节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-16
难易度:Medium
关键字:intership, culture shock, constantly, confusion, borough, hub
Well, we're reading about Joe's experience in New York City, a foreign land in
her own home country.
You probably remember that she is from a big city in Texas.
But she went to New York City for what?
An internship.
And she went there and found a different world even though it was in her home
country.
Let's continue to see what other experiences she had there.
(Music).
A Lesson in Culture.
My new home was in Times Square, a hub constantly filled with traffic, noise,
people and lights.
I was used to life at a relaxed pace; New York moved fast.
The saying is true - this city never sleeps.
I had to adjust.
My first reaction was fear.
Fear I would fail at my new internship in the 54-story office building.
Fear of getting lost on the subway.
Fear that the locals wouldn't have patience for my frequent moments of
confusion.
My anxieties ranged from reasonable to ridiculous.
But I faced my fears and kept trying.
Well, it is important to face your fears and keep trying.
Joe, at the beginning of this section, she says her new home was in Times
Square.
And how did she describe Times Square, Carolyn?
She says it is a hub constantly filled with traffic, noise, people and lights.
So it sounds like a very busy place.
That's right.
When I hear the word "hub," I do think of a busy place.
A hub is kind of a place that might be crowded, um, or there's lots going on.
That's kind of what we mean when we use the word hub.
And this hub was constantly filled with traffic, noise, people and lights.
We see that key word there "constantly." That means it's always happening.
There's always something going on.
How else could you use this word "constantly," Nathanael?
I could say that when I was in college, I was constantly worried about getting
my homework done.
Oh, my word. I know how you feel.
I'm sure many of you know how that feels too.
You're constantly worried about getting your work done.
What about you, Carolyn?
How do you use this word.
Well, I feel like I'm constantly needing to wash dishes.
Man, constantly needing to wash dishes.
Does that mean you're constantly eating?
No, no. It means that dishes seem to magically appear in my sink.
And when I get home, they need to be washed.
It's true.
Sometimes that's how it feels.
There's always dishes in the sink.
Well, sometimes I feel like I am constantly on the go, or constantly on the
move.
And Joe felt like life was constantly filled with traffic, noise and people, and
just... the hub was crazy.
She says she was used to life at a relaxed pace; but New York moved fast.
The saying is true.
And what is that saying, Nathanael?
We call New York the city that doesn't sleep, or that never sleeps.
It's constantly awake and moving up and going.
That's great.
It is up and going, the city that never sleeps.
Remember that about New York.
You'll find that it is true.
And you may have to adjust, just like Joe did.
She says her first reaction was fear.
Fear that I would fail at my new internship in the 54-story office building.
Fear of getting lost on the subway.
I think we should take a look at this word "fear." Liz has something to share
with us in the Grammar Gym.
Hello, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
Our Grammar Tip focus can be found in these three sentences.
Fear I would fail at my new internship in the 54-story office building.
Fear of getting lost on the subway.
Fear that the locals wouldn't have patience for my frequent moments of
confusion.
Notice how these sentences all begin with the word "fear." Normally when we
write,
we don't repeat certain words again and again because it can make our writing
sound boring.
However, in today's article, the writer is explaining her fears.
She's afraid of failing, she's afraid of getting lost, and she's afraid that
people wouldn't be patient with her.
This style of writing is often found in formal situations and is usually used to
show emphasis on one subject,
especially when it's about feelings or emotions.
For example:
This past month has been really crazy for Jan and she is tired.
Tired of all the work she has to do.
Tired of taking care of the bills at home.
Tired of being yelled at by everybody.
If you turn to today's Grammar Tip section in your magazine, you'll find more
examples there.
And that's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym saying goodbye.
Thank you so much, Liz.
Well, in this last paragraph, Joe is talking mainly about her fears.
Again, she has a fear of failing at her internship, a fear of getting lost on
the subway,
a fear that the locals wouldn't have patience for her frequent moments of
confusion.
OK. These are different kinds of fear.
And she talks here about moments of confusion.
We see this phrase - a moment of something.
So it's not always happening.
But there are moments of confusion.
And how else can you use this phrase, Carolyn?
Well, you could have a moment of fear where you just are afraid for a short
period of time.
That's right, a moment of fear.
Um, Nathanael, do you ever get moments of nervousness about anything?
I tell you what, when I was in high school, I controlled the board for
basketball games that showed the score and all that information.
And it was a lot of pressure to do that job.
I got very nervous before doing a game.
Well, so it sounds like you probably had many, many moments of fear and anxiety,
right?
I would say so.
Well, Joe had moments of confusion.
And "confusion" is one of our key words today.
If you are confused, you experience confusion.
You're not sure about something.
Maybe you heard one thing, but in reality it's another way.
So how have you experienced confusion?
Carolyn, have you ever experienced confusion about something?
I feel confused a lot, Gabe, especially living in a foreign country.
I had frequent moments of confusion when I don't understand what people are
trying to tell me.
OK. Yeah, so you might be confused or experience confusion because of linguistic
reasons.
What about you, Nathanael?
Do you ever feel confused or experience confusion?
I only like to do one thing at a time.
So when I feel like there's a lot of stuff going on, a lot of different things
happening, I could get confused.
Right. Yeah. You might experience confusion then.
Sometimes a friend might tell me one thing but then they do another thing, and
then I experience confusion.
I'm a bit confused.
And we find that Joe also had moments of confusion.
Her anxiety ranged from reasonable to ridiculous.
If it ranges, that means there's a lot of space in between.
It ranged from ridiculous to reasonable... or reasonable to ridiculous.
But she faced her fears and kept trying.
And that's the important thing - to face your fears.
All right. Now it's time for us to learn a little bit more with Michelle.
(Chinese).
And here you go, teachers.
Well, it looks like Joe had a lot of different fears that she needed to face
between her internship and getting lost on the subway,
or what the locals would think of her and whether or not they would have
patience.
It sounds like she had a lot to deal with.
Have either of you faced any fears?
Yes, I have. I... am still not a huge fan of public speaking but I've had to
face that fear many times.
And so I've gotten used to it a little more over the years.
OK, great.
So you were able to face your fears just like Joe.
Well, I tried to, and I still try to face my fears.
Sometimes I still do have fears at... with public speaking.
What about you, Nathanael?
Have you had to face any fears?
Well, I talked about my experience controlling the board for basketball games
during high school.
It was something I got nervous doing, but I did decide that I had to do it.
It was my responsibility.
So even if it was uncomfortable, I continued to do that job.
Well, it's really great that you were willing to try to face your fears.
And after reading what Joe wrote in her article today, we see that facing your
fears is pretty important when you are going to experience a new culture in your
own home country.
So I hope that you will join us again and we will continue learning more about
what Joe experienced.