节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-28
难易度:High
关键字:strain, prop something up, ironic, indicator, ergonomic
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And I'm Nathanael.
And you are here for the second day of our lesson about The Downside of Staying
Connected.
Today we're going to be talking about different ways to prevent Text Neck.
That was a term that was coined by Dean Fishman when he realized that people
kept complaining to him about neck and shoulder pain.
Well, maybe you have a job at an office and you sit at a desk all day long.
What are some ways that you can relieve the pain in your neck and shoulders?
Carolyn?
Well, a lot of times when I'm sitting at my desk, and I feel, oh, my shoulders
are getting a little bit tight,
I try to do some shoulder stretches by reaching my arms across each other,
pulling them back a little bit.
There are a lot of different exercises you can do at your desk.
All right.
What could you do, Nathanael?
What things come to mind?
Well, I've noticed some people at the office that actually sit on exercise balls
when working at their desk.
And maybe that helps, too.
All right.
Maybe you could get up every hour and walk around, do some stretches, different
ways to prevent your neck and shoulders from getting too sore.
Well, we're going to be talking about ways to prevent Text Neck in the first
part of our reading.
Let's do that now.
The Downside of Staying Connected.
Ways to prevent Text Neck.
In order to avoid or reduce the possibility of getting Text Neck, use the
following basic ergonomic principles:
Avoid awkward positioning.
Don't strain your neck, and stay aware of how your body is positioned in
relation to the device.
Take frequent breaks when using any kind of mobile device.
Many doctors recommend that users change their position every 15 minutes.
When using a tablet, use a case that can prop up the device at a comfortable
viewing angle.
Well, we do want to try to avoid Text Neck and being in pain.
And we see at the beginning of our article:
In order to avoid or reduce the possibility of getting Text Neck, use the
following basic ergonomic principles.
And at the beginning of that sentence, there's a little phrase "in order to do
something." And we want to talk about that today.
"In order to avoid" or "in order to do something else," what does that mean,
Gabe?
Well, that means... in order to... if you are going to do something in order to,
you say "so that you can do something." So for example,
I might say in order to give a good presentation, you need to prepare well.
Or in order to avoid the lunch crowd or the waiting line at that restaurant, I
left the office early for lunch.
In order to avoid that crowd.
How else could you use this phrase, Nathanael?
Well, what do you do in order to stay in shape?
Maybe you run or you swim or you lift weights.
What do you do so that you can stay in shape, in order to stay in shape?
That's right.
Well, in order to learn English, you should practice every day, at least ten
minutes, to keep your skills sharp.
Well, we'll continue on.
We see this word "ergonomic." Ergonomic just means something that is
comfortable,
something that is made specifically for your comfort so that you are not in an
odd position.
Now to avoid awkward positioning, what can we do, Nathanael?
The sentence tells us:
Don't strain your neck, and stay aware of how your body is positioned in
relation to the device.
This word "strain" is important for this topic, really, in general.
We want to talk about it today because it is a key word - the word "strain."
Strain.
It can be used in a few different ways.
What exactly does it mean, Gabe?
Well, when you strain something, you kind of pull it or do something in an
uncomfortable way.
I often think about straining muscles.
If you're not careful when you are exercising or playing sports, you might
strain a muscle.
It'll make you feel a little bit uncomfortable.
It's not good to strain your muscles.
That's right.
You could also strain your brain.
If you are thinking too hard, you might say: Oh, this is putting too much stress
on my brain.
It feels very strained.
But you can also strain relationships.
If you have a fight with someone, that can put stress on your relationship.
And it feels strained or pulled apart.
Well, how do we continue, Nathanael?
I think there's a phrase we should talk about.
Yes, there is another phrase that we do want to talk about in this sentence.
It is "in relation to." In this sentence it's talking about the body in relation
to your mobile device or to the device that you're using like a cellphone.
So how are they related?
"Especially in terms of positioning" as used in this sentence.
What are other ways that we could use this phrase, Carolyn?
Well, a lot of times I do think of it as a position in relation to something
else.
So you might say: Oh. Well, where is your house in relation to the post office?
Can I get there easily from the post office?
That's right.
Or like where is the mall in relation to the river?
Is it east, north, south or west?
Where is it in relation to this other place?
That's right.
Well, we continue on and we see some more advice.
Take frequent breaks when using any kind of mobile device.
Many doctors recommend that users change their position every 15 minutes.
So that's pretty often.
You don't want to stay in the same position for a long time.
Now how do we continue, Gabe?
Well, when using a tablet, use a case that can prop up the device at a
comfortable viewing angle.
Let's take a look at those words from the Word Bank: prop up.
When you prop something up, or when something is propped up, that means you put
it in a position that you can see it better.
It's propped up; not flat, propped up.
How might you use that phrase, Nathanael?
If you prop something up, you're probably giving it something to lean on.
And I realize that when I read at home, I often lay down and prop my head up
with a pillow.
I don't know if it's the best position to read, but that's how I often do it.
That's true.
You can prop yourself up with a pillow, which is kind of what I was thinking.
But you can also support someone - you can prop your friend up by encouraging
them to succeed.
You can prop a person up as well as a thing.
Well, now it is time for us to spend some time with Michelle in the Language
Lab.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.