节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-07-15
难易度:Low
关键字:image, ceramics, explore, pedal, glide, windmill, stereotype, cruise
We've just started our first day of our article - Enjoy the Netherlands.
And if you go to the Netherlands, there are many different things that you can
see.
Some of them are stereotypes that people think of like windmills and wooden
shoes.
But it is true, you can see those things there as well as many others, such as
blue-and-white ceramics or rounds of cheese.
Well, there are many other things that we can learn about and explore in the
Netherlands with our second reading today.
Enjoy the Netherlands.
Going Dutch.
From the station, rent a bicycle to explore the streets the Dutch way.
Even if you don't pedal your way around town, take some time to watch the
locals.
You'll be amazed at how many items they can carry on two wheels!
If you'd rather be on the water, you can take a cruise.
Spend an hour or two gliding through the canals of this city, past historical
buildings.
Watch for the skinniest house in Amsterdam!
All right.
So this next section is called Going Dutch.
And, wait a minute, that makes me think of something.
What does it make me think of?
Ah! The Info Cloud.
Steve and Ken are going to share a little bit about this phrase there.
Let's do that now.
Hi, friends.
Have you ever gone Dutch?
No, we're not talking about going to the Netherlands here.
Going Dutch, or a Dutch treat, is an expression that means each person pays his
or her own expenses during an outing or a meal instead of having one person pay
for everyone.
And it's not just dividing the total bill by the number of people and having
each person pay an equal amount.
You only pay for what you order.
Right.
So if I ordered a big steak, and Ken, you just had a small salad, which is
something you sometimes do, I would certainly be paying more than you if we went
Dutch.
I would hope so.
But in that situation, I would probably not use the expression "going Dutch." I
would just say let's pay for our own orders.
"Going Dutch" is a term usually used in the context of a date.
Right.
When a man takes a woman on a date, and they split the bill instead of the man
paying the complete tab, we call that going Dutch or Dutch treat.
So why do people do that, Steve?
Well, if a woman wants to be "just friends" with the man and not give the wrong
impression that she's romantically interested,
then she can make it clear before the date by insisting they go Dutch.
(Chinese).
Well, in the first sentence of this section Going Dutch, we see:
From the station, rent a bicycle to explore the streets the Dutch way.
So we are going Dutch a little bit differently from what we talked about in the
Info Cloud, but we are going to be doing things the Dutch way.
And to do that, you should rent a bicycle first.
It's true.
When I went to visit Amsterdam, and I was at Amsterdam Central Station, I did
see many people on bicycles.
Many different kinds of bicycles, too.
That certainly is the Dutch way of doing things and traveling.
Well, we continue.
Even if you don't pedal your way around town, take some time to watch the
locals... like I did.
Well, let's take a look at that word from our Word Bank.
It is "pedal." Here it's used as a verb.
Carolyn, what does this mean?
Well, if you pedal, that means that you are using pedals.
So pedal is also a noun.
And it's what you have on a bicycle.
You use your feet to pedal the bicycle.
That's right.
It makes the wheels go round.
So it's a verb and a noun.
Well, can you pedal quickly, or do you pedal slowly?
If you like to take your time and just enjoy the scenery, then you can pedal
slowly.
You can ride your bike slowly in that city that you want to explore.
That's right.
Well, or you could watch the locals.
And Gabe said that he was watching the locals.
And I'm sure you saw a lot of interesting things.
In our article it says: You'll be amazed at how many items they can carry on two
wheels.
That's right, on two wheels, or... or even more.
I saw a lady dressed all in blue with these ridiculous blue high heels.
And she was... she was riding a blue bike with actually a tricycle - with three
wheels.
It's kind of interesting.
Very many cool things you can see there.
Well, you can watch the locals.
And it's true, if you're riding your bike your whole life, then you can learn
how to carry many items at the same time while riding.
That's right.
And I'm sure that if you were to watch, you would see their bicycles piled high
with things, perhaps packages, baskets.
It would be a very interesting thing to see.
Can you ride your bicycle with lots of items?
