节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-21
难易度:Medium
关键字:transportation, engineering, canal, concrete, underneath, span, optical
illusion
Well, we're talking about bridges today, and not just any bridges, but amazing
bridges, bridges that are very unique.
Of course, bridges are often beautiful, and many people go to see them.
But they might also have an amazing and useful design, amazing designs like the
Magdeburg Water Bridge, which looks like an optical illusion is one example.
But there are more to come in the rest of today's reading.
Let's go there now.
(Music).
Amazing Bridges.
As strange as it sounds, the bridge connects two canals and allows their water
to pass over the Elbe River.
The bridge works like a "concrete bathtub" and helps boats avoid a long and
difficult journey down the river.
Another showcase of bridge design is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in England.
The bridge is made of two steel arches that tip up to allow boats to pass
underneath.
Each time this self-cleaning bridge tips up, trash rolls along the bridge and
into traps at either end.
We are learning about some very interesting bridges today.
And going back to the Magdeburg Bridge in Germany, we see:
As strange as it sounds, the bridge connects two canals and allows their water
to pass over the Elbe River.
So this bridge is going over a river, but the bridge is also for water.
It connects two canals.
And we see at the beginning of the sentence "as strange as it sounds." And this
is an extra phrase we want to talk about because it's quite useful.
Nathanael, how might you use this phrase, "as strange as it sounds"?
Well, of course you use it when you're saying something that uh, someone you're
talking to may not expect.
As strange as it sounds, I think I learn the most from bad experiences.
So that could be a little bit surprising and might sound a little bit strange
for the person you're talking to.
What about you, Gabe?
Yeah, actually, that one's a little more strange, or stranger.
I... as strange as it sounds, I grew up in Taiwan.
You look at me, and I don't look Taiwanese.
But as strange as it sounds, I did.
I grew up here.
Well, there are different ways you could use that phrase, "as strange as it
sounds." So use it today when you are talking with somebody.
That's right.
And as strange as it sounds, we need to get back to our reading.
Actually, that is not a strange phrase; that is true.
And we also see another word in this sentence.
It is a Word Bank word for today, canals.
And a canal is a waterway.
Gabe, can you tell us a little bit about a canal?
Yeah. Well, it's a little different.
It's kind of a waterway that is made by people, so it's not natural.
Canal is a manmade waterway.
Sometimes I think of sewage canals that allows sewage to pass through somewhere.
That's not very pleasant.
There are better, more pleasant canals in the world.
That's right.
And Nathanael, could you tell us maybe what some canals are used for?
Well, there're some very famous canals.
And one of the first ones that I think of is the Panama Canal,
which allows ships to go across or through South America around Panama rather
than having to go all the way south around the whole continent.
That's right.
So canals are usually made by people who want to be able to get from one point
to another quicker.
So they make a new river called a canal.
It can also be used for watering crops.
They need more water, so they make a canal.
Well, continuing on we see that the bridge works like a "concrete bathtub" and
helps boats avoid a long and difficult journey down the river.
So it sounds like this river is not very easy for boats to travel on, so they
made a canal that goes over the river instead.
And we see another key word from our Word Bank here in this sentence: concrete.
And concrete is a building material.
What can you tell us about concrete, Nathanael?
Well, concrete has some different things inside of it.
Usually there are some pieces of stone or maybe other hard things like that, um,
like pebbles or gravel.
But also it has cement, which is like a powder that comes from a rock.
And when you mix it all together and it dries, it's very hard.
That's right.
So what are some things that might be made of concrete, Gabe?
Well, a lot of houses or apartments now are made with concrete.
They're made of concrete as opposed to wood or something else.
You can also use this word in another way to talk about something that is easy
to understand as opposed to abstract.
So we have given you some concrete examples of how to use this word.
You can understand that a house is made with concrete.
That's a concrete example of how to use this word.
That's right.
But we don't usually see "concrete bathtubs," so it is in quotation marks.
Well, continuing on we see:
Another showcase of bridge design is the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in England.
Now Nathanael, can you tell us a little about this bridge, and why it is a
showcase?
Well, a showcase is like some kind of amazing example or demonstration of
something.
So here we're talking about a showcase in this bridge.
And the bridge is described in the next sentence:
The bridge is made of two steel arches that tip up to allow boats to pass
underneath.
I recommend that you go to YouTube, type in the name of this bridge and see it
for yourself.
It is very interesting.
But I think that there's an important word that we need to talk about here.
What is that word, Gabe?
The word is "underneath." That's right.
It's from our Word Bank.
And if you talk about something underneath, that means it is under.
So I think about maybe um, lifting up rocks and seeing the insects or
cockroaches running around underneath.
How else could you use that word, Carolyn?
Well, if we're walking along and I see something on the sidewalk, but then you
step on it.
I might say: Oh, what is underneath your foot? Is that money?
I think... I think you stepped on some money, Gabe.
Nice. What is underneath my foot?
That would be nice to have money underneath my shoe.
How else could you use that word, Nathanael?
Well, you might talk or ask what's underneath the table.
Is the dog underneath the table?
Are you feeding the dog underneath the table?
Something like that.
All right. Well, we have one more thing to look at here.
Each time this self-cleaning bridge tips up, trash rolls along the bridge and
into traps at either end.
So it's a self-cleaning bridge.
It cleans itself.
That's one of its functions.
Right now it's time for us to continue learning something with Michelle in the
Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
OK. Let's get ready to learn more from our teachers.
All of this talk about interesting bridges reminds me of a bridge that I've been
on that was covered in fog every time we went across it.
And it was in West Virginia and very scary.
And I wonder have you guys been on a bridge that was kind of scary?
We always call this one "the ghost bridge." Nathanael, have you been on a scary
bridge?
Well, last summer I was acting in a movie.
And I had to run across a small kind of bouncy, shaky bridge while holding a
real metal sword in my hand, and it was quite high.
So I was a little nervous when I did that.
It was kind of fun, but maybe a little nervous, too.
That does sound a little bit scary to run across a bridge with a sword.
Uh, Gabe, have you had an experience like that?
Well, I just remember being scared reading the story the Three Billy Goats Gruff
as a young child because these three goats had to go across a bridge.
The bridge wasn't scary, but what was underneath was very scary.
It was a scary story.
It can be a scary story, but you don't need to be afraid of bridges.
And we're going to talk about them some more.
So we'll see you here again on Studio Classroom.
Goodbye.