节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-05-27
难易度:Low
关键字:acceptable, factor, reform, criticize, slacks, staple
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
And I'm Carolyn.
And thank you for joining us today.
I hope you find this article interesting today.
Our lesson is called The History of Women's Trousers.
Well, we do talk about many things here at Studio Classroom.
And now we will be talking about the history of women's trousers, or pants.
Well, this just makes me wonder if you are a woman, if you're a woman, do you
wear pants more often or... or skirts or something else.
Carolyn, do you prefer pants over skirts?
Or what do you think?
Well, most of the time I do wear pants.
I don't know if you've noticed, Gabe, but when I come to work, I usually have on
a pair of pants.
But there are times like when I go to church that I prefer to wear a skirt or a
dress because I want to look especially nice.
All right. So I guess it depends on the occasion.
Well, how do you feel about this?
And maybe you could talk about this a little bit or think about it as we get
started with our lesson today - The History of Women's Trousers.
Open up your magazine and let's begin.
The History of Women's Trousers.
Women and pants have had an interesting history.
On May 28, 1923, the top lawyer in the U.S. said women could wear slacks.
Up until that time it was not acceptable for American women to wear pants.
Even with this change, however, people still considered women in trousers a
shocking idea.
Today, though, times have changed, and pants are a staple in most women's
closets.
What are some factors that made this item of clothing acceptable?
That is a very interesting question.
Well, let's go back to the very beginning here.
Women and pants have had an interesting history.
And we are learning a little bit about this.
So what's our first sentence here, Carolyn?
Well, we see on May 28, 1923, the top lawyer in the U.S. said women could wear
slacks.
All right.
Women could now wear slacks.
Of course nowadays you see lots of women wearing pants, slacks or trousers.
But in 1923, this was something new.
All right.
Well, what does that word "slacks" mean, Carolyn?
Well, slacks are just another word for pants.
And usually when I think of slacks, they're very relaxed kind of pants, very
comfortable and usually look very nice.
All right.
So these are three different words so far that we can use to talk about
something you wear over your legs: trousers, pants and slacks.
Well, we continue.
Up until that time it was not acceptable for American women to wear pants.
So up until 1923, it wasn't acceptable.
Well, what does that word mean?
It's from our Word Bank.
Carolyn, can you tell us about that word?
Well, if something is acceptable, then it is OK.
Lots of people agree that this is something that you should or can do.
But we see that it was not acceptable for women to wear pants or trousers until
1923.
So most people didn't agree with this idea.
What other ways can you use this word "acceptable," Gabe?
Well, I remember hearing this phrase from my teacher when I was in school:
Gabe, I don't like the way you're talking to me.
Your tone of voice is not acceptable.
My teacher didn't like the way that I was speaking.
She also sometimes said it's unacceptable to do something.
When you add the word "U-N," that means not acceptable, unacceptable.
Well, it is now acceptable for women to wear pants.
But we see that even with this change, however, people still considered women in
trousers a shocking idea.
All right.
So even though there is this change, even though the top lawyer said it's OK,
people still thought it was a shocking idea.
It was surprising.
People didn't expect it, really.
Let's learn a little bit more about this sentence with Liz in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In today's article we read:
Even with the new law, however, people still considered women in trousers a
shocking idea.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the sentence pattern.
Sometimes people just won't change their minds about something.
No matter what the situation may be, some people still hold on to their
opinions.
If you ever want to talk about such people and their unchanging views about
something, then consider using this sentence pattern:
Even with [a certain situation], however, people still consider [something 1] a
[something 2].
For example:
Even with his experience, however, people still considered the politician an
unlikely candidate for the next election.
Or: Even with all that Cinderella has done for her family, her step-mother still
considers her a lazy worker.
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.
See you next time.
Thanks, Liz.
Well, in that last sentence we read that people still considered women in
trousers a shocking idea.
Now a shocking idea is something that's very surprising.
How else could you use this, Gabe?
Oh, shocking idea.
Well, women in trousers is not the first thing in history and not the last to
shock society.
Some things are considered shocking today.
Some people want to have rights, and they fight for these rights.
And maybe they get their rights, but it's a shocking idea to society.
That's right.
So there are many things that are shocking.
And here in the early 1900s, it was very shocking that women would be able to
wear pants instead of a skirt or a long dress.
But continuing in the article:
Today, though, times have changed, and pants are a staple in most women's
closets.
Interesting.
I thought a staple was what you use to put some pieces of paper together.
Carolyn, what's this word here?
Well, this is a special word, this word "staple." And it just means something
that is very basic and common, and you probably have this as part of your life.
So a staple in your closet is something that you wear pretty much every day.
But you can have staples in other areas of your life as well.
That's right.
Usually I think of food when I think of the word "staple." So what it is a
staple in your... in your kitchen?
Maybe some people eat a lot of rice every day.
That's a staple.
You need it.
When you think about food, you think about that kind of food.
So that is a staple.
In some countries, when I went to Romania, potatoes were a staple.
Everyone always ate potatoes.
It was very common.
Well, so we have these staples.
Pants are a staple in my closet for sure.
Well, what are some factors that made this item of clothing acceptable?
What are some reasons that women are now able to have pants in their closets?
That's a good question.
And we're also going to take a look at this word.
It is "factor." It's from our Word Bank.
A factor in something is a reason or some way that contributes to the way things
are now.
So a factor... maybe you need to make a decision about something, you need to
think about the factors before you can make that decision.
That's right.
And here it could be something that happened.
And one of the factors, I'm sure, that made clothing acceptable...
or this piece of clothing acceptable was that the top lawyer in the U.S. said
that women are allowed to wear slacks.
It's OK.
And if he's the top lawyer, then he has a lot of power in saying what is and
isn't OK.
That's right.
Leadership usually does play a part.
It is a factor.
You could also use this word as a verb.
This factors in to this decision.
When you factor something in, that means you take it into consideration.
Well, it's time for us to join Michelle in the Language Lab right now.
And we're going to learn more about women and their history with trousers.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.