节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-05-21
难易度:Low
关键字:elementary, complicated, confused, despite, elective
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And you're joining us for the second day of our lesson New Kid on the Block.
We've been learning all about Pauline Lin's daughter Irene as she adjusts to her
school in the seventh grade.
She's had to make some adjustments as she gets used to this new culture and the
new school.
But she's learned how to be independent and have self-discipline.
Well, we're going to learn a little bit more about her story today.
But I wonder what your school does or maybe what your school did for new
students that came, some transfer students?
Carolyn, were there any transfer students that went to your school?
Or how did they welcome new students?
Well, my school was very small like I've mentioned.
And they didn't really have a huge program or a big orientation for the new
students because we'd only have maybe one or two.
So they just walk around with one of the school staff and see the buildings in
the classrooms.
And that was about it.
OK. Well, I think maybe every school is a little bit different.
It is nice to have an orientation to let new students get to know the place a
little bit more.
We're going to be learning a little bit more about this in our first reading of
the day.
So let's do that now.
(Music).
New Kid on the Block.
The second week of the semester, the school had a "back to school" night.
Parents meet the teachers and learn about their child's schedule, requirements
and grading.
The biggest difference between elementary and middle school is that the students
change classrooms for each subject.
Do you think that's complicated?
Wrong!
From Monday to Friday, the schedule also changes.
Math can be the first class on Monday and then the second one on Tuesday.
I'm still confused, but the kids have no problem after the first week.
(Music).
Well, sometimes that is the case.
You might be more confused than your children are.
Well, let's start at the very beginning here.
We're talking about Irene and how she is adjusting to the school.
The second week of the semester, the school had a "back to school" night.
Well, that sounds kind of fun.
What is that, Carolyn?
What's a "back to school" night?
Well, usually school is during the day, but this is a "back to school" night.
And we find out in the next sentence that it's for parents.
So parents usually aren't in school anymore, and hopefully not junior high
school.
But the parents are able to go back to the school and meet the teachers as we
find out in the next sentence.
That's right.
Parents meet the teachers and learn about their child's schedule, requirements
and grading.
So this is a good time for parents to be oriented as well, to get to know the
school as well.
So what are requirements?
Carolyn, what's a requirement?
Well, a requirement is something that you have to do.
There is nothing you can do about it.
You are required to do it.
So they get to learn about what their students... or what their children are
going to have to do at this new school.
OK. I think this is a great idea, a "back to school" night or event.
Well, we continue with the story.
The biggest difference between elementary and middle school is that the students
change classrooms for each subject.
OK. Well, I want to talk about a couple of things in this sentence.
First, a Word Bank word: elementary.
Elementary, I usually think of the grades between first grade and fifth grade.
So just after kindergarten, maybe you're six or seven years old and you go
through elementary school.
Um, but is there another way to talk about elementary school, Carolyn?
Well, yesterday we referred to elementary school as grade school.
You might also call it primary school.
It's where you go when you first begin going to regular school or regular
classes.
And it's very simple.
So it's the elementary school.
All right.
Well, maybe you're not in elementary school anymore.
Well, where did you go to elementary school?
Talk about that.
Maybe you have some memories from elementary school.
We see another kind of school in that sentence.
It is middle school.
But Carolyn, I've heard people refer to it as junior high school.
Is that also correct?
Yes. I think you can use both of them.
Both middle school and junior high school have about the same meaning.
It's between elementary school and high school, so some people call it middle
school.
It's in the middle.
That's right. It's right in the middle.
Well, we're continuing to learn about her experiences.
We find the biggest difference between elementary and middle school... OK.
So do you think that's complicated?
Well, do you think it's complicated?
Is that word complicated?
Actually, the word is "complicated." It's from our Word Bank.
If something is complicated, that means it's difficult to understand, maybe even
it's difficult to explain.
Yes. So it is not easy.
It's the opposite of easy if something is complicated.
And maybe you think that this schedule is complicated because you have to change
classes for each object.
Each class that you go to is in a different room, and you have to remember where
it is and which one you're supposed to go to next.
That's right.
It can be kind of complicated.
Maybe you have a complicated situation.
It's really hard to figure out a solution.
Well, the question is here - Do you think that's complicated?
And the answer is "Wrong!" Actually, I think the answer is maybe... maybe it's
complicated, but not compared to what comes next.
Carolyn, what comes next?
That's right.
The next part is very complicated.
We see that from Monday to Friday, the schedule also changes.
So math can be the first class on Monday, and then the second one on Tuesday.
So your schedule is not the same each day of the week.
Right. So that does sound a little bit complicated.
Maybe it might take some time getting used to your schedule.
Well, it can be different when you're going to a new school.
It can be kind of confusing.
I remember going to one school one semester where the first class started at
7:17 in the morning.
It seems like such an odd time to start a class.
But I remembered because it's such an odd number - 7:17.
I never forgot what time school started.
Well, that is a little bit strange for a starting time.
And we see that with this schedule, Pauline writes, "I'm still confused." So she
found this to be very difficult to understand if she was confused.
And that word is from our Word Bank.
If you are confused, what does that mean, Gabe?
Well, I... I'm confused.
I really don't know what to think about this.
Maybe I think something should be one way, but people are telling me it's
another way, so I'm confused.
So you don't really know or you don't understand what is going on.
And this schedule is very difficult, very complicated.
And I think it would be very easy to be confused if math class is the first day
on Monday, and the second day on Tuesday,
and then no math on Wednesday, and maybe Thursday is the fourth class.
Who knows? It sounds very confusing.
But the kids have no problem after the first week.
That's right.
Well, Carolyn, I like that you used the word "confusing." You can feel confused
about something.
A person is confused.
But maybe a situation is confusing.
I'm confused because the schedule is confusing.
So they're a slightly different.
Well, let's take some time with Michelle in the Language Lab right now.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.