节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-07-19
难易度:Medium
关键字:atop, undoubtedly, accuracy, acquire


























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Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And we're glad that you could join us for the second day of our lesson learning
about golf idioms.
We are swinging into golf idioms.
Now I do wonder if you have ever seen a golf game, or maybe you've seen a golf
tournament in person.
Or maybe you've seen one on TV.
Maybe you're watching the British Open this year.
Carolyn, have you ever seen a golf match or a golf game?
Was there anything unique about this?
Well, I have seen golf matches on TV.
And something very interesting that I noticed while I'm watching is that the
people are usually behind some sort of barrier or fence so that they aren't
getting in the way of the players.
And when the player does well, they clap.
But it's not a loud clap like maybe what you would have at a play, but a very
soft clap just in the palm of their hand, very quiet, called a golf clap.
A golf clap, very calm, very polite.
You have good manners because you don't want to be too loud at a golf
tournament.
The golfers need to focus.
OK. Well, of course we're going to learn some more idioms that come from the
sport of golf.
Actually, even in our title "Swing into golf idioms," that's kind of an idiom,
too.
So let's swing into the lesson right now.
Swing into Golf Idioms.
Tee off and tee somebody off.
When a golfer begins a game, he places a golf ball atop a tee before hitting it.
So teeing off refers to beginning a golf game, but it can also refer to starting
other kinds of activities.
For example, your boss might tee off a meeting by telling a joke.
While teeing off refers to making a start both in golf and in life, teeing
somebody off is quite different.
When you tee somebody off, you make them angry.
Causing a friend to miss a golf shot would undoubtedly tee her off!
And you know what, if you clap louder than a golf clap... at a golf tournament,
that would undoubtedly tee the golfer off.
Well, let's take a little more close... a closer look at these idioms: to tee
off and tee somebody off.
When a golfer begins a game, he places a golf ball atop a tee before hitting it.
There's a word there from our Word Bank.
Carolyn, what does "atop" mean?
Well, atop means to be on top of something.
Yeah.
So you see that word "top," T-O-P.
Atop just to... just means to be on top of it.
Mmhm. That's right.
So if you can use a phrase "it is on top of" something, then you could also say
it is atop that thing.
Do you see that hat atop his head?
It is quite a funny-looking hat.
Oh! Look up in the tree.
There's a little birdie atop the branch on that tree.
That's right.
So this is a very fun word that you can use, "atop," just means that it is on
top.
Well, the golfers place a ball atop a tee before hitting it.
So teeing off refers to beginning a golf game.
But it can also refer to starting other kinds of activities.
So when you tee off in a golf match, it means that you start the game.
You place the ball atop the tee or on top of the tee and you swing; the golf
match has started.
All right, with teeing off.
Now you can use this in real life:
For example, as our article says, your boss might tee off a meeting by telling a
joke.
OK. So he begins the meeting by telling a joke.
Usually it's nice to tee off class or tee off meetings with something light or
humorous like a joke.
What are some other ways that you could tee off your class if you are teaching?
That's right.
So you can just give a fun introduction to make the students feel at ease.
Or maybe you are having a meeting, you can tee off with a joke.
Just begin with something easy and lighthearted to make everyone feel
comfortable.
Well, continuing on:
While teeing off refers to making a start both in golf and in life, teeing
somebody off is quite different.
It's true.
This is not a joke.
It's not something lighthearted.
When you tee somebody off, you make them angry.
That's what it means.
She really teed me off.
I'm angry.
Well, we don't want to make you too angry, Gabe.
We do not want to tee you off.
And continuing we see that when you tee somebody off, you make somebody angry.
And causing a friend to miss a golf shot would undoubtedly tee her off.
So if you make your friend miss their golf shot when they are swinging to hit
the ball, it would undoubtedly tee her off.
Let's look at that word.
It's a very interesting word.
Gabe, what does it mean?
Well, that means there's no doubt about something.
This will happen for sure; it's certain.
Undoubtedly it will happen.
For example, you could say Sampson is undoubtedly the strongest person in our
class.
There's no question about it.
He's big.
He's strong.
He's undoubtedly the strongest person in class.
That's right.
And perhaps if you're watching the British Open this week, you will be able to
undoubtedly find out who is the best golfer.
He is undoubtedly the winner.
He clearly won the match.
That's right.
Well, how else can you use this phrase?
I think maybe your friend will undoubtedly be happy to see you.
You haven't seen each other in a long time.
Undoubtedly she will be very happy to see you.
Well, I want to go back to that other phrase that we talked about earlier:
teeing off.
So to begin a process or begin something.
Maybe there are different ways to tee off a class.
I think a fun way to tee off class would be to play a game.
Carolyn, do you like playing games?
I do like playing games.
And this can be a very great way to tee off a class.
It could also be a great way to tee off a review session, so.
Maybe you are studying for a test.
But before you just start reading and trying to memorize facts,
maybe you could tee off with a game that helps you to recall or remember some of
the things you've learned.
These are great ideas.
Because when you're learning another language, like English, of course you want
to learn and master the language.
But you also want it to be fun.
And if you're teaching another language or teaching anything for that matter,
sometimes it's good to tee off class with something fun like a game or like a
joke.
That's right.
Well, we do want to make sure that you are teed off things well and in a good
way and not teeing someone else off.
This is not something you want to do.
Well, we are going to tee off the next part of our lesson by joining Steve and
Ken in the Information Cloud.
And then join Michelle in the Language Lab.
Earlier this month we introduced you to Janus, the ancient Roman god whose name
forms the root of our English word January.
His name Janus is also associated with special kinds of words - Janus words.
Now a Janus word is a word that has opposite meanings,
which is fitting because, if you remember, Janus is depicted as having two faces
that look in opposite directions.
So Janus words are also known as autoantonyms because they act as their own
antonyms.
OK. The word "off," which we see eight times in today's lesson, is a good
example.
Two of its meanings are contrary to each other.
One meaning of "off" is deactivated, like when we turn something off.
Its opposite meaning is activated, like when a bomb goes off.
See? The same word, same spelling, same pronunciation but two meanings that
contradict each other.
Another example is the verb "clip." It can mean two separate as in clip the
coupon from the newspaper.
But it also means to join as in clip the music sheets together.
There are dozens of Janus words like dust, bolt, can, fix and weather.
Can you think of many others?
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.