节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-11
难易度:Low
关键字:concerned, flatter, hose, spill, unbroken, muffin top
Hello, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And I'm Nathanael.
And we're here looking our best for you here at Studio Classroom.
It is uh... let's see, it's... it's the weekend.
It's Friday.
Hey, Carolyn, what are you going to do this weekend?
Well, Gabe, I was thinking about going shopping and getting some new clothes.
But you know, I don't know is like going shopping because I can't find things
that I like to wear.
So I'm really not sure what to do.
Well, don't you worry because our lesson today is called Look Your Best,
and it includes several tips about what you can do to buy clothes that would
make you personally look better.
So let's get into this week's first reading on Look Your Best.
(Music).
Look Your Best.
Try these ideas to help you look better in your clothes.
"Does this make me look fat?" We've all heard this question before and have
probably asked it ourselves.
But why are we so concerned about the clothes we wear?
The answer is simple.
We want to look our best, so we worry that our clothes don't flatter our bodies.
There is good news, though!
By wearing the right clothing, you can hide those less-than-perfect trouble
spots.
(Music).
Well, wearing the clothes certainly can help us to look our best.
And we see at the beginning: You can try these ideas to help you look better in
your clothes.
If we start at the first line of the reading, it opens with a question: Does
this make me look fat?
Well, this is a pretty common question.
What other questions do people ask you, Gabe?
Oh. What other questions do they ask me?
They might say something like: How's my hair?
Does this shirt look good on me?
But like you said, this is a common question, "Does this make me look fat?" Are
there any other questions that people ask like this, Nathanael?
Well, I guess they could ask: Is this noticeable?
Maybe there is a little mark on their face that showed up at some point.
Is this noticeable?
Can people see this?
That's right.
These are all common questions.
Our author just gives us one question.
It's a very common one at that - Does this make me look fat?
Yeah. And as the reading continues: We've all heard this question before and
have probably asked it ourselves.
But why are we so concerned about the clothes we wear?
Well, that is a good question.
Why are we concerned?
And we see this first key word here: concerned.
And it means to be worried about something or to be thinking about something a
lot.
Nathanael, are you concerned about your clothes making you look good?
Well, I do want to look my best.
I don't always think about it a lot, but there are times where I definitely pay
attention and am concerned about my clothes.
Uh, very good.
Well, what are some other things you could be concerned about, Gabe?
Well, when I think about this word, I usually think of people that I might be
concerned about or concerned for.
I notice you haven't been eating a lot lately, I'm concerned for you.
Are you OK?
I'm concerned about you.
Or I haven't seen him in days!
Where is he?
I'm concerned about him.
So you can be concerned about a lot of different things.
You can also be concerned about the grades you're getting in your English class.
That's something you should pay attention to and work hard at.
That's right.
Well, you can be concerned about your grades.
You could be concerned about other people.
Or just like our article says: We're so concerned about the clothes we wear.
Well, we want to spend some time now in the Information Cloud.
I think Ken and Steve have something to share with us there.
Hey, guys.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Our lesson today tells us we're all concerned about the clothes we wear.
Steve, why don't we review this very simple word, clothes.
OK.
Friends, remember, we cannot say I'm wearing five clothes today.
We should say, rather, I'm wearing five items, or articles, of clothing today.
So Steve, how are clothes and clothing different?
"Clothes" is countable, and "clothing" is uncountable.
That's right.
So we should say there are many clothes.
And for "clothing," we should use "much." You're wearing too much clothing.
Hmm. Also, "clothes" is always used in the plural form, like scissors and pants.
But we should never put a number in front of it.
That's why we don't say five clothes, say five items of clothing.
Hmm. Here's another way to avoid using a number - just use "a lot of." You don't
need to bring a lot of clothes.
Right. Or just bring some light clothing.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
It is good to know the difference between clothes and clothing, how to use these
words.
Well, before the Info Cloud, we had a question: Why are we so concerned about
the clothes we wear?
