节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-08-28
难易度:Low
关键字:ideal, normal, imaginative, beast, audition
We're learning today about this young talented actress Quvenzhane Wallis.
And she was just living the life of a normal 5-year-old girl when opportunity
came knocking.
Or actually opportunity came "calling" when her mother's friend called her about
this role to star in a movie.
Well, we're going to continue learning about Quvenzhane in the next part of our
lesson right now.
Quvenzhane Wallis.
The caller thought Quvenzhane would be perfect for the role, but Mrs. Wallis
wasn't sure.
It was true that people always said her daughter had a special gift.
But Nazie's parents considered her just a normal, active, imaginative child.
When Mrs. Wallis asked her daughter if she would like to audition, Nazie said
yes.
They went to the library where auditions were being held for the movie Beasts of
the Southern Wild.
It turned out to be a trip that would change Nazie's life forever.
I think auditioning for a movie would be a life-changing experience.
Now earlier we were talking about someone called Quvenzhane's mother, or Nazie's
mother, and told her about a part that she could addition for in a movie.
And we read in this section:
The callar thought Quvenzhane would be perfect for the role, but Mrs. Wallis
wasn't sure.
And I can certainly understand why.
Well, it's true.
Actually, the people that were auditioning for the role, they said we want girls
between six and nine years old to audition.
But Nazie was only five years old, and so her mother wasn't sure about taking
her daughter in.
Actually, Nazie says they snuck in and she ended up getting the role.
Well, we continue.
It was true that people always said her daughter had a special gift.
So people told Nazie's mom that her daughter had a very special gift.
Now let's take a look at that word "gift." Here in this sentence, what does it
mean, Carolyn?
Well, it does not mean it is a present that you give to someone else.
Here it means that it is a special ability that you have.
Maybe you have a gift for music.
You are just very talented.
And it doesn't take much effort for you to learn how to play an instrument or
sing a song.
It just comes naturally.
You have a gift.
A special gift.
Of course this is a noun.
But you might use it as an adjective to talk about someone who has that gift - a
gifted actor, a gifted singer, a gifted dancer or a gifted artist.
And of course Nazie, or Quvenzhane, is a very gifted girl.
That's right.
She has a special gift.
Continuing.
But Nazie's parents considered her just a normal, active, imaginative child.
So while other people said she had a special gift, they thought she was just
normal and imaginative.
Now imaginative is another word from our Word Bank.
If you are imaginative, then you are very creative.
You think very interesting thoughts that might be different from other people,
and it's a lot of fun.
And maybe you have a world of your own.
You're thinking of so many different things going on inside of your head.
Maybe you're very good at telling stories because you have a very creative
imagination.
You are imaginative.
Well, are you?
Are you an imaginative person?
Yes. Do you come up with new or creative ideas that other people just don't seem
to have?
Well, Nazie was an imaginative 5-year-old child.
And they thought that this was very normal.
Now continuing into the next paragraph.
When Mrs. Wallis asked her daughter if she would like to audition, Nazie said
yes.
Nazie, of course, said yes.
She seemed pretty excited about this.
They went to the library where auditions were being held for the movie Beasts of
the Southern Wild.
Now maybe you have heard of this movie or even seen this movie Beasts of the
Southern Wild.
But first, let's take a look at the word there in that movie title, the word
"beast." A beast is something big.
It's kind a big animal, maybe a dangerous or scary animal, not normal or cute
and cuddly - a beast.
That's right.
And maybe you've heard of the movie Beauty and the Beast that it... There is a
huge beast in the movie.
And this is the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Now you can also use this word "beast" to describe a person who acts like an
animal.
And actually I watched this movie recently, and they do kind of act like animals
in the movie.
They are people, most certainly.
But there are times when they roar or yell or run, and it's a lot like an
animal.
Hmm, it sounds kind of wild.
Maybe you talk about wild beasts sometimes.
Well, this sounds like a movie that I would want to see.
I haven't seen it yet.
But of course, we see here that she auditioned for this role for this part in
this movie.
Now you saw that word "audition" in the sentence in another way.
You see it as a noun as well.
They went to the library where auditions were being held.
So it can be a noun or a verb.
That's right.
And we find out in this last sentence:
It turned out to be a trip that would change Nazie's life forever.
So this is something very special.
This is just a simple trip to the library where she could audition for a movie.
It doesn't seem like too big of a deal because there are so many other girls
auditioning, but it changed her life forever.
That's right.
And if something changes your life forever or maybe it changes your friend's
life forever,
that means their life was heading in one direction, but something happened and
it made the direction change a lot.
So it changed the course of Nazie's life.
That's right.
So she went from being a normal child to a rising young star as we mentioned
previously in the article.
Well, right now it's time for us to enjoy a review skit.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
All right. Bye-bye.
Isn't that just wonderful?
What's wonderful?
Our little Nazie has been nominated for an Academy Award.
Little Nazie from down the street?
Yes, Quvenzhane Wallis has been nominated.
Well, for an Academy Award?
Yeah.
But she's only nine years old.
Well, I know.
She's the youngest actress to ever be considered.
Well, we always said she had a special gift.
I know. But her parents considered her just a normal, active, imaginative child.
So how did she get into show business?
Well, she has me to thank for that.
You?
Yes, me!
No.
Yes. A movie director was auditioning girls to star in his movie.
And?
And I called Mrs. Wallis, and I told her Nazie would be perfect for the role.
You did?
I did.
At first, Mrs. Wallis wasn't so sure.
She said Nazie was just a normal 5-year-old.
And?
Well, and I said no, no, no.
Your daughter has a special gift.
So Mrs. Wallis took Nazie to the auditions?
Yes, she did.
And she got the part.
And now she's nominated for an Academy Award.
That's right, thanks to me.
Wow, little Nazie.
OK.
(Chinese).
And now it's time to go back to our teachers.
Well, in our article today we talked about Quvenzhane and her mother going to
this audition for a movie.
And she was only five years old.
Now I don't know how many parents would be comfortable with allowing their
5-year-old child who is just in kindergarten to audition for a movie.
Gabe, how would you feel if you had a child in kindergarten and they wanted to
audition for a movie?
Well, I was just thinking about that recently, Carolyn.
I have a cousin who is not much older than five, and she's very expressive.
And I think she would be a great actress.
But it's kind of scary to think about what happens to some children when they
become celebrities.
Sometimes their life doesn't really go in a good direction.
That is true.
But I think that Quvenzhane is doing very well.
I know that if my child really wanted to audition, then I would probably let
them.
Well, we have a lot more to learn about Quvenzhane and her story next time here
on Studio Classroom.
See you then.