节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-21
难易度:Medium
关键字:stride, intentional, remedy, insignificant
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to study with us.
Well, one of the most extraordinary insects in the world - the butterfly - is
the focus of this month's Studio Classroom ANIMALS feature.
It's interesting.
People living in the 1800s wrote about the abundance of butterflies as if there
were so many leaves on a tree.
People would catch 100 an hour.
They wrote of swarms so thick, it was difficult to see.
Well, sadly, those days are gone.
Butterfly numbers are very much in decline.
The good news is people are making efforts to save them.
Let's learn what they're doing and how they're doing it on page 37.
(Music).
Endangered Butterflies.
In recent years, environmental groups have made significant strides in
protecting endangered butterfly populations.
Governments throughout Asia have passed laws to help protect endangered
wildlife, including butterflies.
An area called Butterfly Valley in Assam, India, has become the focus of
intentional efforts to protect the butterflies' habitat.
Other projects in Serbia, Japan, and Canada are also hoping to make a
difference.
Some of these efforts are already starting to work.
The population of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly in California, for instance, has
increased by 8 percent since 2010.
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And we're back looking at Endangered Butterflies.
Now friends, as we get started, I thought you might want to know an interesting
English fact.
Now the name "butterfly" actually comes from its old name.
Originally they were called flutterbies because of the way they fly.
The way they fly with their wings beating and their small movement is called a
flutter.
So they would "flutter by" as they went by.
That's how they were flying.
So people called them a flutterby.
But as people got lazy and languages changed, it's switched and became a
butterfly.
So that's an interesting fact about the name butterfly.
That is an interesting fact.
Friends, I have been asked this question before: Why are they called
butterflies?
They have nothing to do with butter.
Well, now you know.
That's right, because they're fluttering by with their beautiful wings.
Now we've been talking about endangered species that might not have the chance
to keep fluttering,
and how environmentalists are working to make sure that butterflies stay in
existence because they help us keep track of the environment.
That's right.
And yesterday we ended by looking at a museum in America that exhibits, or shows
off,
these different kinds of butterflies and highlights their environmental role.
If you highlight something, that means you are showing it off.
That is the most important part.
So that's what this... these environmentalists are doing.
It's what this Museume of Natural History is doing: to show you why butterflies
are important because quite honestly, Ryan,
I am one of those people that looks at this and says: Why are butterflies
important? If we lose some, oh, well.
Yeah. Well, our author thinks that if we lose even one species of butterflies,
it's tragic.
So that's what this article is about - looking at how we can save the butterfly
as well as we can.
So let's look at reasons that I should learn to be protecting the butterfly.
Right.
Well, in recent years, environmental groups have made significant strides in
protecting endangered butterfly populations.
Oh, interesting.
So they've taken a... very significant strides.
And now significant means very large or very important.
That means they're doing a lot of work.
Now a "stride" refers to, well, usually walking, it's a very long step.
But in this case, it's the idea of really getting big improvements in developing
something or learning about something.
So they're getting very significant, large improvements or going forward in
their research.
Right. So like you said, Kaylah, stride is a large step; and so they're making
large steps in what they are learning.
They are really improving quickly.
And so they're learning how to take care of butterfly populations.
Now governments throughout Asia have passed laws to help protect endangered
wildlife, including butterflies.
We've heard about endangered tigers and pandas, but have you ever heard about
the butterflies?
Well, now we get to see that too because we saw how the governments stepped in
to help the tigers, and they're doing the same thing with butterflies.
In fact, there's an area called Butterfly Valley in Assam, India, and has become
the focus of intentional efforts to protect the butterflies' habitat.
OK, let's take this sentence apart.
That's a long sentence.
First of all, there's an area called Butterfly Valley.
Now a valley is a... an area between two large hills or two mountains.
But it can often just refer to a large open space full of grass.
That would be a good environment for butterflies to live in.
So it's a place that that's set aside by the Indian government to protect and
help butterflies.
Right. And it is the focus of these efforts to protect the butterflies.
Something that is a focus is the most important part or the main part.
Right. And it's... it is an example of intentionally protecting.
Now to be "intentional" means you are doing it on purpose or you are planning
it.
So you need to be intentional about learning your English; you're learning on
purpose.
Exactly. And so here they are intentional about protecting the butterfly.
That means they are focused on it, they are planned on it.
And that's what their goal there is to do - is protect the butterflies' habitat.
What is a habitat?
Habitat is where something lives.
OK. So they're protecting where the butterflies live.
Now other projects in Serbia, Japan, and Canada are also hoping to make a
difference.
So really, all of the world.
I think this shows you kind of different places.
We talked about Asia specifically, but even places in North America, like
Canada, are working on that.
That's right.
They're trying to make a difference.
And friends, if you make a difference, that means you are doing some work to
help with something.
You are actually contributing or helping.
In fact, some of these efforts are already starting to work.
So this is a good thing.
Yes. Their efforts are beginning to work.
In fact, the population of El Segundo Blue Butterfly in California, for
instance, has increased by 8 percent since 2010, two years ago.
OK So "for instance" is another way of saying for example.
So we're showing you an example of one of these workings... one of these efforts
actually taking place and working in California.
And we see that they have increased the population by just... by 8 percent.
Eight percent is actually pretty large, so.
They're doing a good thing there in California.
This type of butterfly is actually becoming more common.
That's right.
Now we're going to learn more about finding remedies for all these different
butterfly problems after we visit the Chat Room.
(Music).
Hi, Ken.
Anything good in the news today?
Yeah. Apparently some scientists discover an endangered bird living near here.
The government decided to set aside some land to make sure its habit is
protected.
Oh, you mean its "habitat," don't you?
A habit is something you do frequently without thinking about.
But a habitat is the area in which something lives.
Then I guess I meant habitat.
But isn't this word related to the verb "inhabit"?
Yes, it is.
To inhabit a certain place means to live there.
But a place where someone lives is called a habitat.
So could I say that the United States is my habitat?
No, not unless you are a plant or an animal.
Excuse me?
We only use "habitat" to talk about the homes of animals or plants.
If you're talking about where a person lives, you'd probably just say it's their
home or maybe their hometown.
But what if someone lives in a city, not a town?
Can that still be called a hometown?
Sure it can.
A hometown can be a place of any size, but it's usually where a person grew up.
So if someone grows up in Chicago but moves to New York, then Chicago, not New
York, is their hometown.
I see.
So can New York ever become that person's hometown?
Well, if the person stays in New York a long time and puts down roots, they
might eventually consider New York their hometown.
Put down roots?
I thought we were talking about people, not plants.
Yep. "To put down roots" means to settle in a place and develop connections with
the people there.
It's comparing a person to a plant whose roots keep it in one place.
I see.
Well, thanks for English lesson, Bryan.