节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-09-09
难易度:High
关键字:delectable, proclamation, to one's heart's content, folklore, valor,
Middle Ages
Today we are enjoying the article on September.
What does September mean to you?
Are you starting school soon?
Are you getting ready to enjoy the great fall festivals that happen in
September?
Will you eat delectable moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival?
There are so many things to do.
Well, I hope that you have appreciated your grandparents and thanked them for
the way that they have shaped your destiny.
We're going to continue learning about more festivals and things to celebrate in
the month of September.
Let's do that now.
(Music).
September.
Do you like cookies?
Fortune cookies?
Well, eat them to your heart's content on the 13th to celebrate Fortune Cookie
Day!
If you prefer animals, then Elephant Appreciation Day on the 22nd may be more to
your liking.
On the 28th show your teachers how much you appreciate their hard work.
And speaking of teachers, U.S. teachers in the 1980s wanted to encourage
students to ask more questions,
so they created "Ask A Stupid Question Day." So go ahead - ask that question.
Popular since the Middle Ages, the sapphire is September's birthstone.
Folklore says it keeps you and your loved ones from harm.
Symbolizing valor, the aster, this month's flower, is named for the Greek word
for star, which refers to the shape of the flower.
Well, let's go back to the beginning of this section.
We have a question here: Do you like cookies?
Yes. That's my answer.
Fortune cookies?
Well, I like chocolate chip cookies better.
I like the cookies that Jo makes.
They're delectable.
Fortune cookies... well, some people do like fortune cookies.
Carolyn, do you like fortune cookies?
I do like fortune cookies, and so I am very excited to read this next sentence.
Well, eat them to your heart's content on the 13th to celebrate Fortune Cookie
Day!
I'd like to eat fortune cookies.
So being able to eat them to my heart's content, oh, that sounds wonderful.
So let's look at that phrase from our Word Bank: to your heart's content, or to
one's heart's content.
What does that mean, Gabe?
Well, if there's something that you really enjoy doing, then you could say you
want to do it to your heart's content.
That means you will do it as much as you like, as much as possible.
So what do you like doing?
Maybe you're on vacation and you're at a beach resort somewhere, then you can
swim to your heart's content.
Or you can play on the beach to your heart's content.
Or maybe you've had a very long and busy week, and you are excited it's Saturday
so that you can sleep to your heart's content.
But if you like fortune cookies, you can eat them to your heart's content on
Fortune Cookie Day.
However, Gabe, maybe this holiday isn't for you.
If you prefer animals, then Elephant Appreciation Day on the 22nd may be more to
your liking.
And Carolyn, that is more to my liking.
Indeed, I do enjoy animals.
And I think elephants are wonderful animals.
So September 22nd might be a good day for me to celebrate elephants.
Well, that sounds like a great idea, Gabe.
You can enjoy celebrating elephants on the 22nd because it's more to your
liking.
And Liz has something to share with us in the Grammar Gym about that.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
And here's our Grammar Tip sentence:
" ... elephant appreciation day on the 22nd may be more to your liking." Our
focus is on the phrase: to be more to one's liking.
It means to be more like how someone likes something to be.
So in today's sentence, the writer is mentioning Elephant Appreciation Day as a
something the reader might prefer.
This phrase "to be more to one's liking" is a very polite way to talk about
someone's preferences.
For example:
Tom and Tara are so different; Tom likes to eat at fast food restaurants while
fancy Italian restaurants are more to Tara's liking.
Or: Chloe hates camping; vacationing at a five-star resort is more to her
liking.
So give this phrase a try.
Think of a situation where you would prefer one thing more than another, and
practice using this phrase.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, moving on, we read here:
On the 28th show your teachers how much you appreciate their hard work.
All right.
So we're moving from fortune cookies to animals to teachers.
Show them how much you appreciate what they do for you.
And I think that is a great idea.
You should honor your teachers, tell them just how much you appreciate all of
their hard work because being a teacher is not easy.
There's a lot of responsibility.
And they do work very hard.
And I would have to say that I appreciate some of the things that my students
have done for me over the years.
I remember a video that some kids made for us teachers here at Studio Classroom
to appreciate us.
And we want to thank you so much for doing that.
We appreciate any encouragement from you.
We love encouraging you, and we love to be encouraged by you.
That's right.
And speaking of teachers, U.S. teachers in the 1980s wanted to encourage
students to ask more questions,
so they created "Ask A Stupid Question Day." I don't know if you've ever heard
of this before.
But sometimes people say, "Oh, don't ask stupid questions." But here, there is
Ask a Stupid Question Day.
And I would say I have to agree with teachers here because I don't think that
students ask enough questions.
I love it when students ask questions in class.
Don't be shy.
Don't be afraid about what other people are going to think about you.
Don't think, "Oh, everyone's going to think that I just want to be the teacher's
pet." No. Ask your question.
Ask good questions in class, and maybe even ask a stupid question.
And we read here... also we read: So go ahead - ask that question.
Right now it's time for us to spend some time in the Information Cloud.
Our lesson today mentions no fewer than five observances within this month of
September.
In America, there are literally hundreds of observances ranging in seriousness,
duration and legitimacy.
OK.
As far as seriousness goes, a day of observance could be noble and honorable,
like Grandparents Day, or downright silly, like Blame Someone Else Day.
Observances also vary in duration.
Consider these real examples:
Wear Brown Shoes Day, National Metric Week, Mold Awareness Month and Year of
Water Conservation.
OK. The last quality that an observance has is its legitimacy, or lack of it.
Right.
Anyone can make up their own observance.
But for an observance to be official, a proposal needs to be written and
approved by the government at the local, state or national level.
Now people create observances for all kinds of reasons.
Some do it for profit, others as an excuse to throw a party.
Still, others do it to remind us of an important person, group of people or
event that took place in history.
And then, there are those who create observances just to be goofy.
For example, today in America, some people will celebrate Wonderful Weirdos Day.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
We have a lot more to learn about September.
We read: Popular since the Middle Ages, the sapphire is September's birthstone.
And sapphire is a beautiful blue stone.
Folklore says it keeps you and your loved ones from harm.
Well, let's take a look at that word from our Word Bank: folklore.
And folklore is any kind of story that is passed down from generation to
generation, especially uh, by talking, through word of mouth.
That's right, so a traditional saying, custom or story that gets passed from one
generation to the next.
Well, it can also have other things going on.
So folklore says it keeps you and your loved ones from harm, to keep you from
harm.
And symbolizing valor, the aster, this month's flower, is named for the Greek
word for star, which refers to the shape of the flower.
And let's take a look at that word from our Word Bank: valor.
This is a kind of courage, but a special courage that you would see on a
battlefield.
So a soldier from any country would have valor when he is fighting.
That's right.
So you would need to be very brave if you're fighting; you need to have valor.
And that is what the aster symbolizes.
Well, right now it is time for us to continue learning with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And let's see what our teachers are up to now.
Well, we've learned a lot about September.
Now I wonder which of these facts is most interesting to you.
Carolyn?
Well, you know, I would really like to honor and thank my teachers.
I had really great teachers growing up.
And I think that they helped shape me to become the person that I am now - to be
teaching you here at Studio Classroom.
I agree with you.
I think they influenced our lives a lot.
Well, it's time for us to say goodbye.
But of course we will see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
See you then.