节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-07
难易度:Medium
关键字:coupon, enthusiast, dynamic, shift, Dr. Seuss, mathematical constant,
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Welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And I'm Nathanael.
We want to thank you for joining us today.
We're going to be talking all about March today because after all, we are in the
month of March.
Well, there are many things to celebrate in March.
But what is one thing that comes to your mind when you think of March?
Nathanael?
Well, when I hear the word "March," I think of green.
And I guess that's because of St. Patrick's Day.
It's an Irish holiday that is celebrated in March.
All right. You think of green St. Patrick's Day.
OK. Carolyn, what do you think of when you think of March?
Well, sometimes I think of green, but March usually has a lot of snow in it in
my hometown.
And later in the month, it becomes green because the grass starts to grow, the
snow goes away, and spring comes.
So spring, you think of spring when you think of March.
I actually think of the verb "to march" when I think of this word.
When you're walking in a certain way, maybe with some other people also walking
that way, you are marching down the street.
Well, we're not going to be talking about that march today.
We're learning about the month of March and what makes it special.
Let's get started with our first reading of the day.
(Music).
March.
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
Happy World Book Day!
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, students again celebrate the first Thursday
of March as World Book Day.
On this day, students receive special coupons for free or discounted books from
some bookstores.
The United States celebrated the National Education Associations' Read Across
America Day on March 1 this year - the day before Dr. Seuss' birthday.
March is not just a month that celebrates the joy of reading, however.
In the U.S., March is celebrated as Women's History Month and American Red Cross
Month.
In addition, on the first Wednesday of March, mathematics - World Maths Day - is
celebrated.
For math enthusiasts, the mathematical constant Pi, 3.14159, also has a special
day on March 14.
(Music).
There are a lot of special days in March.
And when our skit started here at the top we see:
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
This is a phrase that a lot of people know because of the weather in March.
And that's something we will talk about later in this article, lion and lamb
weather.
But let's get started with the actual article.
Happy World Book Day!
Today is World Book Day.
But it is not celebrated everywhere.
Nathanael, where is World Book Day celebrated?
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, students again celebrate the first Thursday
of March as World Book Day.
So maybe this isn't an American holiday, maybe not an Asian holiday.
But especially in places like Europe, certain countries, it is a holiday that is
celebrated.
That's right.
And they celebrate World Book Day by doing what, Gabe?
Well, on this day, students receive special coupons for free or discounted books
from some bookstores.
I personally have never celebrated World Book Day before, but I do like free
things like coupons.
Let's take a look at that Word Bank word: coupon.
Some people also pronounce this word "coupon." I think either way is fine.
And a coupon is maybe a little slip of paper that tells you you can get a
discount on something.
But of course, nowadays you don't necessarily have to have a piece of paper for
a coupon.
You might have an online coupon as well.
Where else might you use this word, Carolyn?
Well, I know a lot of people like to save money by clipping coupons.
Maybe you get something in the mail or in your newspaper.
A lot of Sunday newspapers have coupons, and you cut them out, clip them.
And then you can take them to the store and save a little bit of money.
How else can you use this word, Nathanael?
Well, there are a few different kinds of coupons like discount coupons, but
there might also be "buy one, get one free" coupons.
That's a pretty common kind of coupon.
That's right.
Well, there are many different kinds of coupons.
Do you use coupons?
Continuing in the article, we see that the United States also celebrated
something.
They celebrated the National Education Associations' Read Across America Day on
March 1 this year - the day before Dr. Seuss' birthday.
That was a very long sentence with a lot of information.
But the United States also celebrates reading.
They celebrated Read Across America Day on March 1.
Gabe, have you ever celebrated this holiday?
You know, I have not celebrated Read Across America Day.
Even though I enjoy reading, I haven't quite celebrated this day yet.
There are so many days to celebrate throughout the year, I don't even know half
of them.
