节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-01-28
难易度:Medium
关键字:conquer, amidst, spur on, possess, ubiquitous, R & B, multilingual
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Studio Classroom.
My name is Gabe.
I'm Carolyn.
And I'm Nathanael.
And we're glad you could join us for an interesting article today about U-KISS:
Conquering the World Music Scene!
Yes, U-KISS. They are K-pop stars.
And I wonder if you know any songs from U-KISS.
You probably do.
I think Nathanael does too.
What's a song by U-KISS, Nathanael?
Oh, yeah, I got this.
They're the ones that go: Sorry, sorry...
No... That's not U-KISS.
They have: Nobody, nobody but you.
No... Nathanael, Carolyn, no. You're thinking of Super Junior, and you're
thinking of Wonder Girls.
Those are different K-pop stars.
Um, I think we need to educate ourselves on U-KISS today.
Friends, let's get started with that first reading here all about U-KISS:
Conquering the World Music Scene.
U-KISS: Conquering the World Music Scene!
These K-pop stars have a global audience in mind.
Amidst the many successful Korean boy bands, U-KISS is rising to the top - at
home and abroad.
U-KISS stands for "Ubiquitous Korean International idol Super Star," a fitting
name for this world-famous group.
They were created by NH Media and got their start in 2008.
A little bit pop, dance and R & B, U-KISS' sound is modern and catchy.
Their first single was "Not Young," an unusual title for a group in their
late-teens and early 20s.
But age wasn't a problem for the members of U-KISS; in 2009 their single "Man
Man Ha Ni" spurred them on to success.
They've been famous ever since.
We're talking about U-KISS today, conquering the world music scene.
Right away in our title, we see an important word from the Word Bank.
It is the word: conquer.
What do you think of when you think of the word "conquer," Carolyn?
Well, I think of winning something or overcoming a challenge.
And actually, I think of going hiking on some difficult mountain like Mount
Everest and being able to conquer the mountain.
Hey, that's a great way to use that word.
You conquer that mountain.
You conquer that challenge.
You conquer that thing.
Well, how else can you use that word "conquer"?
It means "win." How do you use that word, Nathanael?
I think of two countries fighting together.
And in a battle where no one wins, no country is conquered either.
No country is conquered when nobody wins.
I think of the phrase "love conquers all." Yes, I know, it's very romantic.
But it's true.
We all hope it's true.
Love will conquer over evil.
Love conquers all.
Well, we're talking about U-KISS today, and they are conquering the world music
scene.
That means they have become very successful.
We see: Amidst the many successful Korean boy bands, U-KISS is rising to the top
- at home and abroad.
That word is kind of strange there, but it's also a Word Bank word: amidst.
This means in the middle of something.
Carolyn, how do you use that word "amidst"?
Well, I think of a beautiful field of flowers and perhaps there is a deer amidst
the flowers.
Ooh, a deer admits the flowers. Excellent!
Nathanael, what's your sentence with "amidst"?
Amidst the countries I've been to, I think Malaysia was the most relaxing.
Ah, amidst these countries.
Well, amidst all the fans, there was one screaming boy!
Amidst different things.
It's kind of like the word "among," in the middle of.
So amidst the many successful Korean boy bands, U-KISS is rising to the top.
Rising to the top.
I kind of like that imagery.
I think of a... I think of oil and water, actually.
When you mix them together, the oil always rises to the top.
But what else can rise to the top, Nathanael?
Sometimes we might say that the best students rise to the top of the class.
Maybe they get the most notice.
And sometimes the teachers take notice of them more than others.
OK. How else can you use that phrase, something rises to the top?
Well, I think perhaps if someone overcoming a challenge, you can rise to the
challenge, or rise to the top when you overcome a difficulty.
I like that.
That makes me think of the phrase: rise above it.
Rise above the challenges and difficulties, rise to the top.
U-KISS is rising to the top at home and abroad.
Of course, when you're abroad, it means you're not at home.
You're away somewhere.
You might be overseas.
Some people talk about studying abroad.
They're studying away from home.
Continuing on.
"U-KISS" stands for something very interesting.
Carolyn, what does their name mean?
