节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-03-29
难易度:Medium
关键字:disguise, surroundings, impart, beneficial, cuttlefish, chameleon
We're learning all about the cuttlefish today.
And of course, we're seeing how we can learn from the cuttlefish as well.
This is a fish that can change colors right before your eyes, and maybe even
change textures.
It is the master of disguise in the sea.
And of course, it can match its surroundings very well anytime it wants to.
We have a lot more to learn about how this works.
It's very amazing.
So let's get started with the second reading for today.
(Music).
Lessons from the Cuttlefish.
A cuttlefish can change color in less than a second after its brain imparts a
signal to these cells.
In fact, a cuttlefish can change color several times in just a few seconds.
For years scientists have tried to figure out this complex system and how it
could be beneficial to people.
Now they are taking a cue from this "chameleon of the sea" in an effort to
develop "smart clothing.".
Well, I've heard of a smartphone before but not smart clothing.
It's kind of a strange idea, but maybe it would be useful, too.
OK. This section starts by saying:
A cuttlefish can change color in less than a second after its brain imparts a
signal to these cells.
Now there's a great word that we want to talk about in the sentence that we
don't actually always use that much,
but it is a good one to know, "impart," a Word Bank word.
You might read this in a textbook sometime, so it is useful to know this word.
To impart something kind of means to send something or it could mean to give
something, especially in terms of communication.
What's a way that we could use this word, Carolyn?
Well, a lot of times I think about imparting advice to someone.
You might impart advice so that they know something that they should do.
It's... it's a good idea.
Let me give you some advice; impart.
That's right.
So this word can be used to talk about things you can feel like a gift,
imparting a gift to somebody.
Or you can impart advice.
You can impart wisdom to somebody.
Impart understanding or impart knowledge to somebody.
You're giving it away to that person, kind of in a way like a gift as Nathanael
was saying.
That's right.
And with technology today, we can easily impart messages across the world.
In this sentence, the brain is imparting a signal to these cells that can cause
a color to change inside the cuttlefish.
Pretty interesting.
OK, continuing on.
In fact, a cuttlefish can change color several times in just a few seconds.
A cuttlefish can change colors in just a few seconds.
That is very impressive and very interesting.
Are there other animals that can change colors?
Actually, yeah. There are other animals that can change colors.
Later on we read that the cuttlefish is compared to a chameleon.
And as you can see on page 50, there is a picture of a chameleon there.
A chameleon can also change colors to match its surroundings.
I think there are other animals like this.
Um, does the seadragon do this as well, Carolyn?
Well, the seadragon doesn't really change colors.
It's already many different colors to match its environment.
So if it lives in an area with a lot of seaweed, then the seadragons there are
the same colors as the seaweed in the area.
OK, very good.
The next sentence says:
For years scientists have tried to figure out this complex system and how it
could be beneficial to people.
And in this sentence we want to talk about the word "beneficial." Beneficial.
Have you heard this word before?
It's a very useful word; and it's a World Bank word today.
You might have heard the word "benefit." That can be a noun.
"Beneficial" is an adjective.
What exactly does this mean, Carolyn?
Well, if something is beneficial, then it is helpful.
It is good for you to have this thing.
And something that I think is very beneficial is learning a second language
because you are able to communicate with even more people,
and express your ideas in new and different ways.
It is very beneficial to learn a second language.
And that's why we hope that it's beneficial for you to be watching Studio
Classroom, or learning with Studio Classroom.
We want it to be... beneficial.
I also think about maybe someone who imparts wisdom or advice to you.
That can be very beneficial.
You could say I had a beneficial conversation.
It really helped me.
And there's a famous piece of advice from the Bible that basically says you can
do what you want, but not everything is beneficial.
Not everything is going to do you good.
OK, moving on again.
What does the next sentence say, Carolyn?
It says: Now they are taking a cue from this chameleon of the sea in an effort
to develop smart clothing.
Interesting, right?
Smart clothing?
Kind of a new idea to me.
In this sentence we want to talk about a particular phrase that you may not be
familiar with: to take a cue from something.
Taking a cue from something.
When I hear the word "cue," I usually think of theater, in which you might hear
someone say a line,
and that might be a note or a little indication to you that you should go on
stage or that it's your turn to speak.
It tells you what you should do next because you know what came before.
It's a cue.
So how can we use this phrase, to take a cue from something or from somewhere,
Gabe?
Well, it's important to eat healthfully, right?
So maybe you can take a cue from Popeye and eat your vegetables.
Of course, Popeye is known for eating spinach, and it makes him really strong.
Take a cue from him and eat healthfully.
What about you, Carolyn?
Well, I think that we take cues from lots of people that we meet.
We can take cues from our parents.
We can learn from them.
But also, even when we are sitting here, we might point to one another.
And that is a cue that someone else is going to speak.
So here is a cue, Nathanael.
Right.
And we would call these things between people "social cues." That's a term that
we might talk about pretty often.
OK.
And now we want to hear something interesting from Steve and Ken in the Info
Cloud.
After that, we're going to see what Michelle has to say today in the Language
Lab.
When humans look to nature to solve a problem or improve upon existing
technology, we call it biomimicry.
OK. The word comes from the ancient Greek.
You might recognize "bio-" as the prefix that means life, while "mimic" means to
imitate.
You could say it's science that imitates life.
Now biomimicry isn't a new thing.
We humans have been seeking answers in nature for thousands of years.
But it was in 2008 that biomimicry really made world headlines.
Maybe you remember during the Beijing Olympics, swimmers wore swim suits
designed to mimic shark skin.
I remember that.
Researchers found that a shark's skin helps water pass by the shark faster, thus
helping it to swim faster.
And so swimmers who wear suits designed like shark skin swim faster too.
The new technology works so well that sharkskin suits have since been banned in
most major swim competitions.
OK. Another kind of biomimicry is one that you might have used today on your
shoes, jacket or backpack.
Right.
In the 1940s, after going on a walk, a Swiss engineer took a closer look at the
small burrs that attached themselves to his dog.
It became the inspiration for what we now know today as velcro.
(Chinese).
All right.
(Chinese).
And now I'll give the time back to our teachers.
Well, we're going to talk more about this topic tomorrow.
And we're going to see that people want to take a cue from the cuttlefish and
make some clothes that can change colors.
But I think that we've already taken cues from other animals for fashion before.
What are some examples, Gabe?
Well, I think about maybe different shoes or belts that are made of leather.
You might, of course, have leather made from cowhide or cow skin, but also maybe
crocodile leather or snake skin.
These things are different things that you can use to make shoes or bags,
different things that use leather.
What about you, Carolyn?
Well, I think that a lot of clothing that's popular right now has a cheetah
pattern or zebra stripes.
These are animal-inspired pieces of clothing but not actually made from the
animal.
That's right.
You won't find me wearing them, but they are somewhat popular.
OK. Please come back and join us tomorrow to talk about the cuttlefish and how
it's changing fashion a little bit more. Bye-bye.
Goodbye.