节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-06
难易度:Low
关键字:slave, ivory, magical, entryway, palace, ornate, Kingdom of Oman
Today we've been learning about Stone Town and some of its very interesting
history.
We found out that it used to be a trading port for slaves and ivory, but now
those things are illegal.
So it is no longer done.
Well, there's a lot more to learn about Stone Town and its rich history in the
next part of our article today.
Let's get started.
(Music).
Zanzibar.
Stone Town is a magical place for picture taking.
Old doors with ornate designs still mark the entryways to all of the houses.
The narrow streets are filled with shops selling paintings, jewelry, spices,
etc.
I also visited a museum in Stone Town that used to be the royal palace.
I learned how Zanzibar had been influenced by the Kingdom of Oman until the
1960s.
That is why the people look like they are from North Africa.
Zanzibar - a magical place with friendly people, good food, and fun activities.
I'm very glad that I went!
(Music).
Talking all about Stone Town here, and the first sentence says:
Stone Town is a magical place for picture taking.
Let's take a look at that Word Bank word.
It is "magical." If something is magical, that means it seems like it could be
done by magic.
It seems unnatural.
It seems really unique.
It is magical.
Of course, it gives you a wonderful feeling.
Carolyn, how might you use that word?
Well, if you have a really wonderful experience, maybe you go out with your
friends, and it's just a wonderful night.
You can't believe that it happened, you could say that night was magical.
A magical night, or a magical time.
How would you use that word, Nathanael?
Well, you know the last hour or so before sunset,
some people call the magic hour because it looks magical the way that the light
shines on everything as the sun is going down.
That's right.
Or maybe I think of cartoons or movies that are done with special effects, I
might say it's a magical film.
It left us which that kind of magical feeling.
Well, we have a phrase in that sentence there: a magical place for something.
Stone Town is a magical place for picture taking.
You can use an adjective and talk about something else.
It's a wonderful place for a picnic.
If you're looking for a place to have a picnic, that's a wonderful place for a
picnic.
How could you use that phrase, Nathanael?
Well, a simple example is that Zanzibar seems like a great place for a vacation.
There are all kinds of adjectives that you could use in this phrase.
What's another one, Carolyn?
Well, my hometown is the perfect place to go hiking.
If you enjoy hiking, it is the perfect place for it.
All right, the perfect place for hiking.
Of course, Stone Town is a magical place for picture taking.
And I think we have a little video we're going to enjoy right now.
(Music).
Well, very interesting.
Anyway, continuing with the story.
We find out more about Stone Town.
Old doors with ornate designs still mark the entryways to all of the houses.
Let's talk about some words from that sentence here.
We have one that is "ornate." Old doors with ornate designs.
Carolyn, what does this word mean, "ornate"?
Well, if something is ornate, it means that there is a lot of detail and it has
a very beautiful decoration.
So you might have an ornate carving, a wooden carving that you can hang, or an
ornate carving on your bed.
Many people in the U.S. have carved wooden beds that are very ornate.
OK, ornate carving, ornate design.
Nathanael, this kind of makes me think of another word, a noun form that maybe
you might put on your Christmas tree, what is that called?
Yes. I think you're talking about ornaments.
You would put ornaments on a tree.
And yes, you do hear that word there.
Ornate and ornament, they are connected in that way.
All right. So you might have an ornate ornament.
Well anyway, continuing, we do have another word here in this sentence.
It is from our Word Bank: entryway.
And if you put... if you split that word up, you might actually be able to
figure this word out.
When you enter somewhere, that is the entry.
And then the way, that's the path or the method.
So an entryway is how you get in, and maybe how you get out as well.
Carolyn, where might you use this word?
Well, an entryway is another word for a door or an entrance.
And you really shouldn't block the entryway because people need to get through.
How else might you use this word, Nathanael?
I know sometimes when I go on my lunch break, I'm looking for a place to go to
lunch, I think: Oh, this play sounds good.
But then I see that the entryway is very crowded.
And I decide I'm not going to go to that restaurant today.
All right.
Those are very good ways to use this word.
I also do think of entryways that maybe have a lot of people crowding around.
Do not block the entryway, as Carolyn said.
Well, we have something else to learn here with Liz today in the Grammar Gym.
Hello, friends.
How are you today?
My name is Liz, and thanks for joining me here at the Grammar Gym.
Now in today's article we read: Old doors with ornate desings still mark the
entryways to all of the houses.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the verb, mark.
Normally when we use "mark" as a verb, we're talking about putting a spot or
line on something.
For example, I marked my paper cup with an X.
But in the case of today's sentence, "mark" means to characterize.
