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
Today we are continuing our lesson on Swing into Golf Idioms learning all about
idioms from the game of golf.
We've already talked about tee off and tee somebody off today.
Those are two very different idioms.
If you tee off, that means that you start something.
And we hope that you will tee off your next class with something fun.
If you tee somebody off, then you make them very angry.
And we hope that that is not something you will be doing anytime soon.
Well, we have another great idiom coming up in the next part of our lesson: hole
in one.
Swing into Golf Idioms.
Hole in one.
Making a hole in one requires hitting the ball into the hole - 365 meters or so
away - in a single stroke.
Talk about accuracy!
A hole in one can also describe something that is successful the first time.
Someone who acquires a great job on their first interview just got a hole in
one!
Who knows?
One of the golfers competing in The Open over the next few days might hit a hole
in one, too!
All right.
We're making a hole in one here.
We're going to do this in one shot, and we will succeed.
OK. Hole in one.
Making a hole in one requires hitting the ball into the hole - 365 meters or so
away - in a single stroke.
OK. So this is a wonderful thing when you're playing golf to make a hole in one.
That's right.
It is certainly not something that is easy to do because you only have one
stroke, one stroke to hit a small ball into the hole 365 meters or so away.
And we see that it says "or so" because it might be more than that or it might
be less.
That's right.
You could use that phrase "or so" in other ways.
You might talk about your class.
You class has 30 people or so.
There's probably a few more than 30.
But you could say it just has 30 people or so.
That's right.
So it just means "about" or "approximately," words that we've talked about
before.
And this is done in a single stroke.
The next sentence says: Talk about accuracy!
And that is a word we want to talk about from our Word Bank.
Accuracy means that it is very accurate.
So this is not about a certain number.
It is exact.
Exactly.
Very good. Accuracy.
And Carolyn also used the adjective form of this word, accurate.
A-C-C-U-R-A-T-E.
If someone gives you a question or asks a question, and they want an exact
answer, they might ask for an accurate answer.
Especially in math, your answers need to be accurate or exact.
That's right.
So if something is accurate, then there are no mistakes.
And if you are able to hit a small ball into a hole that is 365 meters away, you
are very accurate.
You have great accuracy.
It's true.
Now is accuracy important for everything in life?
Well, not really.
Some things don't need to be exact.
If you're on stage and you're acting, it doesn't need to be accurate.
You're just going with how you feel sometimes.
Other things do need to have more accuracy.
Like if you're playing music on a musical instrument, you need to hit the exact
notes.
Those need to be accurate.
You have accuracy there.
So think about the things in life that require accuracy and the things that
don't.
Well, in that sentence about accuracy, it was a very short one, only three
words: Talk about accuracy!
And I think that Liz has something she wants to talk about in the Grammar Gym.
Hi, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
And here's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Talk about accuracy!
Our focus is on the phrase at the beginning of the sentence: talk about.
Normally when we say "talk about," we mean having people share what they think
about a subject, like:
Let's talk about our weekend plans.
But in today's sentence, the writer is not saying that readers should discuss
the subject of accuracy.
Instead, "talk about" is an informal expression we use to show something is a
clear example.
So, going back to today's sentence, the writer is commenting on how putting the
ball into the hole with just one stroke is a great demonstration of accuracy.
OK. Let's look at some more examples.
I was shocked when I heard the awful news; Talk about tragedy!
Or: The restaurant messed up our order and then blamed us for their mistake;
talk about ridiculous!
Be sure to check out today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, we're continuing to learn about a hole in one.
A hole in one can also describe something that is successful the first time.
So the very first time that you do it, maybe it's challenging, it's difficult,
but you succeed.
You did a great job.
You got a hole in one.
That's right.
And the next sentence gives us an example of a hole in one.
Someone who acquires a great job on their first interview just got a hole in one
because it's not easy to get a good job on your very first interview.
But if you are able to acquire one that way, then you got a hole in one.
It's a great accomplishment.
And of course this word "acquire" means to get something by working for it
usually.
You acquire something, but... and maybe it wasn't too easy to get.
So for example, you could say:
How did you acquire so much money?
How did you get all that?
How did you acquire it?
Well, you must have worked very hard to acquire it.
You can also acquire skills.
Maybe you are learning how to play the piano, and you practice every day.
You can acquire the skill of becoming a great pianist.
Well, I... I wanted to acquire the skill of being a good piano player or a
pianist, but I gave up after a few years.
However, I still have the skill of playing drums.
That's one skill that I acquired.
Some people also talk about acquired tastes.
You use this word kind of like an adjective.
An acquired taste is a taste that maybe you didn't like it first, but you've
grown to enjoy it and maybe even love it.
It's an acquired taste.
Carolyn, let's see, what is something that... ooh, have you ever had (Chinese),
stinky tofu?
I have eaten stinky tofu before.
And it is not a taste I have acquired.
No?
Oh, OK.
Well, it is a taste that some people have acquired.
They have grown to enjoy it.
It's not my favorite, but now I will eat it.
I'm acquiring a taste for it.
Oh. Now I remember!
I was thinking about cilantro.
There's a certain kind of herb that I didn't use to like but I've acquired a
taste for it.
So now I enjoy it.
Well, that is great.
You can acquire taste for many different things.
And going back to our idiom here - a hole in one.
Who knows?
One of the golfers competing in The Open over the next few days might hit a hole
in one, too.
Have you ever hit a hole in one?
Think about that.
Talk about it in English.
Have you ever made something on the first try?
You were able to succeed after just one try.
You got a hole in one.
And of course you feel great after you hit a hole in one.
Well, there is a question here.
It says: Who knows?
So who knows?
That means we're not sure yet.
One day we will know, especially when the British Open is done for this year.
Well, it's time for us to learn something new with Michelle in the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
OK. Get ready to learn more from our teachers.
Well, we've learned a number of idioms here over the last couple of days.
Of course our idiom in the title is swing into something.
And of course we have par for the course, above and below or under par, tee off
or tee somebody off, and a hole in one.
Did you learn any new idiom these last couple of days, maybe some idioms that
you will use in the future?
Carolyn, what do you think about these idioms?
Well, these are very useful idioms.
I especially find myself using "above or below par" fairly often when I'm trying
to describe things to my friends or give my opinion about something.
You know, I do, too.
And usually I'll say: Oh. That's... that's subpar, or it's not up to par.
But you know what, some people also like to use these other idioms.
See if you can slip it into your conversations sometime within the next week.
Try using these golf idioms.
Thank you for joining us here today.
And of course, we will see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
See you then.