节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-25
难易度:Medium
关键字:ungrateful, disrespect, context, scarcity, consequently, bare-bone,
relegate
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide, and I should say "Merry Christmas" to all
of you.
We're so happy you've joined us today.
My name is Steve.
Well, in all the hustle and bustle of this great holiday, it's easy to get
distracted by yummy Christmas cookies,
blinking lights and that chubby old guy with a white beard dressed in red.
In truth, our modern Christmas scarcely reflects The first Christmas of 2,000
years ago.
Now one of the few things it does get right, however, is the giving of gifts.
Not paper bags full of fruit, nuts and chocolate, not a mound of presents under
a Christmas tree, but a special gift that meets a special need.
Let's learn more as we jump back into this special Christmas story on page 43.
When the Gift Meets the Need.
When we finished the eight-hour drive home after the holiday, there was a
message waiting on the phone when we walked in the door.
"Your ungrateful kids left their apples and oranges in the back of our
refrigerator.
No more fruit for them!" Grandpa and Grandma were teasing, of course,
still there was an element of disrespect in the kids leaving behind thoughtfully
chosen gifts.
But the paper sacks did not have a context for our children.
We had apples and oranges at home.
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us, and merry Christmas!
My name is Ryan.
That's right.
Merry Christmas, friends.
It's December 25.
Do you know it is Christmas Day today?
I hope you are celebrating the holiday with your family.
My name is Kaylah.
And Ryan and I are here to celebrate with you.
That's right.
And right now we are celebrating Christmas by listening to a story from this...
this article's author.
Her name is Lori.
Yesterday we heard her telling some stories of her parents' childhood and now
her own parenthood.
That's right.
We learned that her parents grew up during the Depression, and they received
gifts of a brown paper bag with food in it.
Then, as she got older and had her kids, her parents would give her children the
same gift.
But do you think the children appreciate it?
Well, we'll find out.
Let's pick up our story with... as they... as they arrive home after visiting
their grandparents.
That's right, Kaylah.
They took an eight-hour drive home after... after they were done there after the
holiday.
And during that drive... or actually, right after that drive, there was a
message waiting on the phone when they walked into their house.
OK. So sometimes people don't call your cell phone, they call your home phone.
So while they are driving home from her parents' house, when they get there,
there's a message.
And what was the message?
Well, the message says: Your ungrateful kids left their apples and oranges in
the back of our refrigerator.
Uh oh. I imagine it's the grandparents calling.
If someone left a gift you gave them at your house, would you be maybe a little
upset?
Yeah. You might think that they're being a little bit ungrateful, right?
Friends, you might remember that we learned previously the word "grateful." It
means to be thankful.
That's right.
So "ungrateful" means you do not show or express feelings of thanks.
So this would be ungrateful.
If you leave a gift at someone's house that they gave to you, that's unthankful.
That's ungrateful for them taking the time to give that to you.
All right.
So Grandma and Grandpa said they left in the back of the refrigerator.
And that is, of course, the device that keeps things cold.
You would, of course, put fruit in the refrigerator.
And she ends the message by saying: No more fruit for them!
So they left it there, so they don't deserve fruit anymore.
OK. Well, Grandpa and Grandma were actually teasing, in this case.
OK, teasing.
"To tease" means to make fun of or to make a joke about them.
Exactly. You make a joke and they might... usually it's very... it's... it's not
mean.
If you are mean, you wouldn't tease someone, but sometimes it can be.
So they were teasing, of course.
They're grandparents.
They're kind of making fun of them.
But still there was an element of disrespect in the kids leaving behind
thoughtfully chosen gifts.
OK. Now the word "disrespect" means lacking respect, or not having respect.
And respect means honor and care for someone or something.
So with them not respecting the gift, they weren't respecting or honoring their
family.
OK.
And if there's an element of disrespect, that means there is some or a piece of
disrespect by the actions that these kids took by leaving their gifts.
By leaving something behind means not taking it with you.
And these were thoughtfully chosen.
They thought through this gift.
It was something they gave from their heart, something that meant something to
these grandparents.
And the kids just left it to the side, weren't honoring their elders at all.
Exactly. Remember, Kaylah, that their grandparents used to give these gifts to,
well, the author's kids' parents - the author.
And so it was very important to them and it had value to them.
But to the kids, it was just an apple and an orange.
That's right.
It used to be something of more meaning.
I think that's what you're trying to say.
Exactly.
It's kind of confusing, but it's... it has meaning.
That's basically what it is.
Even though it's just food, it's important.
But the paper sacks did not have a context for the kids, for this author's kids.
What does it mean to have context?
OK. Well, the "context" is the situation where something exists in.
Basically it means that it can help explain what it is there for.
So if a child does not have the context, they do not have the explanation.
You will hand them a bag of fruit, and they will be confused, maybe not thankful
for it because they get fruit frequently.
She says: We had apples and oranges at home.
Why would the children be thankful for a paper bag?
Exactly. And so this is the point.
The kids just think it's just apples and oranges.
I got really cool toys under the tree.
Why would I care about the fruit?
That's right.
They have no context.
They don't understand why this is so important.
They probably haven't heard the story from their grandparents to understand the
meaning behind it.
Exactly.
And they have apples and oranges at home, so they'll just leave them for Grandpa
and Grandma to enjoy.
Now actually, Ryan, I get an orange every Christmas from my mom.
Oh, do you?
I do! it comes in the bottom of our stockings hang by the chimney.
It has an orange in it.
And it's a representation of a family tradition that my grandfather used to get
an orange.
Like I told you, he was from a poor farm family.
So oranges actually have meaning at my house.
But maybe these kids don't understand the context.
We'll look at how maybe they can understand better after we visit the Chat Room.
Merry Christmas, Bryan.
Hey. Merry Christmas, Ken.
Here. This is for you.
Oh. Thanks for the gift.
That's very thoughtful of you.
You're welcome.
But how do you know that I thought about the gift a lot?
You don't even know what it is yet.
I guess I don't know how long you spent thinking about the gift,
but "thoughtful" can also mean paying attention to others and recognizing what
they'll need or want.
So giving me a present was a thoughtful thing to do.
Oh, OK.
But I've also heard people describe certain gifts as: especially thoughtful.
Yes.
When you talk about a present being thoughtful,
it means the person who gave it carefully considered what the other person would
want and picked out something that match the person's preferences.
So that means that giving someone a gift is thoughtful, but some gifts are more
thoughtful than others, right?
Right.
For example, money is not usually considered a very thoughtful gift because it
doesn't require you to think about what the person would like.
But if someone says they want money as a gift, it's OK.
But otherwise, money is not a very good gift.
So if you ask someone what they want rather than figuring out yourself, is that
still considered thoughtful?
Yes, it is OK to ask someone what they want for Christmas or their birthday.
But just don't tell them what you're getting them ahead of time because gifts
are supposed to be surprises.
I've also heard the phrase "It's the thought that counts." What does that mean?
It means that the most important thing about a gift is that it shows the person
was thinking of you.
But be careful how you use it because it can imply that the gift itself wasn't
very good.
OK. I'll remember that.
And by the way, Ken, I have a gift for you too.
Merry Christmas.
Wow! Thanks, Bryan.
Merry Christmas.