So today's sentence just means these old doors have these ornate designs that
make them very noticeable.
Using "mark" like this is most often in formal situations.
For example: A huge painting marks the wall in the lobby of the museum.
Or: An old fountain marks the center of the village square.
And if you'd like to see some more example sentences, they're available in
today's Grammar Tip section in your magazine.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym, saying goodbye.
See you next time.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, we continue.
The narrow streets are filled with shops selling paintings, jewelry, spices,
etc.
There are many things that people are selling in these streets.
I've been to places like this before and bought some paintings.
Do you ever buy things like this, Carolyn?
Well, sometimes when I travel, I like to get something that's very unique to the
place I visit, maybe some handmade jewelry or a painting.
I've bought several things like that in the past.
All right.
Well, I think that Steve and Ken have a little bit they want to share about that
word "jewelry" in the Information Cloud.
Our lesson today mentions that in Stone Town, you'll find narrow streets filled
with shops selling paintings, jewelry, spices and other things.
Now Ken, let's talk about "jewelry" today because I think it's easy to confuse
jewelry with jewels.
Good idea, Steve.
OK. Jewelry is something like a necklace, a ring, an earring or a bracelet.
It's often made of silver or gold and has jewels or gems on it.
So a jewel, like you said, Ken, is a gem or a precious stone like a diamond, a
ruby or an emerald.
They are very costly.
A jewel can also be a semi-precious stone like an amethyst, which is purple, or
an opal which is cream-colored.
These are also expensive, but not as costly as the precious stones you
mentioned.
So to distinguish the two, we can say a piece of jewelry may have a jewel on it.
That's a good way to remember it.
And when gold or silver has a jewel or several jewels on it, we call that the
setting.
So an engagement ring often has a diamond on it.
The way the diamond is placed on the ring is called the setting.
And we wear jewelry like we wear clothes.
Right.
That's the word you can use when you want to put on jewelry.
(Chinese).
Thank you, gentlemen.
Well, continuing on with Ian's story, he says:
I also visited a museum in Stone Town that used to be the royal palace.
Let's take a look at that Word Bank word there.
It is: palace.
And this is usually where royalty lives, a palace.
Nathanael, how else might you use that word?
Well, it is important to know that the people that live in the palace probably
are the leaders of a country or at least an area.
If you know people that live in a very big house, you probably would not call it
a palace, you might call it a mansion, M-A-N-S-I-O-N.
All right.
That's good to know the difference between a palace and a mansion.
But Carolyn, how else would you use that word "palace"?
Well, many times when I think of the word "palace," I think of fairy tales or
stories that I read where they talk about beautiful palaces or castles that the
king or queen lives in.
Well, that's what I think of too what I think of palaces.
And it would be really cool to visit Stone Town and visit this museum because
it's a museum that everyone can go and visit.
But it used to be a royal palace.
We continue.
I learned how Zanzibar had been influenced by the Kingdom of Oman until the
1960s.
The Kingdom of Oman.
Did either you know about the Kingdom of Oman?
Well, I don't know a lot about Oman, but there is another country in Africa
called Oman.
So we know that some people from Oman did live in Zanzibar.
And other people were also in control of Zanzibar at other times like the
British and the German.
All right.
Well, if you do want to find out about more about how the Kingdom of Oman
influences Zanzibar, you could look online for that information.
But we're going to continue Ian's story.
He says that is why the people look like they are from North Africa because they
were influenced from the outside.
Well, Carolyn, how does our story continue?
It says: Zanzibar - a magical place with friendly people, good food and fun
activities.
So it sounds like a really great place to go.
And we see Ian says: I am very glad that I went!
So we are also very glad that you went, Ian.
And now we would like to spend some time with Michelle in the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And now back to our lesson.
Well, we've had a fun time learning all about Ian's experiences in Zanzibar.
Of course, we learned a little bit about the fun activities you can do there as
well as the history.
And this makes me wonder, which of the activities or which of the things about
Zanzibar did you enjoy the most?
Which one would you be interested in doing?
Carolyn?
Well, I would really like to go to one of the spice farms in Zanzibar because I
really like to bake and cook and try out new spices.
My uncle brought back delicious vanilla from Mexico, and I would like to get
some fresh spices of my own.
What about you, Nathanael?
Well, I would love to give kite surfing a try.
But because I think I could do that other places as well, I would definitely
like to see historical Stone Town.
All right.
It does sound very magical.
I also think it would be magical to swim with dolphins.
Not every beach offers that activity.
Well, thank you for joining us for this wonderful lesson about Zanzibar.
Of course we have more to learn at Studio Classroom next time.
We'll see you then.
Goodbye.