节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-05-08
难易度:High
关键字:celebrity, notion, resilience, seires, blockbuster, blacklist, sitcom
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And we want to thank you for joining us for today's lesson.
We're going to be learning all about a movie star, a celebrity, Joseph
Gordon-Levitt.
Our lesson is called Just a RegularJOE.
Well, we're going to find out why it's called this in our lesson.
But I do wonder if you have ever heard of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, or maybe you've
even seen him in some movies.
Carolyn, have you seen this guy in any movies?
Well, actually I have, and at the time I didn't really know who he was.
But this article is very interesting.
I had seen him in a few movies that are mentioned here like (500) Days of Summer
and The Dark Knight Rises,
which was a very exciting film that he had a part in.
That's right.
Those are big films.
I saw him in Inception as well, and he did a great job.
Well, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
We're going to be learning all about him over the next couple of days.
So I do hope you have your magazine.
Open it up, and let's get started with the first reading of today - Just a
RegularJOE.
(Music).
Just a RegularJOE.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes fame look so easy.
Though only 32 years of age, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has over a quarter century of
experience in the entertainment industry.
Recent blockbusters have made him famous worldwide, but he's been acting for
ages.
While the road of fame has been rough on many young stars, Gordon-Levitt seems
to be traveling it with ease.
However, he has no regard for celebrity.
"I really don't like this notion that some people are more important than other
people," he says.
So how is it that the rising star seems to be on the road to success without
breaking a sweat?
(Music).
Well, he is becoming a very successful actor.
And right at the beginning we see that Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes fame look so
easy.
He makes fame look easy.
Now I want to talk about that phrase.
If you make something look easy, then you take something that's very difficult,
but you do it so well that when other people see it, they think it must be
actually very easy to do.
Gabe, is there anyone you know that can make something look easy?
Well, I've seen a juggler online.
And he makes juggling look so easy.
It's not easy to take a couple of items, three or more items, and throw them up
in the air to keep them going in the air without falling on the ground.
Juggling is difficult, but this guy can take over 10 things and make juggling
look so easy.
I don't know how he does it.
Carolyn, do you know anybody who makes something look so easy?
Well, I've... actually I've been taking some tai chi lessons to kind of get in
better shape.
And my teacher makes it look so easy.
He's just very, very calm and very smooth movements.
And then when I try to do it, it doesn't quite look the same.
Right. Of course, a professional will make something look very easy.
Maybe you know some musicians who make playing an instrument look so easy.
Of course it's not.
Well, Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes fame look so easy.
Is it easy to become famous?
Most of the time it's not.
But he makes it look easy.
That's right.
Well, continuing in the article we see:
Though only 32 years of age, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has over a quarter century of
experience in the entertainment industry.
So he's really not very old, only 32, but he has over a quarter century of
experience.
How long is a quarter century, Gabe?
Well, if a century is 100 years, then a quarter century is 25 years.
So he's been acting for more than half of his life, or he's been in the
entertainment industry for more than half his life.
He's 32 years of age.
That means he's 32 years old.
Well, we've been talking about this man - Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
And his name is kind of unique as far as English names go.
And I think that Steve and Ken are going to tell us some more about that in the
Information Cloud.
The focus of this month's PROFILE feature Joseph Gordon-Levitt has what is
called a double-barreled surname.
Sometimes it's called a hyphenated surname, but the hyphen is optional.
That's right.
Now we should mention that the practice of naming children and changing surnames
varies from culture to culture and country to country.
Today we'll focus on naming practices common in the U.S.
There are different reasons why Americans choose double-barreled surnames.
One of the main reasons is the egalitarian.
Yes, egalitarian. That's a big word that just means equal and fair.
Historically, when a woman married, she gave up her family name for her
husband's.
But many today feel that practice sends a message that the husband is more
important than the wife.
So for couples who want to emphasize equality in their relationship,
they might choose to adopt a double-barreled surname for themselves, husband
included, and (or) their children.
This might be the reason behind Joseph's parents giving him a double-barreled
surname.
But I'm guessing he has it for another more important reason.
Right.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's double-barreled surname reminds everyone that he is the
grandson of the famous Hollywood movie director Michael Gordon.
Something that, I'm sure, doesn't hurt his career as an actor.
(Chinese).
Thank you, gentlemen.
Well, we continue with our lesson.
Recent blockbusters have made him famous worldwide, but he's been acting for
ages.
So we've been talking about Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some blockbusters that have
made him famous.
Um, what's a blockbuster movie, Carolyn?
Well, a blockbuster is a movie that is very, very successful.
It breaks through the records.
And so a blockbuster, I usually think about those being released in summer.
Mmhm. OK, released in summer.
And of course, many blockbusters are appreciated by audiences around the world.
Not just one part, not just in Hollywood or in America but most of the world
knows about these movies.
And Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been acting for ages.
This means he's been acting for, well, a long time.
That's right.
Well, continuing.
While the road of fame has been rough on many young stars, Gordon-Levitt seems
to be traveling it with ease.
So usually when a child starts out acting at a very young age, as they grow up,
they face a lot of problems.
But here we see that Gordon-Levitt seems to not really have too many problems.
That's right. It's not too rough for him.
We do continue.
It says: However, he has no regard for celebrity.
He says: I really don't like this notion that some people are more important
than other people.
Let's take a look at two key words there.
The first one is "celebrity." Now usually I think of this as a person, someone
who is famous, either a singer or an actor.
But how is it used here, Carolyn?
Well, here it's not used as a person.
It's used to refer to the fame.
So he is not really that fond of fame or being a celebrity.
That's right.
He doesn't really put much value on it.
Well, we continue, we see another word here.
It is "notion." And notion is also from our Word Bank.
I think of a notion is as kind of something that is not spoken by people, but a
feeling that many people have about something.
That's right.
Or some kind of idea and the way that people think about you maybe from the way
you behave.
Or here a lot of people think that celebrities or someone who is famous, they
are more important than other people.
But Joseph Gordon-Levitt does not agree with this idea or this notion.
That's right.
He doesn't agree.
So, we continue: So how is it that the rising star seems to be on the road to
success without breaking a sweat?
Carolyn, what does it mean to break a sweat?
Well, if you are exercising, maybe you're running really fast, you start to
sweat.
And so breaking a sweat means that you begin to sweat.
It requires a lot of effort.
And here we see that he is not breaking a sweat in his success.
It's something that's very easy for him.
Well, let's go spend some time with Michelle in the Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.