节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-07-31
难易度:High
关键字:predatory, wolf, migrate, astonishing
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And my name is Carolyn.
And you're joining us for the third day of our lesson about Whales: The Giants
of the Sea.
So far we've learned a lot about whales, especially sperm whales, blue whales
and gray whales.
I learned that sperm whales have the largest brain of any animal.
And I also learned that blue whales are the largest animal in the world.
And I know that Carolyn loves whales, and she loves all kinds of animals.
Carolyn, can you give us any other facts about whales?
Well, there's another kind of whale that we aren't going to be talking about in
our article but I think it is so interesting.
It's called a narwhal.
And narwhals only have two teeth.
What?
The male narwhal has one tooth that sticks straight out through its lip.
And it can grow to be 2.7 meters long.
Wow! OK. The narwhals only have two teeth.
OK. That's a very interesting whale.
I think there are lots of different kinds of whales out there.
We only have time to talk about so many in this lesson.
But let's get started today learning about another kind of whale, another kind
of giant sea creature called the orca.
Here we go.
(Music).
Whales: The Giants of the Sea.
Orcas.
These stylish black and white mammals are probably the most easily identifiable
whales in the sea.
Also called "killer whales" because of their aggressive predatory style, orcas
prey on seals, sharks and even other whales.
Orcas often travel, live and hunt in groups called "pods," which are somewhat
similar to a pack of wolves.
Killer whales can be found in every ocean around the world and have no natural
predator except humans.
Whale-watching locations.
Here are some of the best places to catch sight of these giant mammals.
OK. Before we continue learning about those great whale-watching locations,
let's go back and talk about those orca whales, OK.
These stylish black and white mammals are probably the most easily identifiable
whales in the sea.
I like that word "stylish," Carolyn.
It kind of is a word of judgment here.
But would you agree that these whales look pretty cool and stylish?
I would agree because these orcas are black and white.
They have very distinct color patterns.
And they look very stylish, almost like they're wearing a tux and going to a
formal event.
Wow. That's a great way to describe orcas as well.
They are probably the most easily identifiable.
That's probably because of how unique they look, that stylish look, so you won't
confuse them with other whales.
Maybe you might get confused about the blue whale or the gray whale or some
other whale.
You're not sure which kind of whale it is.
But you always know when you're seeing an orca.
That's right.
And we find out that orcas have another name.
Also called "killer whales" because of their aggressive predatory style, orcas
prey on seals, sharks and even other whales.
So they are called "killer whales" because they have an aggressive predatory
style.
And "predatory" is a word from our World Bank.
We want to look at that word.
If something is predatory, then it hunts.
It likes to hunt other animals for food.
And they hunt orcas... er... these orcas hunt seals, sharks and other whales.
Yeah, maybe... maybe they even hunt other orcas.
Who knows?
But these are predatory animals.
You could see those letters P-R-E, just like from the word "prey." So they're
hunting prey.
They're predatory.
They are hunting for prey.
What other animals are predatory, Carolyn?
I can think of maybe a lion.
A lion is a predator.
That is true, it is a predatory animal.
And any animal that needs to eat other animals for food and hunts them would be
considered a predatory animal.
OK. And Carolyn did just use the word "predator," P-R-E-D-A-T-O-R.
That's the kind of animal that hunts for other food.
So let's continue talking about orcas here, these predatory whales.
Orcas often travel, live and hunt in groups called "pods," which are somewhat
similar to a pack of wolves.
That's right.
So here we have this word "wolves" or "wolf" - W-O-L-F is the singular form of
this word.
And wolves are like large dogs that are wild.
And they hunt in large groups called "packs".
OK. So you might see a pack of wolves.
Actually, I hope you don't see a pack of wolves unless you're at a zoo or some
place like that where they will not attack you.
Wolves, of course, are dangerous animals.
Have you ever seen a wolf in the wild?
I have not seen a wolf in the wild, fortunately, only at zoos and parks where
they're kept in enclosures, where it is safe to see them.
But learning more about killer whales that travel in these pods or groups:
Killer whales can be found in every ocean around the world and have no natural
predator except humans.
Carolyn, you know, when I was preparing our lesson today, I... I drew a sad face
on that fact because I think it's sad that so many people like to hunt these
whales.
As we found out about yesterday, blue whales, there are a lot fewer blue whales
now than there used to be because of over hunting.
So people are killing these whales.
That is true, and it is very unfortunate.
But we see that killer whales can be found in every ocean.
So it sounds like their numbers are still OK.
There are a lot of killer whales swimming around the oceans.
And they don't have any other natural predators.
So there aren't any other animals that are preying on orcas.
They prey on the other animals.
That's right.
Well, I've had a lot of fun learning about these different kinds of whales.
Now we're going to talk about different places in the world where you can see or
spot some of these whales: Whale-watching locations.
Here are some of the best places to catch sight of these giant mammals.
Carolyn, what does that mean, to... to catch sight of something?
Well, earlier we talked about a glimpse of something, to just see it for a
moment.
And because whales live in the water, they spend a lot of time under the water,
and they aren't always easy to see.
But you can catch sight of them, see them for a short moment while you're going
on one of these trips.
That's right.
I caught sight of an unusual bird in Australia like I was sharing about before.
I caught sight of this creature.
So that's how you can use that phrase.
Well, right now it's time for us to join Steve and Ken in the Information Cloud.
And then we'll join Michelle afterwards.
Since our lesson today is about whales, why don't we take a look at some idioms
that use the word "whale".
Good idea, Ken.
Here's an example.
You know, I had a whale of a time at Scarlet's birthday party yesterday.
So you had an exciting and fun time at the party.
"To have a whale of a time" means having a really good time.
Well, Steve, I think you did a whale of a job playing the guitar at the rally
last week.
Thanks, Ken.
I'm glad you liked it.
Friends, "a whale of a job" means a very good job.
OK. We know the whale is a very large animal.
So the word "whale" can also be used to refer to something very big.
That's another meaning of whales: something huge.
We might talk about a whale of a problem or a whale of a difference.
You know, there's a whale of a difference between learning English from Studio
Classroom and learning English from a cheap cram school.
Well, that's pretty obvious.
If you learn English from the wrong person, you might have a whale of a problem.
One final idiom: like a beached whale.
Oh. I wish I'd never seen a beached whale, as that animal is in a pretty bad
situation.
Once a whale is on a beach, it cannot move and get back into the ocean easily.
As if you are completely stuck somewhere and can't get away, you are stranded
like a beached whale.
Not a good situation to be in.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.