节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-14
难易度:High
关键字:corporation, pastime, newscaster, resume, coronation, genre
Welcome, everyone, to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to study English with us.
My name is Steve.
This month's HISTORY feature takes us to London, England,
the birthplace of one of Britain's most endearing institutions - the British
Broadcasting Corporation.
Ninety years ago today the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC,
started its daily transmissions informing, educating and entertaining the
public.
Since then, the BBC has added numerous stations expanded into television,
magazines and the Internet,
and grown into one of the biggest broadcasting agencies in the world.
Let's open our magazines now to page 27 and look at more of the BBC.
(Music).
The British Broadcasting Corporation.
The BBC has been broadcasting news and entertainment for 90 years and counting.
Ninety years ago in London, a tiny company with four employees broadcast its
first radio show.
This company, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), soon filled the
airwaves with plays, concerts, talk shows and variety shows.
During the 1930s, listening to its broadcasts, especially those about sports and
news, became a national pastime in Britain.
The BBC sponsored music and drama performances, began producing TV shows in 1932
and established a TV service using new technology in 1936.
Then 1937 brought a great triumph for BBC television - outdoor broadcasting.
Using eight miles of cables and several tons of equipment, the BBC brought
images of King George VI's coronation into homes across Britain.
Hello, friends.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we're looking at a very special article.
We're looking at a special TV network.
That's right, friends.
In our HISTORY articles, we often enjoy talking about how certain companies or
certain things began.
And this article, we're talking about the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Probably more commonly known as BBC.
Now "British," we know that means it comes from the British areas, so that would
be England.
"Broadcasting" meaning they are putting out information either over the radio or
through television and now through the Internet.
And we see they are a corporation.
That's right, friends.
A "corporation" is simply a company or a group of companies that all work
together.
Now BBC has been broadcasting news and entertainment for 90 years and counting.
Here this phrase "and counting" means they're still going.
It's continuing to move forward.
Now today we're looking at BBC because it has been around for 90 years, making
it one of the oldest broadcasting systems out there.
That's right.
It is really well-known.
In fact, friends, you've seen a lot of footage from BBC back in the summer
during the Olympics.
And they are continuing to grow.
That's right.
Now let's take a look at the history of BBC.
Nineteen years ago in London, a tiny company with only four employees broadcast
its first radio show.
OK. So they only had four employees, just for people that started this company,
and they started with a radio show.
That's right.
Now this company, the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, soon filled the
airwaves with plays, concerts, talk shows, and... and variety shows.
So we said "filled the airwaves," what does that mean?
Well first, the "airwaves" is talking about the radio waves that go out into the
air, and they carry a signal with either radio that you can listen to or TV
shows.
And so they filled those airwaves with all of their different kinds of shows.
That's right, with plays and all different kinds of concerts, talk shows and
variety shows.
Talk shows are where you have someone interviewing another person.
And a variety show would be where you see all different kinds of acts.
Maybe you see singers and dancers and there're skits.
It's a very exciting kind of show.
So this is how it got started.
Exactly, a group from just four people to a company that filled the airwaves.
During the 1930s, listening to its broadcasts, especially those about sports and
news, became a national pastime in Britain.
Now here we say "listening to" because this is still the 1930s, which means all
of these shows are on the radio, not yet on the television.
So they're listening to it, and it became a national pastime.
A "pastime" is a hobby or something you do to relax and have fun.
Now a national pastime would be something most people in a country enjoy.
Exactly, so this was Britain's pastime, or their national pastime.
So most people in Britain enjoyed relaxing and listening to the radio.
Now the BBC sponsored music and drama performances.
So this was exciting.
It was not just always listening to the news, though people enjoyed that.
There was music and different dramas or play performances.
Now they began producing TV shows just a few years later.
That's right, in 1932.
And they established a TV service using new technology in 1936.
So Kaylah, they were sponsoring all these shows.
That means they're paying money to make it happen.
And then they established their TV shows in 1936.
That means they began it.
Well, they're kind of the beginning.
They're the front of leading all these new things in because then in 1937, they
brought a great triumph from BBC television with outdoor broadcasting.
That was unheard of.
Exactly.
In fact, something that is broadcast, of course, means the message is sent.
And it was done outdoors.
This was new at that time.
Now Liz has some more information for us, so let's visit her now in Grammar on
the Go.
Greetings from England, friends.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
Our article today is on the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC.
And we read:
... 1937 brought a great triumph for BBC television - its first outdoor
broadcast.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Another way to say this is: BBC television had a great triumph in 1937.
But that's boring, especially when the whole article is about the BBC.
To add variety to the sentences, the writer switched the focus and made "1937"
the subject of this sentence.
After all, something big did happen in 1937, so it makes sense to go ahead and
begin the sentence with 1937.
So friends, next time when you're writing about an event and you want to point
out how something important happened on a certain date,
then consider making the date or time the subject of your sentence.
For example, rather than saying "The music band enjoyed great success in the
80s," you can say:
The 80's brought great success to the music band.
Or rather than saying "The company reached a turning point in 1978," you can
say:
1978 was a turning point for the company.
So give this a try next time when you want to talk or write about some event.
That's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
This outdoor broadcasting was a triumph by using 8 miles of cables and several
tons of equipment.
And the BBC brought images of King George VI's coronation into homes across
Britain.
OK. So we got to see his "coronation." That's when the celebration of when he
became king.
Friends, join us after the skit to learn how this company has continued to grow.
Hello and welcome to BBC Radio.
I love the BBC.
The BBC broadcast it's first radio show 90 years ago in London.
Oh, the BBC is having a birthday.
At that time, the British Broadcasting Corporation was a tiny company with only
four employees.
I remember those days.
Yet the BBC filled the airwaves with plays, concerts and talk shows.
Variety shows, too.
I used to listen everyday.
I still do.
In the 1930s, many listeners in Britain enjoyed our broadcasts.
Especially sports and news.
Listening became a national pastime.
We also sponsored music and drama performances.
Hey, don't forgot about TV.
And in 1932, we began producing TV shows.
Later we established a TV service using new technology.
I remember. That was in 1936.
1937 brought another great triumph for BBC television.
Yes, outdoor broadcasting.
Who could forget that?
Using eight miles of cables and tons of equipment, we brought images of King
George VI's coronation.
I'll never forget that day.
But alas, during World War II, we stopped TV broadcasting, but the radio
continued.
Even when their headquarters was bombed, the program get right on going.
That was in uh... 1940.
After the war, the television service resumed, and the corporation kept
expanding.
I'll say.
Today BBC broadcasts to millions of people all over the world.
Indeed! The tiny company that began 90 years ago enjoys international success!
Happy Birthday, BBC.