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
Welcome back, everybody.
Now here's a little Martin Freeman trivia for you.
He doesn't drive.
He's a vegetarian.
He has two miniature long-haired dogs named Archie and Jodie.
And he is crazy about Motown music.
OK. Let's go back in time to when it all started for Freeman - the year he was
born.
That begins on line 12.
(Music).
Martin Freeman: The Hobbit's Leading Star.
Born in Hampshire, England, in 1971, Freeman was the youngest of five children.
He had a difficult upbringing - his father died when he was quite young, and he
struggled with asthma and a hip disorder as a child.
But these obstacles did not prevent him from enjoying an active life.
Despite his physical limitations, he played on the British National Squash Squad
from the ages of 9 to 14.
When he was 15, he joined a theater group.
At 17, he decided to pursue acting as a career and trained at the Central School
of Speech and Drama at the University of London.
Today we're looking at Martin Freeman who will be playing Bilbo Baggins in the
new Hobbit movie.
Now let's take a look at his life.
We know he's a versatile actor, but how did he get there?
That's right.
How did he get his start?
We love looking back at the history of some of our PROFILE people.
He was born in Hampshire, England, in 1971.
And he was the youngest of five children.
Wow, the youngest. So he had four older siblings.
Now he had a difficult upbringing - his father died when he was quite young, and
he struggled with asthma and a hip disorder as a child.
I would say that's a difficulty upbringing.
Yeah, it does sound like a difficult upbringing.
The word "upbringing" means the way that you grow up.
It includes your home life, your school, the way that you and your brothers or
sisters or your parents interacted, everything in your childhood.
That's right.
Another way saying is your "childhood." That's a good word for it.
Now it was difficult.
His father died when he was young, and he had asthma.
Yeah. Now asthma is a sickness that affects the way the you breathe.
It's in your lungs, and it can be very difficult to breathe.
That's right.
Now asthma is something that a lot of people unfortunately struggle with.
It's really... it's hard.
It almost feels like you're a fish without water.
Exactly, yeah.
Now I've never had asthma, but I've heard it's very hard to deal with.
And as a kid, it's especially frustrating because you want to run and play.
But when you have asthma, it's difficult; which was extra difficult because he
also had a hip disorder.
Right. A disorder is an illness or a disease or a problem.
And so he had a hip disorder.
He had a problem with his hip, which is the bone right on your side where your
leg begins.
That's right.
It's where... where your leg connects to your body, to your torso.
That's your hip.
It's a very important part of your body.
It's how you move.
Exactly. Now Kaylah, these are some pretty big obstacles, right?
That's right. Now an obstacle is something that gets in your way.
But these obstacles did not prevent him from enjoying an active life.
OK. So he enjoyed an active life.
He didn't just enjoy life, he had an active life.
"Active" means he's getting up and moving around.
He's playing sports and going new places and seeing new things and trying new
things.
Now actually, even though it's difficult to run when you have asthma, for kids
who do have it,
it's actually very good for them to be doing some sort of physical activity to
help their lungs get stronger.
Yeah. But Kaylah, remember, he also had a hip disorder, so.
He had a lot of limitations.
That's right.
It says despite his physical limitations.
"Limitation" means areas that you cannot do, things they say you can't complete
this, you can't do it.
So he looked at it and said: Despite this. I'm not going to let it stop me.
Right. And what did he actually end up doing, Kaylah?
Well, he played on the British National Squash Squad from the ages of 9 to 14.
OK. Now this sounds strange because usually we think of the word "squash"
meaning a vegetable.
But what does this mean?
Well, "squash" is actually a sport that's played with two to four people on a
closed playing area and involves heating a small... small round rubber ball up
against the wall.
And you play as a team.
You either play "one on one" or "two on two." So two to four people.
It's actually... I think we'd associate it as a very European sport.
Yeah. This is actually a very active sport.
You have to move a lot.
And so, remember, he has asthma, he has a hip problem.
That's difficult.
And he was on the "squash sqaud." What does it mean to be on a squad?
Well, a "squad" is a group of people that work together to achieve a goal.
So could you also call it a team?
Yes. He played on a squash team, but here it's more fun to say squad.
That's right.
And it's the national... squad, so he was actually good at it if he's playing at
the national level.
And he was young.
He was between the ages of 9 and 14.
But then his interest changed.
Right. When he was 15, he joined a theater group.
That means he was acting.
That's awesome.
I think that's really cool.
Then at age 17, he decided to pursue acting as a career and started training at
the Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London.
OK. Now we've got a lot more information on this.
He started studying acting and speech at a really... this is a pretty big
university, Kaylah, in the middle of London.
So this is where he got his career.
But, like I said, we've got more information with Liz in Grammar on the Go.
And then we're going to visit the Information Station.
Hello, friends.
I hope you're doing well today.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
We're talking about Martin Freeman in today's article.
And we read, "At 17, he decided to pursue acting as a career..." That's our
Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the word: pursue.
Normally, the word "pursue" is used to mean "chase," like:
The police pursued the bank robbers.
But in the case of today's sentence, "pursue" has another meaning.
Here it means to work towards or to accomplish.
So today's sentence just means Martin Freeman decided to go for an acting
career.
Using "pursue" like this is more often found in formal situations.
So in an informal situation, a friend might ask you: What goals do you have?
But in a more formal situation, someone may ask you: What goals are you
pursuing?
Or in an informal environment, you might say: I'm going for a master's degree in
psychology.
But if you're in a formal environment, you can say: I'm pursuing a master's
degree in psychology.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you, be sure to check out
today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Bill, I just love The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Those movies were so creative.
Yes. Director Peter Jackson did a remarkable job of bringing J. R. R. Tolkien's
books to life on the screen.
A big reason they were so successful were the filming locations in New Zealand.
So let's go find out a little bit more about how these movies are made over
at...
Information Station.
Many of the locations used in The Lord of the Rings films will be revisited in
The Hobbit movies.
The town of Matamata, located 100 miles south of Auckland, has become known as
Hobbiton.
About 200,000 people a year visit Matamata to relive the glory of The Lord of
the Rings.
And the Hobbits will once again call this place home in the upcoming movies.
Actually, the Hobbit homes are located on a sheep farm owned by a man named Ian
Alexander.
Alexander's farm still has the small Hobbit houses from the earlier films.
So Peter Jackson decided to use the location again.
And an old barn on the farm has become the Shire's Rest restaurant.
So, now in addition to raising thousands of sheep, Ian Alexander welcomes 20,000
visitors each year to tour his farm and dine at the Shire's Rest restaurant.
The visitors come from all over the world.
And when visiting Hobbiton, they even speak Elvish, one of the Hobbit languages.
In fact, writer J. R. R. Tolkien created several languages specifically for his
Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books.
Do you speak Elvish, Bill?
Um, no.
But I do speak English.
That's it for now.
And we want to wish everybody a Happy New Year.
We'll see you next time here at...
Information Station.
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And time really flies.
Don't forget to come back tomorrow for more Language Tips.
OK. Michelle, we appreciate that so much.
Thank you.
The Central School of Speech and Drama in London offers courses on just about
everything related to movies and theater,
like propmaking, puppetry, costume construction, theater sound and set design.
The school's list of famous graduates is too long to mention, but I will tell
you that Martin Freeman is on that list.
OK, friends. This PROFILE feature is a high-level lesson.
So let me encourage you to review today's vocabulary and then preview tomorrow's
lesson.
Remember, you might know it, but you don't learn it until you live it.
More on The Hobbit's Leading Star Martin Freeman tomorrow.
Until then, have a great day.