节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-06
难易度:Low
关键字:wrinkle, sprinkle, vinegar, breath, baking soda, rinse
I hope you had a great break.
Welcome back.
We're learning that besides seasoning food, salt is capable of doing some
surprising things.
I'm not exactly sure just how many uses salt has.
Some say it's over 1,000.
But whatever the number, the list is definitely long.
So we picked six uses to present in this TIPS feature just to give you a little
taste of salt's superpower.
OK.
Next, using salt for getting rid of ugly marks, starting on line 6.
Surprising Uses for Salt.
Ugly marks.
Someone left a glass on your wooden table, and now there's a mark.
Mix a few drops of water together with one teaspoon of salt.
Then rub the paste into the mark until it disappears.
Bad breath.
Take care of bad breath with a mixture of salt and baking soda.
Add the mix to half a cup of water, and rinse your mouth.
To solve many of life's problems, look no further than the salt in your kitchen.
(Music).
Friends, often we use salt to just make our food taste better.
But we're finding so many other uses.
The last use we looked at was to take away bad smells, one from your shoes and
the other one - the smell of onions from your hands.
That's right.
We've seen it can help you get rid of bugs, grease fires, problems with wrinkles
in your food and smells.
What is next, Kaylah?
Next on our list is ugly marks.
Now ugly marks... if you think about, we're going to look at a wooden table.
Now if someone left a glass on your wooden table, and now there's a mark on it.
That means a water ring.
Now has that ever happened to you?
Oh yeah, all the time.
If you set a glass down that is cold or wet, and it leaves that water ring like
Kaylah said.
And you can see a picture of a water ring on page 19.
That's right.
Now if this happens, you might be a bit frustrated or upset because your table
is ruined.
Now what are you going to do?
Well friends, do not fear because salt is here to fix that.
That's right.
All you have to do, friends, is mix just a few drops of water together with one
teaspoon of salt.
Only one teaspoon.
Now remember, just a few drops because then you want to rub a paste.
You want it to be a paste.
And that means a thick substance so it's not dissolving into water.
It's thick.
It's... it'll be gritty, has those... you can feel the texture of the salt in
it.
And then you take that paste and rub it into the mark.
OK.
Now Kaylah, the reason that this paste is made... the reason it is thicker than
water is because we're mixing just a couple drops of water with a teaspoon of
salt.
And a teaspoon is a measurement, right?
That's right, a lot more salt than water.
You want it to be a thick texture so you can rub.
That means to push in and to continue to push all the way down so it goes all
the way into the mark.
And actually that mark will completely disappear.
Yeah. This is surprising to me.
My parents always told me always put something under your cup before you put it
on a wooden table because once that ring is on the table,
you can never get rid of it.
My parents should have used salt.
I think my mom would have been upset if I use salt on her wooden table.
But we should prove them wrong, Ryan.
Well, I think so.
This is a good use.
So friends, salt can get rid of all kinds of things, including those ugly marks
on wood.
Now the last thing we have that salt can get rid of is actually surprising.
And that is bad breath.
Ooh. No one likes bad breath.
Now "breath" is what... is breathed or what goes... Hmm.
Breath is the air that goes in and out of your lungs; and so we say that you are
breathing.
Well, what happens if breath is bad?
Oh, it stinks.
You're talking to somebody...
Have you ever been talking to a friend, and you just keep pulling away because
their mouth smells so gross every time air comes out?
That's bad breath.
Now to take care of bad breath with a mixture of... you can do this with a
mixture of just salt and baking soda.
OK. So we've seen you can use salt to get rid of the smell in... shoes.
Now you can get rid of that bad smell in your mouth, but you must also use
baking soda.
Kaylah, what is baking soda?
Well, "baking soda" is found in your kitchen.
It is a mix of powders that you put in cake and it'll help it rise so it becomes
really light and fluffy.
Now I used this word earlier "baking soda" to refer to grease fires.
It will also help with that just like salt does.
But you mix the salt and baking soda, and then add the mix to half a cup of
water.
OK. So you've got salt, baking soda; now we've got half a cup of water.
And this doesn't mean, friends, that you get just a glass of water and cut in
half. No.
Half a cup is also uh, a correct measurement.
Then use that to rinse your mouth.
Now to "rinse" means to use water to clean up something, to clean out soap, to
clean off dirt.
But you're not using soap.
It's a gentle washing.
So when you rinse your mouth, you would put the water in and slush it,
push it between your teeth and around your cheeks and gums with your tongue, and
then you spit it back out.
Exactly. So you're moving it around and getting rid of that bad breath and then
spit it out of your mouth.
Friends, it's surprising to find that many of life's problems can be solved with
salt.
That's right.
Look no farther than the salt in your kitchen.
"Look no further" means you don't have to go very far because salt is right
there.
It can help with so many things, so many problems around the house.
We've all got it, and it's so very useful.
Friends, we've learned a lot and we've been surprised a lot, but now it's time
to go to the Chat Room.
(Music).
Hi, Ken.
Hey, Bryan.
It's not raining outside, is it?
No, not really. But I did feel a few drops of rain.
Oh, good.
I'm planning on going for a walk along the river tonight.
And I don't want the rain to spoil my plan.
There's only a small chance of rain, but you might want to bring an umbrella
just in case.
Sure.
Say, just now you mentioned a few drops of rain.
Is that a common saying?
It sure is.
Whenever it starts to rain, you can usually feel the first few drops.
In fact, you can even talk about raindrops.
And "raindrop" is one word.
Hey, wasn't there a famous song, Raindrops Are Falling on My Head?
That's an old one, Ken.
I'm surprised you remember that.
And yes, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" was a famous song back in the early
70s.
So can we talk about drops of anything that's a liquid?
Sure. A drop of something is a small amount of something.
My grandma's cookie recipe calls for a few drops of vanilla flavoring.
Does that mean you need to measure the drops?
No, not really.
I simply squeeze the bottle until a few drops come out.
Sometimes I add more if I want a stronger flavor.
But what about the other ingredients in the recipe?
Don't they have specific amounts?
Sure. That's a good point, Ken.
The recipe does call for a few specific measurements like one teaspoon of salt
and four cups of flour.
So those are very specific amounts while "a few drops" is an amount that's open
to interpretation?
That's right. You got it.
So are there any other phrases or idioms that use "drops"?
There are a few.
My favorite is the idiom "a drop in the bucket." You can imagine that one drop
in a large bucket won't amount to much.
That would be a tiny amount.
Hey, how would I use that in a sentence?
Well, you might talk about how catching one criminal is only a drop in the
bucket, and it doesn't really help solve a city's crime problem.
Hmm, that makes sense.
Say, next time your grandmother bakes some of those cookies, make sure you bring
some to the library.
Will do. And enjoy your walk tonight.
(Chinese).
(Music).
(Chinese).
And time really flies.
Make sure you come back next time.
Bey-bye.
Salt has been around for a long, long time.
Some say it's the first thing we humans used to make our food taste better.
The focus of our lesson, though, isn't so much salt's relationship to food as it
is salt's ability to do some surprising things.
You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but simple table salt can act as a
cleanser, a kind of medicine,
natural antifreeze, a weed killer, mouthwash, deodorizer and so much more.
OK, friends, join Studio Classroom tomorrow when we ask: Should you say "I do"?
Until then, take care.