Or do you just pedal along slowly with only yourself?
Ooh, good question.
Or maybe you like to pedal with no hands?
Because your hands are full of things, and so of course you have many items
there.
Well, let's continue.
If you'd rather be on the water, you can take a cruise.
So you don't just have to pedal around.
There are actually many places that you might be able to take cruises in the
Netherlands.
That's right.
And you can spend an hour or two gliding through the canals of this city, past
historical buildings.
So it sounds like you can take a very nice cruise down the canal.
So this is not a huge cruise ship out in the ocean but a much smaller boat going
down the canals, and you can glide through them.
That's right.
"Glide" is from our Word Bank.
Usually when I think of gliding, I think of floating through the air very
smoothly.
It's not a bumpy trip.
But here we're talking about gliding along or on top of the water.
So you can use it to discuss this as well.
That's right.
So you can talk about gliding through the canal, through the water, very smooth
ride, not a lot of waves.
Or you can glide through the air when you're flying.
Maybe you are going on a short flight, and you can say we... you're gliding
through the air.
And of course there are some sports that use the word "gliding" like hang
gliding or paragliding.
Now we continue learning about gliding through these canals.
Watch for the skinniest house in Amsterdam.
So if you are in Amsterdam, and you're on a boat on a little cruise just gliding
along, you can see the skinniest house there in Amsterdam.
And Carolyn, I saw it!
And what did you think of this house?
Was it very skinny?
How skinny was it?
Carolyn, it really was.
It was really skinny.
It was... it was a tiny little house.
I didn't go inside, but it's really interesting.
Like I said before, a lot of the buildings there are smaller.
And so there... it wasn't a big surprise that there was a really skinny house
there in Amsterdam.
Well, I'm sure it was quite a sight to see.
I would love to see a picture of it, Gabe.
But right now it is time for us to enjoy a review skit.
And then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab.
(Music).
Excuse me.
May I ask you a question?
Well, OK.
OK.
Well, think of the Netherlands, what comes to mind?
Oh. That's easy.
I see images of wooden shoes and windmills.
Those are stereotypes, but correct.
Oh. What comes to your mind?
Ah. I see yellow rounds of cheese and blue-and-white ceramics.
Oh, and bright flowers everywhere you go?
Yes. The Netherlands is a colorful country.
Would you like to explore it?
Well, sure.
But how?
Well, just imagine.
You touch down at one of the busiest airports in the world.
Oh, that's exciting.
Then you hop on a train to Amsterdam Central Station.
I love trains!
What's next?
Then the real fun begins.
You rent a bicycle to explore the streets the Dutch way.
Oh, I'm not very good on a bicycle.
Well, even if you don't pedal your way around town, you can watch the locals
ride bikes.
Watch the locals ride bikes?
Yes. You'll be amazed at how many items they can carry on two wheels.
Whoa! Imagine that.
If you'd rather be on water, take a cruise.
Take a cruise...
Yes. Glide through the canals, past historical buildings.
Watch for the skinniest house in Amsterdam.
There it is! I see it.
(Chinese).
Don't go away.
Keep watching as our program continues.
All right.
Well, we've started learning all about the Netherlands today.
And one thing that we talked about was how you can enjoy pedaling through the
city on a bicycle, or you can watch somebody else do it.
Well, have you ever done that before?
Have you ever explored a city on a bicycle?
Carolyn?
Well, when I first moved to Taipei, I did a lot of exploring on a bicycle.
My friend was nice enough to give me a bike when I moved up here.
And it was a lot of fun to just be able to bike around the city and become
familiar with the area since I had just moved here.
That's great.
And I think it's great that a lot of cities are making it possible now for
people to bike through the city.
Sometimes they even have these bicycle stations where you can just rent a bike
for a cheap price, and then ride around for a little while.
I did that in Kaohsiung as well.
And it was a great way to get to know that city.
Well, it's time for us to say goodbye for today.
But of course we will see you next time right here on Studio Classroom for more
about the Netherlands.
See you then.