节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-07
难易度:High
关键字:hemisphere, hibernate, gemstone, in a nutshell, garnet, pomegranate
We've been using "January" in an acrostic in today's lesson.
Let's continue to see what the letters U, A, R, Y stand for.
(Music).
January.
U - The undying love of a mother is symbolized by the pink carnation.
Also known as dianthus and pinks, carnations of all colors claim the honor of
being January's flower.
A - Australia Day on January 26 marks the British First Fleet's landing at
Sydney Cove in 1788.
R - Roman ruler Pompilius added January and February to the calendar in about
700 B.C., making it 12 months long.
Y - Yellow and red are just two colors of the garnet - January's birth gemstone!
The word "garnet" comes from pomergranate in Latin because scientists said the
crystals resembled pomegranate seeds.
And there you have it - JANUARY in a nutshell!
Well, let's look at that letter "U." The undying love of a mother is symbolized
by the pink carnation.
Undying love.
I like that phrase, undying love.
You could also say undying affection.
And underlying, that just means it never stops, it never ceases, it never dies.
It's true, a mother's love never dies.
Thanks, Mom.
OK, continuing on.
Also known as dianthus and pinks, carnations of all colors claim the honor of
being January's flower.
So what is January's flower?
That's right, a carnation.
Carolyn, can you tell us about the letter A?
Well, "A" is for Australia Day, and January 26 marks when the British First
Fleet first landed at Sydney Cove in 1788.
Now Nathanael, what can you tell me about this British First Fleet?
Yeah. The British First Fleet was when Britain, or England, took ships to
Australia for the first time, and people started to live in Australia.
So the British First Fleet were these first ships that went to Australia.
Let's move on to the next letter, R.
This letter stands for the Roman ruler - two R's there - Pompilius, a very fun
name.
And he added January and February to the calendar in about 700 B.C., a very long
time ago, making it 12 months long.
Can you imagine a year with only ten months, Gabe?
I can't imagine a year with only ten months.
I'm only used to living with 12 months every year!
But I guess that's what they were used to.
Now I don't know much about Pompilius, but I know that he was the second king of
Rome.
And he contributed a lot, of course, to society and things that we use today,
including the calendar.
Well, let's move on.
The last letter, Y.
Yellow and red are just two colors of the garnet - January's birth gemstone.
We see a Word Bank word there: gemstone.
Carolyn, can you tell us about gemstones?
Well, a gemstone is a precious stone that can be used for jewelry or different
things.
And each month has its own gemstone.
Mmhm. Each month has its own gemstone.
Uh, I also see the word "gem" here in this compound word.
"Gem" can also just be used to talk about jewelry.
There is a precious gem or gemstone.
I was born in the month of July.
I think my gemstone is ruby.
Do either of you know your birth stones or gemstones?
Yeah... don't... don't ask me.
Let... let's continue on with uh... with this article.
The word "garnet" comes from pomegranate in Latin because scientists said the
crystals resembled pomegranate seeds.
Maybe you've had pomegranate before.
Their seeds are red, and the meat of the fruit is around the seeds.
Is that right?
That is right.
And a garnet is quite similar in size and shape to a pomegranate seed.
Hmm, so they're pretty small.
Well, it seems like a nice gymstone.
If you're born in January, now you know how to talk about your favorite
gemstone, or your month's gemstone.
And there you have it - JANUARY in a nutshell!
Those three words: in a nutshell, some of our Word Bank words.
It's kind of an idiom.
And you can see a picture in our magazine of a finger pointing down at a
nutshell and January.
Usually when we say something "in a nutshell," that just means we're talking
about it briefly.
There's so much more we could say about it, but there it is in a nutshell.
Right now we need to spend some time with Liz at the Grammar Gym.
Hi, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
The writer of today's article ends with this sentence:
And there you have it - JANUARY in a nutshell.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, and there you have it.
This phrase is an expression that native speakers use to mean: That's it, or
that's all that can be said about something.
So "there you have it" is an informal way to tell people that they now have all
the necessary information about something.
In other words, as a speaker, you're done talking.
This expression is most often used in informal situations, especially at the end
of a speech,
or when you want to give a conclusion or ending to a discussion.
For example, if you're finishing up a speech, you can say:
And there you have it - the five reasons why we should protect the environment.
Or, if you're trying to promote something: And there you have it - why everyone
should own this new product.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
Bye-bye.
Well, there you have it.
Thanks, Liz, for that.
And now let's go see what Michelle has for us today in the Language Lab.
OK.
(Chinese).
And let's get back to teachers.
Well, we've learned just a little bit about January, January in a nutshell.
Gabe, do you know anything else about the month of January?
Oh, man, do I know anything else about January?
Um, not... yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
This is very important, especially in my family, because my brother Luke was
born in January - January 29.
So Happy Early Birthday, Luke.
That's what I know about January.
Um, Nathanael, what can you tell us about January?
Well, if you remember, Pompilius, the Roman ruler, started January in the
calendar.
And he named January after a Roman god of gates and discovery - Janus, or Janus.
So yeah, that's where January - the name - came from.
Interesting.
Well, a lot of this stuff came from things from a long time ago.
Well, there you have it - January in a nutshell.
Remember to use that phrase sometime today.
And I think that's all the time we have.
We will see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
Goodbye.
See you later.