar work today.
That's right.
So she inspired many people.
And Tolkien inspired people through his stories.
We continue reading:
Through his work, Tolkien has brought joy, hope and encouragement to millions.
So there are millions of people who have been able to read his books and be
inspired by them to have joy, hope and encouragement.
Well, you know what, I think there are millions of people right now who would
love to learn something with Steve and Ken in the Information Cloud.
Let's do that.
And then we'll enjoy a review skit, and then visit Michelle in the Language Lab.
Today let's take a look at the word "million." Steve, can we add an S at the end
of million?
Well, if we look at today's text, we see that yes, we can.
Tolkien's work has brought joy, hope and encouragement to millions.
So that would be millions of people.
What about three millions?
Can I say I hear you have three millions in your bank account?
Well, I wish you could say that, Ken.
But sadly, you can't.
Now first of all, when there's a number in front of the words dozen, hundred,
thousand and million, we cannot add an S to them.
Second of all, there's a lot less than three million in my bank account.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Now if we don't have an exact number, like two million, and we just want to say
there's a large amount of something,
we could use "millions," like the sentence in our lesson.
That's right.
And the same thing can be said for the other words:
Dozens of cars were stolen.
Hundreds of people attended the meeting.
Thousands of flowers were in bloom.
But there are all estimates, not exact numbers.
(Chinese).
Hello, professor.
You look like you're busy again today.
Yes, I am quite busy.
Are you grading papers?
No, no. I'm working on another book.
Oh. Are you writing another book about rabbits?
Not rabbits. Hobbits.
My book is about hobbits.
Oh, right.
So did anyone read your first book?
Yes. The Hobbit enjoyed instant success.
Really?
Yes. And the publishing company asked for a sequel.
So this is the sequel?
Wow!
This book seems very long.
Yes. It's longer and more complex.
Well, maybe it can come out in three parts.
That's a good idea.
Yeah, The Hobbit, part two and part three and part four!
No... This book is called The Lord of the Rings.
Hmm, sounds interesting.
Of course.
I write other tales, too.
What do you write about?
I write tales about good and evil, the importance of friendship and making right
decisions.
Those are all important topics, sir.
Yes. My life has shaped... was shaped by many of these stories.
I'm committed as a father and as an Oxford scholar.
But your greatest legacy will be your stories.
Yes. I want my writing to bring joy, hope and encouragement to others.
Oh. Maybe I should read this.
Be careful.
(Chinese).
And let's head back to our lesson now.
The past three days we've been learning all about The Tale of Tolkien, J.R.R.
Tolkien's background, his history.
And we've learned a little bit about the fantasy stories he wrote, which are
still very popular.
Why do you think fantasy stories are so popular?
Gabe?
Well, I love fantasy stories, and I think one reason is because there are common
themes in these stories that we can all relate to.
Like the fight between good and evil, and of course how important friendship is
and of course love, we all relate to those themes.
But fantasy is also fiction.
It's not real.
And so it lets us escape from our lives.
I think that's one reason why these things are so popular.
I think that very well may be true.
Well, what do you think?
Talk about it in English.
Why are fantasy books and movies popular?
We've enjoyed learning with you here on Studio Classroom.
And we'll see you again next time.