节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-11-23
难易度:High
关键字:sophisticated, fictional, trait, adaptation, secret service, intrigue
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to study English with us.
We appreciate it.
Now this month we're celebrating the anniversary of when the world's most famous
spy, James Bond, first hit the big screen.
Yes, it's hard to believe it's already been 50 years since Agent 007 first used
his charm,
his wit and his ingenious gadgets to thwart the evil master criminals who
stopped at nothing to get rich or take over the world.
Now let's open our Studio Classroom magazines to page 44 and begin reading about
the man of mystery himself - Bond, James Bond.
007: Man of Mystery.
Celebrating 50 years of Bond, James Bond.
He's a sophisticated man - tall, slim, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.
He loves golf, speaks German and French and travels the world in style.
He works for the British Secret Service as a special agent, defeating his
enemies with his sharp wit and fancy weapons.
He's James Bond, the world-famous spy!
And after 50 years of international intrigue on screen, he's still as cool as
ever!
How Bond began.
In 1952, author Ian Fleming invented the fictional character of James Bond.
Fleming's inspiration for Bond's character came partly from his own experiences
while serving in World War II.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
Now Ryan, I have a question for you.
OK.
Who would you say is the most famous spy in the world?
Uh, Jason Bourne.
I don't think so.
No, not Bourne.
Think of another one.
Oh, I know.
His name is Bond, James Bond.
That's right.
We're looking at 007, the Man of Mystery.
Now you might know his name.
It looks like 0-0-7.
But another word for "zero" is "O." And then you put them together, so it's
"double-O." 007.
Now we're celebrating Bond because he's been around for 50 years.
Oh, he's getting pretty old. OK.
He's been around for 50 years as a character.
So James Bond, even though he's existed in different movies and different books,
has been written for a long time.
That's right.
Now we're celebrating Bond, James Bond, which as you might know is his most
famous way of introducing himself.
Not very many people say your last name, your first name, and then your last
name again.
Exactly. People might look at you a little bit strange.
But for James Bond, we've come to know and love this super spy.
That's right.
Now why do we love him?
Well, he's a sophisticated man.
He's tall, slim, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.
OK. So let's look at what this word "sophisticated" means.
OK. Something that is "sophisticated" means it's a person who has a very good
understanding of the way that people behave,
and they usually are very good at getting along with people.
OK. Friends, if you look in your Studio Classroom magazine, you can see pictures
of the men who have played Bond in movies throughout time.
You can see most of them have dark hair, but blue eyes is definitely something
Bond is famous for.
And his eyes "piercing" blue eyes.
The word "piercing" usually means to cut into something.
But if a color is piercing, that means they're very bright and grab your
attention.
OK. What else?
How else would we describe him?
Well, he loves golf.
He speaks German and French and travels the world in style.
Yes, he is very stylish, and he's always moving around the world.
He works for the British Secret Service as a special agent defeating his enemies
with his sharp wit and fancy weapons.
That's right.
Bond is not necessarily known for the most realistic weapons or fighting method,
but he is known for being a sharp-witted and fancy-weaponed man.
That's right.
And he works for the British "Secret Service," which is the government
organization there that has spies that travel around the world gathering up
information.
Now he's a special agent, which means he has a nice high rank because of how
sharp-witted he is.
That means he's very smart.
And he gets to use fancy weapons.
And friends, if you ever watch Bond, you know there are some crazy cool weapons.
Exactly. He is certainly a world-famous spy.
Of course he is just a character, but the entire world knows who he is because
of the books and movies that have been produced.
That's right.
And after 50 years of international intrigue on screen, he's still as cool as
ever!
This man does not age.
Exactly. And he is certainly intriguing.
The word "intrigue" means that it captures your attention because it is unusual
or mysterious.
That's right.
And he's been intriguing both men and women for many, many years now.
Exactly; "on the screen" meaning in movies, and he is certainly still as cool as
ever.
But where did he come from?
Now how did Bond begin?
All right.
Let's take a look back, Kaylah, in 1952, this is actually where Bond began.
An author Ian Fleming actually invented this fictional character.
Now "fictional" meaning he is imaginary, he is made up, he is not real.
Unfortunately, James Bond is not a real guy.
But we do love him anyways.
Well, of course we love him!
He's intriguing.
He's sophisticated.
He's Bond, James Bond.
Thank you, Ryan.
I appreciate that.
You're welcome.
Well, Fleming's inspiration for Bond's character actually comes from something
real.
It comes from partly his own experiences while serving in World War II.
So even though the whole character of Bond is fictional, fake, made up,
imaginary, his inspiration came from something real.
And an inspiration is where you get your ideas from.
And here, Kaylah, we see his inspiration came from when he was serving in World
War II.
So that means he worked at a restaurant, right?
Oh, no, no, no, Ryan.
When you serve in a war, that means you are working for the military fighting in
the war.
So he probably spent some time, maybe either working with military or he could
have even worked with the special secret services.
I don't really know where he worked, but he was serving his country.
Exactly.
So this is how he got his ideas and all of his information for the way that
James Bond behaved and how he became as sophisticated as he was.
Now wouldn't you want to meet this author?
I mean, Bond is so famous, we all know who he is.
Wouldn't it be interesting to meet the man he's based off of?
Yes, I wish I could because technically, I guess, Kaylah, you could call him the
original James Bond.
Ooh, I guess you could.
Well, we're going to look more at Bond and where these different traits come
from for this very special and intriguing character after we visit the Chat
Room.
(Music).
Hey, Bryan.
I have a question.
Sure, Ken. What is it?
Well, I'm reading this biography of an author, and he says he served in World
War II.
Does that mean he fought in the war?
Well, it can mean that, but not everyone who serves in the military is actively
involved in fighting.
"To serve" here just means that he was in the military during that war.
So someone could serve in the Army, Navy or Air Force.
Oh, I hadn't heard the word "serve" used that way before.
Yes. The word "serve" has a lot of different meanings.
So why don't we have Studio Classroom Teacher Pam tell us about a few more ways
to use this word.
OK.
The word "serve" can mean to complete a set period of time in which you're
working for a person or group.
For example, you could say that a certain politician served two terms in
Congress.
But spending time in prison can also be called "serving." So you could say that
a criminal served 20 years for robbery.
Hmm, interesting.
So can you use the word "serve" to talk about spending time in prison if you
don't know how long the person spent there?
Yes, you can.
In that case, you would just say the person "served" time.
Oh, OK.
I know of another use of the word "serve." "Serving" in tennis is when you throw
the ball into the air and hit it to the other player.
Yes, and I know you're pretty good at that kind of serving, Ken.
And that skill will serve you well when you're playing tennis.
Nice pun, Bryan.
Hey, that means my skill has helped me win tennis games, right?
Yep, you've got it.
Hey, could I say my new car served me well when I drove across the country?
You sure could.
I know it's helped you travel to many places.
Yep.
Well, thanks for this lesson.
I'm sure it will serve me well as I keep practicing my English.