节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-05-13
难易度:Medium
关键字:problematic, fiddle, tempting, embarrass, disconnect
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
Thank you for joining us today.
Our lesson is called How Not to Use a Smartphone.
Well, we know that many people today have smartphones.
And of course, smartphones are wonderful tools that you can use in life to stay
connected with people.
They're useful for many reasons.
Well, what are some of the benefits of smartphones?
Maybe you can think of some.
Carolyn, what's one of the benefits of a smartphone?
Well, I know it's really nice to have one when you have a question about
something.
You can get on the Internet and look up the information right away and answer
your question.
Or maybe if you're not sure where you're supposed to be going, you can look up
the information on a map online, and then you aren't lost anymore.
Those are great benefits to having a smartphone.
Of course another benefit to having a smartphone is that you can stay in touch
with people really easily.
But of course smartphones also have disadvantages.
Today we're going to be learning about how not to use a smartphone.
Let's get started with the first reading of the day.
How Not to Use a Smartphone.
Technology should help you, not hurt you.
Today's smartphones can do almost anything instantly, but like all tools, they
should be used wisely.
So here's a list of problematic habits that smartphone users should avoid.
Ignoring your surroundings.
Imagine you're rushing through a crowded subway station, late for an
appointment.
Suddenly someone is blocking your way, walking very slowly, drifting back and
forth, fiddling with their smartphone.
You probably feel annoyed, but do you ever do the same thing?
For the sake of others and for your own safety, put the phone away while
walking.
OK. Well, let's get started at the very beginning there.
We see a sentence: Technology should help you, not hurt you.
And I agree.
Anything that people invent today is usually for our benefits, but sometimes
these things can also hurt us.
Technology, like smartphones, should not hurt us.
All right.
The first sentence here is:
Today's smartphones can do almost anything instantly, but like all tools, they
should be used wisely.
Well, if you can use something instantly, that means you can use it right away.
I think of a microwave.
You can heat up your food instantly.
Carolyn, what's something else that you might be able to do instantly, something
you don't need to wait too long for?
Well, you can heat up your food very quickly in a microwave.
And I also think of just turning on the lights.
It's something that happens very quickly.
You push a button or flip a switch, and suddenly there is light.
Or you turn them off, and then there's no light.
It's true.
These things happen instantly.
Sometimes we take them for granted.
But some of these things should be used wisely.
Of course, you should use many things wisely.
If you have 24 hours during a day, you need to use your time wisely.
How will you spend your time?
Well, Carolyn, how do we continue?
The article says: So here is a list of problematic habits that smartphone users
should avoid.
So we have some problematic habits that smartphone users may face when they're
using their technology.
And if something is problematic, what does that mean, Gabe?
It's a word from our Word Bank.
That's right, this problematic.
Well, if it's problematic, that means it could cause you some problems, or maybe
it causes some trouble.
What is problematic?
Well, maybe if you're arguing with someone in your life, that could be kind of
problematic.
You don't know how to resolve the solution or come up with a solution, it might
be something problematic.
How else could you use that word, Carolyn?
Well, I might say it was a problematic situation when the two friends couldn't
agree on where they wanted to go for dinner.
They both wanted to go to different places.
And it was a problem because they wouldn't agree where to go.
Well, we have some problematic things that smartphone users should avoid.
And the first one is ignoring your surroundings.
That's right.
Don't do this.
Don't ignore your surroundings.
You want to be aware of where you are going.
Your surroundings, of course, are... or is the environment around you, anything
that is around you.
So we see a sentence here.
Imagine you are rushing through a crowded subway station, late for an
appointment.
So you're rushing through.
You're not walking slowly.
You are rushing through.
And then what happens, Carolyn?
Well, you're in a big hurry, and suddenly someone is blocking your way, walking
very slowly, drifting back and forth, fiddling with their smartphone.
Oh, man. That happens all the time.
I see this.
Maybe you're in a subway station, and some people are just walking slowly,
drifting back and forth like this, blocking everyone's way.
Well, let's talk about this phrase: back and forth.
If you go back and forth, it doesn't necessarily mean you're walking back or
walking forward.
It could just mean going from side to side, back and forth.
That's right.
And you could also use this when you're talking about a decision you're trying
to make.
Maybe you can't decide what to do; or the two friends couldn't decide where to
go, they went back and forth,
back and forth, trying to decide what they wanted to do.
And so if you have a smartphone, sometimes if you're just looking at it all the
time, you might just be walking back and forth.
And you're fiddling with your smartphone.
Let's take a look at this word from our Word Bank.
It is "fiddle." Now what does this mean, Carolyn?
Well, if you fiddle with something, then you are just playing with it.
You're not really doing anything important.
You're just kind of taking up some time and doing something that maybe is kind
of fun but not something you need to do.
And sometimes people fiddle with different things.
I mean, maybe you have a pen, and you're just fiddling with your pen while your
teacher is talking.
Or maybe you don't know what to do, sometimes you fiddle with your tie.
Some people fiddle with their hair.
You can do different things with your hands.
And sometimes this is called fiddling, not really important things.
Well, continuing on.
You probably feel annoyed, but do you ever do the same thing?
Gabe, do you ever do the same thing?
Do you fiddle with your smartphone?
Well, yes. Yes, I do, Carolyn.
Sometimes I do feel annoyed that other people for going slowly when I'm in a
rash.
But then, I have to think about the fact that sometimes I do the same thing.
And it probably annoys other people.
Well, for the sake of others and for your own safety, put the phone away while
walking, Gabe.
OK, thank you, for the sake of others and maybe even for my own sake.
Well, we see that phrase there: for the sake of somebody.
This means for the reason, or for someone else's uh, benefit - for the sake of
that person.
So how else could you use that phrase?
Well, I might say for the sake of convenience or for the sake of time, let's
take a taxi instead of taking the bus.
It will be much faster.
That's a great way to use that phrase.
And for the sake of time right now, friends, it's... well, it's time for us to
continue learning with Steve and Ken in the Information Cloud.
They're going to be talking about texting while walking.
And then we're going to spend some time with Michelle in the Language Lab.
Texting while driving is very dangerous.
So laws against it make sense.
Now lawmakers are wondering if they should create laws making texting while
walking illegal, too.
Yes, it sounds ridiculous.
But the fact is when you text and walk at the same time, you are putting
yourself and others in danger.
Consider one woman in New York City who was walking along a busy street, texting
her friends.
Because she wasn't paying attention, a car ran over her foot.
So, guess what she did next.
She called the police.
No. She texted her friend saying: I just got hit by a car!
Wow! She was very, very lucky.
People texting, walk into parked cars.
They fall down stairs, trip over fire hydrants.
And yes, sometimes they die because they can't wait to type LOL.
Well, what can be done?
Well, some cities are passing laws making it illegal to cross the street and
text message at the same time.
If you're caught, you could pay as much as $50.
OK.
Another solution is putting traffic lights in the street so pedestrians looking
down at their cell phones will also, hopefully, see when the light is green or
red.
Hey, not a bad idea.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).