节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-04-05
难易度:High
关键字:pitcher, emphatic, debut, durability, lefty, mound, postseason
Today we are learning all about none other than Chen Wei-Yin, a pitcher for the
Baltimore Orioles.
We found out that he was born into a traditional Taiwanese family as a lefty.
And so when he pitches in baseball, he uses his left hand.
He also uses it for many other things.
And we have a lot more to learn about this player's track record in the next
part of our reading.
So let's do that now.
Orioles Pitcher Chen Wei-Yin.
In 2012, during his first season pitching for the American League of MLB, he
started 32 games and pitched 192 2/3 innings.
And on October 8, 2012, he became the first Taiwanese pitcher to claim victory
in MLB postseason debut.
But what's with those numbers?
They're just statistics, right?
Wrong.
They testify to one trait of this made-in-Taiwan Orioles pitcher - durability.
Not many pitchers can pitch game after game like he does without breaking down!
Well, let's go back to continue looking at Chen Wei-Yin's track record.
Our first sentence in this section is:
In 2012, during his first season pitching for the American League of MLB, he
started 32 games and pitched 192 2/3 innings.
That is very impressive.
So he started 32 games.
That just means that he was the first pitcher helping to pitch for his team.
Of course, the other team also had a pitcher.
But he started pitching for his team.
That's right.
And continuing in the article we see: An... And on October 8, 2012, he became
the first Taiwanese pitcher to claim victory in an MLB postseason debut.
So it sounds like he is being very successful in his career as a pitcher in the
United States.
That's right, because on October 8, he became the first Taiwanese pitcher to
claim victory.
When you claim victory in something, that means it's yours.
You can claim it.
You can say it is yours.
And of course, victory is the opposite of defeat.
You have victory, you win.
So he claimed victory in an MLB postseason debut.
Let's take a look at that word "debut." Carolyn, what is a debut?
Well, if you have a debut, then it is the first time that you appear, usually
publicly, to perform something.
So here, he has his debut as a pitcher.
He is performing as a pitcher.
But you might also say the actress had her theatrical debut, her first
appearance on stage, when she was only 7 years old.
And that's usually how I think of this word, some kind of a performance.
So you might talk about someone's acting debut or their TV debut, the first time
they came on TV.
Of course by now you know that this word is pronounced debut.
So don't say that "T" at the end.
D-E-B-U-T is debut.
And we're talking about Chen Wei-Yin's postseason debut.
So the postseason is a part of the baseball season.
There are two major seasons.
One is the regular season.
And there are 162 games played in the regular season.
And then if you win or do really well, you go to the postseason.
And only certain teams play in the postseason.
That's right.
And continuing in our article we see: But what's with those numbers?
Talking about these numbers, they're a little bit strange using fractions.
And we see this great phrase, "what's with" those numbers.
And Liz has some more to tell us about that in the Grammar Gym.
Hi there, friends.
Thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In our PROFILE article this month, we see this sentence:
But what's with those numbers?
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the idiom: what's with.
It's a very casual way of asking why something is there or why something is the
way it is.
In the case of today's sentence, the writer is asking about what's so special
about those numbers.
So use this idiom when you want someone to explain something to you.
For example, let's say you see your roommate suddenly bringing in lots of boxes,
and you can ask her:
What's with these boxes?
Or let's say your friend is suddenly all dressed up in a fancy outfit, so you
can ask:
What's with that nice outfit today?
So friends, give this idiom a try next time when you would like someone to
explain something to you.
And be sure to check out today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
I'll see you next time.
We're talking about Chen Wei-Yin's track record.
And what is with those numbers?
We see in our article:
They're just statistics, right?
Wrong!
What are they, Gabe?
Well, they testify to one trait of this made-in-Taiwan Orioles pitcher -
durability.
So earlier we did see a number of... numbers we talked about him pitching 192
2/3 innings.
He had a 1.54 ERA.
These are numbers.
They are also statistics about a certain sports player.
But they're not just numbers; they testify to something.
And what does it mean to testify to something, Carolyn?
Well, if you testify to something, then you say that it is true.
You prove that something is real or true.
And it proves that he is durable.
We see this word "durability." Let's talk about that word for a little bit.
Durability means that you can withstand something that is very difficult.
You are strong and durable.
OK. So Carolyn just used this word in kind of a different way.
As an adjective, it is durable.
D-U-R-A-B-L-E.
You saw that word at the beginning because durable is Chen's middle name.
But here, durability.
It's the noun.
So Chen Wei-Yin has durability.
And another way that I might use this word is to talk about something else that
can last for a long time.
I might say that tree's branches have durability.
Many people can play on the branches for a long time, and the branches won't
break.
It has durability.
That's right.
So this is a great word to know.
And we know that durable is Chen's middle name.
And Steve and Ken told us about that phrase earlier.
Well, continuing with our last sentence here.
Not many pitchers can pitch game after game like he does without breaking down.
So game after game.
He pitches one game and then the next game and then the next game,
and he is still able to withstand all of the pressure and the strain that
pitching puts on his body.
That's right.
That's kind of a fun phrase: something after something.
So game after game, one game after another game after another.
I could also say time after time he does a great job.
Carolyn, what does it mean to break down?
Well, if you break down, then you're feeling weak.
You can't continue on.
And so here in baseball, it's a lot of strain on your body.
It's very physically difficult.
And it is very easy for you to break down.
Your arm gets very tired if you're pitching balls at 80 miles an hour.
That's right.
You might remember learning a phrase from our baseball lesson: a nervous
breakdown.
And sometimes if you have a lot of pressure, you might have a nervous breakdown.
You might break down or become weak.
Well, it's time for us to continue learning something with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And now it's time to go back to the teachers.
Well, from today's lesson we know that Chen Wei-Yin is a durable pitcher.
And durable is a good word.
You want this word to describe you in some ways.
It's good to be durable.
Now how does this word describe you?
Carolyn, does it describe you in any way?
Well, I do have a lot going on.
I stay very, very busy.
And I'm very active in my church.
So between work and church, I'm a very busy person.
And it takes a lot of energy.
So I have to be very durable and not wear out too quickly.
All right. That's a very good point.
For me, I used to be a runner on a track team.
We're cross-country team.
And I never liked doing the fast races, the sprints.
I prefer to do the longer ones.
And I was more durable in that way.
I couldn't run very fast, but I can last for a long time.
So I was durable in that way.
Well, answer this question for yourself.
How are you durable?
Thank you for joining us today.
And we'll see you next time to continue learning about Chen Wei-Yin.
See you later.
See you.