But I am excited about that other piece of information there, that Dr. Seuss'
birthday is March 2.
It's also in March, and I love Dr. Seuss.
You guys, what do you think of when you think of Dr. Seuss?
Are there any books that come to mind?
Well, my favorite Dr. Seuss book is The Lorax.
Not too long ago, there was a movie made of it.
But he has lots of great books, for kids especially.
That's right.
I think one of his most popular is "The Cat in the Hat," is a very popular one
as well as Green Eggs and Ham.
Well, I think that Steve and Ken have a little more information for us in the
Info Cloud.
Hi, friends.
If I ask you "what day is it today?" how should you respond?
You should say Thursday.
Notice, everyone, Ken did not ask: What's the date today?
That's right.
The day and the date are different.
The day is the day of the week, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.
The date is the particular day in a particular month.
So, what's the date today, Steve?
Today's date is the seventh of March, or March 7.
Notice, in English, we can say dates either before the month or after the month.
Also notice Steve did not say March seven, but March seventh.
"Seventh" is what we call an ordinal number.
An ordinal number refers to a certain position in a sequence of numbers.
So the number one position is first, the number two position is second, the
number three position is third and so on.
In writing, we can abbreviate ordinal numbers by writing the actual number and
adding two letters to it.
For example, the number "2" plus the letters "N-D" for second.
Or the number "3" plus the letters R and D for third; or the number "1" plus
"S-T" for first.
For all other ordinal numbers, just add "T-H," very simple.
Well today, seeing as it's the seventh, we would simply write the number "7"
followed by the letters T-H.
(Chinese).
Thanks, guys.
That is important to know.
Well, we've been talking a little bit about reading and the month of March.
And in the next paragraph we see March is not just a month that celebrates the
joy of reading, however.
What else is celebrated in March, Nathanael?
Well, in the U.S., March is celebrated as Women's History Month and American Red
Cross Month.
OK. The first of those holidays is pretty clear, Women's History Month.
But the Red Cross Month, you may not be familiar with that... with what that is.
Carolyn, can you tell us a little bit about that?
Well, the Red Cross takes a lot of blood donations.
I know they like to help other people and they take in blood donations.
And I, myself, have been a blood donor for the Red Cross.
Have you ever done that, Gabe?
I hate the thought of blood.
But yes, I have donated blood before to the Red Cross.
I sure hope it helped them because I don't like thinking about it too much.
OK. Well, then we won't make you think about it.
We'll see what else is celebrated in March.
In addition, on the first Wednesday of March, mathematics - World Maths Day - is
celebrated.
So not just reading or history or even the Red Cross, but also math is
celebrated on World Maths Day.
And we see an "S" on the word "math" there.
And that is because it is a worldwide holiday, and the international spelling
for "math" is with an S.
It is "maths." But in the U.S., it would just be World Math Day, with no S.
Continuing, Nathanael, how does it...?
For math enthusiasts, the mathematical constant Pi, 3.14159, also has a special
day on March 14.
I think the idea there is that March is the third month, so you have "3," and
"14," it's also the beginning of Pi.
That's an interesting holiday to have, I think.
Yes, I think so, too.
And we see it is for math enthusiasts.
And let's talk about that Word Bank word there: enthusiast.
If you are an enthusiast, then you are very excited about something.
Gabe, are you an enthusiast for anything?
Of course, Carolyn.
I'm a Studio Classroom enthusiast.
I'm enthusiastic about Studio Classroom.
This word also makes me think of a movie, Star Wars.
I know many people love that movie Star Wars.
And they will go to conventions and parades and big events dressed up like Star
Wars characters because they are Star Wars enthusiasts.
That's right.
Are you an enthusiast for anything, Nathanael?
Well, speaking of movies, I'm a movie enthusiast, an acting enthusiast, a drama
enthusiast.
I like all of those kinds of things.
Maybe Michelle will tell us what kind of enthusiast she is in the Language Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.