Continuing we read: The answer is simple.
The answer is simple.
But what does that mean, Nathanael?
Well, you might think of simple meaning easy, but that's not always true.
Simple can also mean not complicated.
You could have a simple meal of just some rice, a few vegetables and some kind
of meat.
That's simple, not complicated.
That's a simple meal.
And there is a difference between easy and simple.
Something could be simple, meaning it's easy to understand but hard to do.
It could be not easy to do, but it's simple.
You know how to do it.
Well, some things are simple but not always easy.
But here, the answer is simple.
Why are we so concerned about the clothes we wear, Carolyn?
Well, it is a simple answer.
We want to look our best, so we worry that our clothes don't flatter our bodies.
And this is very true.
And we see this word: flatter.
What... what is "flatter," Gabe?
Well, that's a very good question.
"Flatter" is a great word, actually.
I think of telling something nice to somebody, saying something good or doing
something to make someone else feel really good about themselves.
They feel really special about themselves.
Carolyn, how would you use that word "flatter"?
Oh. Well, that was a really great explanation of the word "flatter," Gabe.
And I see today, Nathanael's shirt just... it really flatters his eyes.
That's good, Carolyn.
I see you're... you're um, flattering us.
Just... just a little bit, but I am being sincere.
I'm... I'm saying what is true.
You really do look nice in that shirt, Nathanael.
Well, thank you.
Sometimes when we use the word "flatter," we might think that someone is not
always telling the truth.
I might say your comments do flatter me, but do you really mean that?
Sometimes they may be telling the truth, but other times maybe not.
That's right.
And sometimes you see another use or form of this word, flattery,
F-L-A-T-T-E-R-Y.
That's the noun.
And "flattery" could just be telling other people things to make them feel
really good about themselves.
It's not necessarily sincere.
Sometimes, though, sincerity can take the form of flattery.
You can say good things about other people that are true.
Well, we continue.
There is good news.
There is good news, though.
Good news! Did... Oh, I love reading good news in the newspaper.
Does the newspaper have good news about how we can look our best?
Um... no, no. Carolyn, that's not what I mean here, not in the newspaper.
Oh. OK, so... so maybe you saw it on TV.
They had some great news about looking our best.
Oh, no, Carolyn.
I think I... I think I know what you're thinking about.
No. You're thinking about the news on TV or in the newspaper.
That's a different kind of news than we're talking about here.
In the article says... it says there is good news.
That means I have something good I want to share with you.
But it's different from the news in the newspaper.
Oh, OK. I see.
And the good news is that by wearing the right clothing, you can hide those
less-than-perfect trouble spots.
That's right.
You can hide those less-than-perfect trouble spots.
There is good news.
And we have some more good news for your right now.
We're going to spend some time with Liz in the Garmmar Gym.
That's great news!
That is really good news.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym, friends.
My name is Liz.
In today's article we read: ... you can hide those less-than-perfect trouble
spots.
Our Grammar Tip focus is on the phrase: less than perfect.
This phrase describes trouble spots.
So why does the writer mention this phrase?
When we're talking about people's trouble spots, it's a topic that people are
sensitive about.
So we need to be extra careful.
Instead of saying "not so good", "less than perfect" sounds more polite.
The two mean about the same, but "less than perfect" just makes the listener
feel more comfortable.
So next time when you're talking about a sensitive topic and how it's not so
good, try using the phrase: less than perfect.
You can use "less than" plus an adjective to describe other things that are not
so good.
For example:
A less-than-ideal design.
Or: A less-than-stellar performance.
Or: A less-than-helpful suggestion.
One more reminder, if the phrase appears after the noun is describing, then you
don't need to add hyphens in between the words.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
And I'll see you again next time. Bye-bye.
Well, Liz is always so helpful at explaining grammar in the Grammar Gym.
But let's now go to the Language Lab for some more help from Michelle.
Hi, Michelle.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.