节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-22
难易度:Low
关键字:percent, parade, awkward, beak, bald eagle
OK, welcome back from the break.
In early American history, the government proclaimed many Thanksgiving Days and
for many different reasons.
For example, George Washington declared the Day of Thanksgiving in 1777 after
American troops defeated the British in an important battle.
But it wasn't until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln made the holiday official when he
proclaimed an annual day for Americans to give thanks and praise to God for all
His blessings.
OK. Let's continue talking turkey now on line 10.
(Music).
Talking Turkey.
Turkeys come from North America and have been part of American culture for
centuries.
Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey, not the bald eagle, to be America's
national bird.
Turkeys raised on farms are large, awkward birds that cannot fly.
But wild turkeys are quite fast.
They can fly at speeds up to 88 kilometers per hour.
They can also run as fast as 40 kilometers per hour.
Turkeys don't have ears.
They hear using a growth above their beaks called a snood.
But their hearing is five times better than human hearing.
Turkeys are such interesting birds - no wonder Franklin wanted them to be
America's national bird!
(Music).
All right.
So it's Turkey Day, it's Thanksgiving.
Eighty-eight percent of Americans are eating turkey probably right now.
So we're learning about this amazing bird.
That's right.
Now why the turkey?
We have chickens; we could have eaten those or ducks or quail or pigeons.
There're so many different kinds of birds.
Why do we eat the turkey?
Well, let's find out where it comes from and why it's so important.
OK. Well, turkeys come from North America, and they have been part of American
culture for centuries.
That's right.
Turkeys were even an important part of American culture even before they were
settled.
The natives there used turkeys a lot in their cooking as well as in their
farming.
Exactly, because these birds are native to North America.
That's where they come from.
That's right.
The native means that's where their... their life, that's where they're from.
They're not from anywhere else.
Exactly.
And so they've been a part of American culture for many, many, many years, or
centuries.
In fact, Benjamin Franklin even wanted the turkey, not the bald eagle, to be
America's national bird.
Now Benjamin Franklin is one of the founding fathers of the United States.
You might recognize him by his bald head and funny little glasses.
Well, he wanted the turkey to be the national bird because it's only from the
United States.
It really shows an American culture.
But instead the bald eagle won.
Exactly.
So you think of a national bird, that's the symbol that represents America.
And it could have been a turkey.
It could have been... that when you see a turkey, you think of America.
But instead, it's the "bald eagle," which is a very large type of bird with a
white head that flies, and it looks very proud.
That's right. It is a North American bird, also only found in North America.
It's very large, flies very high, has a loud... loud sound when it squawks.
And it's known for being very strong and powerful.
Now the reason it's called a bald eagle is because of the white head as Ryan
said.
They have a dark brown body and a white head, which makes it look like they have
no hair.
That's why we say: bald.
Exactly.
And so now when you see a picture of a bald eagle, you think, "Oh, America, of
course" because it's America's national bird.
Now I'm kind of glad we picked the national bird to be the bald eagle because
turkeys are usually raised on farms,
and they're very large and awkward birds that actually can not fly.
Absolutely.
And there are... they are very awkward.
When you see a turkey, you think, well, they don't move very easily.
That's what awkward means.
You aren't able to do things quite the way you want to.
They just kind of... around.
That's right.
"Awkward" means maybe difficult for them to move around.
Maybe you think they are a little strange-looking.
Well, that would be these awkward birds.
But that sentence is not awkward at all, and it's our Grammar on the Go tip.
So let's visit Liz.
Hi there, friends.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
I'm here at a friend's house for Thanksgiving.
And I can't wait to have some turkey.
Now speaking of turkey, we read in today's article:
Turkeys raised on farms are large, awkward birds that cannot fly.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Another way to say this sentence would be:
Turkeys that are raised on farms are large, awkward birds that cannot fly.
However, to be more direct, that "are" got removed, and we get what we see here
in today's article.
So there is a combination of two things:
First of all, we have the subject - turkeys.
What kind of turkeys?
They are turkeys that are raised on farms.
Then we have the main sentence:
Turkeys are large, awkward birds that cannot fly.
Put the two together, remove that "are," and we have the sentence we see here.
OK. Let's practice a little.
The subject is dog.
What kind of dog?