U-KISS stands for "Ubiquitous Korea International idol Super Star." And that is
quite a mouthful.
I'm very glad that they shortened it just down to U-KISS.
I am too, U-KISS.
But Nathanael, tell us about that word: ubiquitous.
Yes. Ubiquitous is a very interesting word.
We don't always use it a lot.
But it means if something is ubiquitous, it is everywhere, very popular perhaps.
You see it in all kinds of places.
I think of convenience stores here in Taipei, they are ubiquitous.
They are everywhere.
And ubiquitous, I guess this group U-KISS wants everybody to know that they too
want to be everywhere.
They want to be known everywhere as super stars.
This is a fitting name for this world-famous group.
What does that mean, Carolyn, to be fitting?
What does that mean?
It is a fitting name means that it is an appropriate name, a good name that they
should have because they are everywhere.
They are ubiquitous.
That's right.
So it is a fitting name.
I think of clothes that fit just right.
They are fitting.
This is a fitting title for this group.
We continue.
They were created by NH Media and got their start in 2008.
Now NH Media, I... what is NH Media?
Do you know anything about NH Media?
I sure don't know anything about NH Media, but it is a group that led this group
called U-KISS get their start.
Yeah, you know, I actually don't know much about NH Media either because when I
went and looked them up on the web, I couldn't find any official website.
There wasn't much talking about them.
But this is the group that got U-KISS together.
A little bit pop, dance and R & B, U-KISS' sound is modern and catchy.
You see those words "R & B." I know some of you like to listen to R & B music.
What's an example of an R & B group?
I think of um... I think of R. Kelly.
He is a singer that sings R & B.
I also kind of think of Beyonce as being an R & B pop singer.
All right.
So there's different R & B groups or singers.
And actually, a lot of the R & B music that I know of is quite catchy.
Nathanael, tell us about that word: catchy.
Catchy. If something is catchy, it's like it's easy to catch.
If something is catchy, maybe a song, you hear it and like: Oh, yeah, I really
like that sound.
And they can easily get stuck in your head, and you'll start singing it too.
That's right, kind of like U-KISS' first song.
Their single was "Not Young," an unusual title for a group in their late-teens
and early 20s.
Yes, that is quite young.
But age wasn't a problem for the members of U-KISS; in 2009 their single "Man
Man Ha Ni" spurred them on to success.
We need to talk about these words: to spur on.
If you are spurred on, that means something is pushing you from behind.
You're spurred on.
And this group was spurred on to success.
How else can you use these words?
Well, you can also spur someone on by encouraging them and spur them on to
greater heights.
All right, spur someone on to greater heights.
Well, they came up with this song "Man Man Ha Ni," which translates "Am I that
easy?" all about a girl who is pretending to like a boy.
He's not quite sure.
Man man ha ni?
Am I that easy?
Well, this spurred them on to success and they've been famous ever since.
Well, now let's go enjoy some time with Steve and Ken in the Information Cloud.
Hey, guys.
Hi, guys.
Hi.
So everyone, what is a boy band?
It's a professional group of handsome, stylish young male singers and dancers.
Boy band members normally don't write their own music, nor do they play musical
instruments on stage or on their recordings.
So all they have to do is know how to sing and dance?
That's right, and look good doing it.
Boy bands have been around for a long time.
The first boy band is said to have emerged in the 1950s, although they didn't
use the term "boy band" back then.
They were just called male vocal groups.
The use of the word "boy band" came in the late 1980s.
Some boy bands may form naturally on their own, but most of them are created by
talent managers who carefully control their image and their sound.
Why are they formed?
To make money.
You said it, Ken.
The most successful boy bands in history are the Backstreet Boys, The Jackson
Five and New Kids on the Block.
Combined, they have sold over 300 million records.
So how are American boy bands doing these days?
They aren't as popular as they once were.
But in Southeast Asia, groups like Super Junior, Arashi and U-KISS seem to be
picking up where the others left off.
(Chinese).
Thank you, guys.
We always learn a lot with Steve and Ken.
And we also learn a lot with Michelle.
I think she is waiting for us right now in the Language Lab.
Let's go there now.
Hey, Michelle.
Hi.