节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-28
难易度:High
关键字:masterpiece, versatile, upbringing, squad, squash
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
My name is Steve.
If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings movies, you probably know that director
Peter Jackson has just made two prequels to that trilogy.
The first is called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which, if it's not out
already, should be in theaters very soon.
Well, the star of these Hobbit movies is this month's PROFILE personality,
Martin Freeman.
Why was he chosen?
Because he's intelligent, he's funny, surprising and brave, just like the
character he plays, Bilbo Baggins.
OK. Let's jump into the reading and learn more about The Hobbit's Leading Star
on page 48.
Martin Freeman: The Hobbit's Leading Star.
A closer look at the man who plays Bilbo.
This month audiences are experiencing the thrill of seeing another one of film
director Peter Jackson's masterpieces: the first installment of The Hobbit.
For many The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the first time to see English
actor Martin Freeman in action as he takes on the heroic role of Bilbo Baggins.
Although this may be Freeman's biggest role yet, it is far from his first.
This versatile actor has been acting in TV, radio, movie and theater productions
for 20 years.
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we are looking at our PROFILE article.
Now today we're looking at a very special actor that maybe you don't know yet,
but I promise, you'll know him soon.
His name is Martin Freeman.
And he is The Hobbit's Leading Star - A closer look at the man who plays Bilbo
in the Hobbit.
Now friends, are you familiar with The Lord of the Rings series?
Well, maybe you are.
But do you know the Hobbit?
The Hobbit is the book that tells you the story of how Bilbo gets the ring in
the first place.
And finally it's being made into a movie.
So we're looking at Martin Freeman who has the honor of playing Bilbo Baggins.
That's right.
He is the actor who is the leading star.
The leading star refers to the most popular character or the main character.
That's right.
Now a Hobbit, what is a Hobbit?
Well, from the book, a Hobbit is a type of creature, I guess, that is like a
person but really small.
OK. They are a person, but they're teeny, tiny, little bitty short men.
So he is playing a Hobbit.
And "The Hobbit" is also the name of the book.
Let's get started in looking at what it is going to be like to get to know
Martin Freeman.
All right.
Well, friends, I'm sure you know by now that this month, you are waiting to see
The Hobbit.
This is going to be a really cool experience.
That's right.
This month audiences are experiencing the thrill of seeing another one of film
director Peter Jackson's masterpieces.
Now if we're going to watch a film... we see "film" here, isn't it just
watching?
Why would I experience it?
Well, if you see Lord of the Rings, then you know Peter Jackson doesn't just
create movies, he creates experiences.
The whole world that he creates really is a thrill.
That's right.
And this is set up to be another one of his masterpieces.
Now your "masterpiece" is something that is the very best of your work.
It's usually... art, something to do with art, paintings or film or books,
something that is done but it's done with incredible skill, great talent.
It is probably the highest level of your work.
Right. It's oftentimes some of the best work you've done.
That is your masterpiece.
Friends, what is your masterpiece?
Well, we know what Peter Jackson's old masterpieces are, of course, The Lord of
the Rings series.
Now we're looking at the first installment of the Hobbit.
That's right.
Now an installment is a section of a story or of something.
And this is the first installment, so the first half of the Hobbit.
Now for many The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the first time to see
English actor Martin Freeman in action as he takes on the heroic role of Bilbo
Baggins.
OK. So this is called "the unexpected journey." That is the subtitle for the
book and the movie.
And so it's really exciting.
We get to see Martin Freeman, who is English, really act for, well, that some of
the first time as he takes on the heroic role of Bilbo Baggins.
That's right.
Now it might be your first time to see him in action, meaning acting or taking
on the role, which means he is being this character.
And it might be your first time to actually see him.
But it really isn't his first time out there.
That's true.
He's been around before, Kaylah.
Where have we seen him before?
Well, although many of Freeman's biggest... this may be his biggest role yet,
(so most of us will get to know him here,) you know, it's far from his first.
"To be far from" means it is not even close to his first time out on the screen.
OK. He's been around for a while.
He is a versatile actor.
And he's been acting on TV, radio, movie and theater productions.
And he's been doing that for 20 years.
Now he has been in the performing industry for at least 20 years.
And we can see he's done a lot of different things, which makes him a versatile
actor.
Now to be "versatile" means you're easily able to do different activities or
change from different areas.
So he is versatile, he does all of these different things.
That's right.
He's been in TV, radio, movie and theater productions for a long time, so.
We'll get a chance to see some of the other things he has done after we visit
the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan.
Hi, Ken.
I'd like to return this book.
OK.
Hmm. You've been reading The Ancient Forest, Jennifer Brown's new book.
Well, what did you think of it?
I was a little disappointed.
It was OK, but I thought some of her other books were better.
I thought so too.
This book wasn't bad, but it was far from her best.
Yes.
Which of her books do you think was the best?
I like a lot of them.
But I thought The Lost Castle was far and away the most interesting.
Uh, far and away?
I don't think I've heard that phrase before.
Oh. In that case, why don't we have Doris explain what it means.
OK.
The idiom "far and away" means by a large margin.
If an actor gives what is a far and away the best performance in the movie, then
his acting is much better than that of others.
"By far" has the same meaning as "far and away." And it is used similarly.
But "by far" can come either before or after the adjective it modifies, while
"far and away" always comes before the adjective.
I get it.
So when you said Lost Castle was far and away the most interesting book, you
meant it was much more interesting than the others.
But what did Doris say about where these phrases go?
OK. I'll give you some examples.
I could also have said the book was by far the most interesting or that it was
the most interesting by far.
Oh. But you couldn't say that it was the most interesting far and away, right?
That's right.
Hey, I noticed that earlier you said The Ancient Forest was far from her best.
That means it was definitely not her best, right?
Yes. You could think of "far from" as the opposite of "by far." They're both
strong terms, but "by far" is positive, and "far from" is negative.
I see.
Thanks for the lesson, Bryan.
You are by far my favorite English teacher.
And you, Ken, are far and away my favorite student.