节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-08-16
难易度:Medium
关键字:souvenir, awe, clutter, compliment, keychain
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And you are joining us for a lesson called Tips for Souvenir Shopping.
Many of you like to go traveling.
And sometimes when people go traveling, they like to buy souvenirs to bring back
for their family and friends.
And actually, my question for you is:
Do you ever buy souvenirs for people?
Carolyn?
I usually do buy souvenirs for people.
And sometimes I buy too many souvenirs.
I think of "Oh, I could get this bracelet for this person, and I can get this
for another person." And then I just end up with too much stuff.
Well, Carolyn, I understand.
You know what, I went to the United States recently, and I brought back some
souvenirs.
I was wondering if maybe you wanted this souvenir.
It's a cute little uh... it looks kind of like bunny ears.
Oh. Yeah, little rabbit years.
Um, this... this is a very nice souvenir, Gabe.
Yeah. Maybe you don't want that one.
Maybe... maybe you like this one instead.
It keeps your drink nice and warm.
Oh, it's... Oh, so it's not... it's not for... OK. It's for drinks.
Actually, you know what I think you really like is this.
It makes a cute noise.
(Background Noise).
Yeah? You like that?
Um... sure, Gabe.
Thanks.
Oh, you're welcome.
Actually you can... you can have all three.
Here you go.
Oh, it's... I think I have too many souvenirs from the U.S.
They're wonderful souvenirs.
Now let's get started with our lesson: Tips for Souvenir Shopping.
Tips for Souvenir Shopping.
Avoid collecting vacation junk with these helpful tips.
One of the fun parts of traveling is shopping for souvenirs.
But I go to a lot of different places, and how many T-shirts, mugs and keychains
from everywhere do I want?
Plus, those things aren't usually cool or unique to me.
With a bit of effort, I can find something better that will really awe my
friends back home.
Here's what I do:
Pick and choose.
Think: Do I really want this?
I don't need a ton of things to help me remember my vacation.
Well, that is a very good first tip.
And our article is called Tips for Souvenir Shopping.
And right there in our title, we see a word "souvenir." And let's look at that
word from our Word Bank.
What is something that is a souvenir, Gabe?
Well, if you go traveling, you might go shopping.
You might buy something for your family or friends.
Of course at the beginning of our lesson today, I offered Carolyn some
souvenirs, some things that I bought while I was overseas.
Carolyn, I think, really enjoys these souvenirs.
Yes, Gabe, I especially enjoy the rabbit ears.
Yeah.
But you know, I... I don't want to wear them for the whole lesson.
OK.
So I will pass on that souvenir for now.
But a souvenir is something that you buy in a special place.
Maybe you travel to another country, and you buy something to help you remember
that trip or experience.
And you could also buy souvenirs for other people who weren't with you on the
trip so that they can also enjoy it.
And of course here Jo has another name for souvenirs, kind of a negative name.
She says avoid collecting vacation junk with these helpful tips.
So souvenirs are great, but sometimes people might think of them as just junk.
What am I supposed to do with this gift that you gave me?
It's just your vacation junk!
That's right.
So I can't really use it, I don't know what to do with it, and it's just taking
up space in my house.
It is junk.
But it doesn't have to be vacation junk.
You can buy souvenirs that are great if you follow these helpful tips.
In our first sentence, "One of the fun parts of traveling is shopping for
souvenirs." And it's true.
I know that when I go to different places, I really like shopping and thinking
about things that I can buy for myself as well as other people.
And so you might go to a place that sells souvenirs.
Sometimes there are places that sell lots of souvenirs.
That's because lots of tourists go there.
Those are called tourist traps - the places where lots of tourists go, maybe
souvenirs are even more expensive.
Let's learn more about tourist traps with Steve and Ken in the Info Cloud.
As we ponder souvenir shopping, we need to be aware of tourist traps.
As the name suggests, a tourist trap is not a place you want to visit.
While it's a place that's designed to attract tourists and help them spend their
money,
the products and souvenirs sold at tourist traps are generally more expensive
than those sold at other places.
That's why it's considered a trap for tourists.
You might end up spending more money on things than you need to.
You could probably find it cheaper somewhere else.
So how do you avoid tourist traps?
Here's a good tip:
Talk to the locals, and go where they go.
This may involve some extra walking but the idea is to get away from the
touristy places.
Right.
Touristy places are ones that are designed to attract tourists, especially in an
inauthentic way.
Now I usually avoid touristy places when I visit a city.
Instead, I like to discover the real deal.
You know, those places that only the locals go to.
Yep, I'm with you there.
(Chinese).
Well, I do try to avoid tourist traps when I am traveling.
So we were talking about how shopping can be a very enjoyable part of your
travel experience.
And Jo continues to write:
But I go to a lot of different places, and how many T-shirts, mugs and keychains
from everywhere do I want?
And this is a good question, especially if you do travel a lot, it can be very
easy to just buy too many things.
Mmhm.
And she's asking this question like this because she means that her answer is
"not a lot." She doesn't want a lot of these kinds of things.
She continues.
Plus, those things aren't usually cool or unique to me.
They're not outstanding.
There's nothing really special about most of those souvenirs.
That's right.
So she doesn't really want to buy a lot of T-shirts or mugs or keychains because
they're pretty common,
and they aren't very special and reflect how she enjoyed her trip.
Well, she continues.
With a bit of effort, I can find something better that will really awe my
friends back home.
And she uses this word "awe," which is from our Word Bank.
To awe someone means to impress them or make them feel very special.
Or, oh, I can't believe it! That's amazing.
That's right. It makes your friends say: Wow!
You awe your friends.
So you can use this as a verb.
You can awe somebody and make them amazed about something.
It can also be a noun.
Your friends could be in awe about something.
We were in awe when we saw how beautiful it was.
We were in awe.
It awed us.
That's right.
Well, I am constantly awed by God and His great power and His great mercy and
just all of His creation.
It is very awing.
"I am in awe," as Gabe said.
Well, continuing she says:
Here's what I do.
So she's going to give us some tips on what she does when she is shopping for
souvenirs.
What is the first one, Gabe?
Well, it's simple: Pick and choose.
Think: Do I really want this?
I don't need a ton of things to help me remember my vacation.
OK. So that's the question you need to ask yourself: Do I really want a certain
thing?
That's right.
And this is a very good question to ask.
Many times when you're traveling, you're just looking at so many things,
especially if you get caught in a tourist trap, and you think: Oh. Wow! I can
use all of these things.
But it's good to just stop and think for a minute.
Do I really want this, or do I only want to buy it because the person selling it
has convinced me that I need it?
Oh, that happens so much.
Well, Jo uses a word here.
I like the way that Jo writes.
She uses the word "ton." I don't need a ton of things to help me remember my
vacation.
I don't think she really means 2,000 pounds.
That's what a ton is.
It's 2,000 pounds of something.
But she just means here a lot.
She doesn't need a lot of things to help her remember her vacation.
That's right.
Well, right now it's time for us to join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.