A dog that was found at the park.
The main sentence is:
The dog belongs to Mrs. West.
Combine the two together, and we have:
The dog found at the park belongs to Mrs. West.
Or how about this: The subject is car.
What kind of car?
The car that was discovered in the dark alley.
The main sentence is:
The car was the bank robbers' getaway car.
Put the two together, and we have:
The car discovered in the dark alley was the bank robbers' getaway car.
So give this sentence pattern a try.
And that's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you very much, Liz.
Well, now we've seen that turkeys that are raised, or brought up, on farms are
really kind of awkward.
But wild turkeys, or turkeys that live in nature, are actually quite fast.
That's right, Ryan.
This is another example of a wild animal.
Some are raised on farms, and some live in nature by themselves.
Now the ones raised on farms are probably more what you picture.
They're that large, strange-looking one.
But these wild turkeys are quite fast, which means very fast.
Exactly.
In fact, they can fly at speeds of up to 88 kilometers per hour.
That is... well, really fast.
Now when we say they're flying, Kaylah, are they actually going way up into the
air?
Not usually.
These kinds of birds don't fly extremely high.
They do fly, but they kind of stay lower.
They're what we called more of a ground bird.
So they don't land in trees as often as they land on the ground.
Though, Ryan, I have seen a wild turkey in a tree before.
Yes, I've seen it too.
They like to climb the trees.
In fact, my uncle owns a farm in Texas, and we love to go and chase the turkeys.
They're always faster than we are.
Well, that's because they can also run fast.
They run as fast as 40 kilometers per hour.
So they're still faster in the air, but they are a fast bird as long as they're
raised in the wild, not on a farm.
That's right.
Wild turkeys aren't as fat and awkward as turkeys on farms because, well, we're
not feeding them the same things.
Turkeys actually, Kaylah, don't have ears.
That's right.
But they do hear.
They use that by using a growth above their beak called a snood.
Now a "beak" is the mouth of a bird.
That strong, pointy part, that's a beak.
So it's a bird mouth.
That's right.
And with this snood, their hearing is actually five times better than our
hearing.
Turkeys are actually such interesting birds.
That's right.
You know, they've got incredible hearing, which makes them hard to hunt, which
is why we usually raise them on farms.
Turkeys are interesting birds.
It's no wonder Franklin wanted them to be America's national birds.
It's no wonder.
It's no wonder now that we celebrate the turkey on Turkey Day... I mean
Thanksgiving.
Now friends, let's go watch today's skit.
Hooray! It's Thanksgiving.
I'm so excited.
Well, me too.
Today everyone in America will eat turkey!
Well actually, 88 percent will eat turkey.
Well, even if you don't eat turkey, it's still a great day.
Yes. Today we remember to thank God for all our blessings.
I know. Everyone should be thankful.
Everyone but the turkeys.
Hey, speaking of turkeys, why the turkeys go: gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble?
Turkeys gobble gobble gobble because they don't have good table manners.
That's right.
Everybody likes turkey.
Well, at least 88 percent.
But sometimes there aren't enough drumsticks.
That's right.
A turkey only has two legs.
Well, now on my farm, I raise special turkeys.
They have six legs.
Six legs!
Wow! What do they taste like?
Well, I don't know.
They run so fast, I can't catch them.
Hey, why did the turkey cross the road?
I don't know.
Why did the turkey cross the road?
It was the chicken's day off.
They usually cross the road.
Well, what did the turkey say to the turkey hunter?
What did the turkey say to the turkey hunter?
The turkey said: Quack, quack, quack.
He pretended he was a duck?
That's right.
Well, we're out of time and out of jokes.
Hooray! I'm so thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And I guess it's time for us to say goodbye.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Michelle.
We appreciate that.
Turkeys are interesting birds that have been a part of American culture for
centuries.
They play an especially important role in the American Thanksgiving
celebrations,
so much so that the holiday is sometimes called Turkey Day.
Today in America, it is estimated that 45 million turkeys will be cooked and
eaten.
As always, I expect there will be lots of leftover turkey meat, which makes for
some great turkey salad and turkey sandwiches.
Friends, I hope your Thanksgiving holiday is great.
Be sure to join us tomorrow for another lesson, same time, same place.
Take care.