节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-08-04
难易度:Medium
关键字:genuine, meander, browse, overwhelm, go all out
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Our FESTIVALS feature this month introduces us to the popular Renaissance fair.
Starting in California in the early 1960s, Renaissance fairs have since spread
all over North America.
Now when you go to a Renaissance fair, expect to do a bit of traveling - time
traveling that is.
You see, one of the appeals of Renaissance fairs is getting a sense of what life
was like so many hundreds of years ago.
OK. Let's see what else we can see and do at a Renaissance fair on page 18.
(Music).
Renaissance Fairs.
Since Renaissance fairs are "living history," you might think they are designed
to be primarily educational.
It's true that some people try to make the fairs as genuine as possible.
However, for many others, the key word is entertainment.
With all the jugglers, musicians and magicians meandering about, you will
definitely be entertained.
A Renaissance fair will be a feast for your eyes and your ears, not to mention
your stomach.
You can enjoy sampling the food and drink while watching parades and live animal
displays.
Hello, everyone.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we're back talking about our FESTIVALS article talking about
Renaissance Fairs.
OK, so we're back.
If you remember from yesterday, we were talking a little about the history of
Renaissance fairs,
how they began from a schoolteacher who wanted to give a history experience to
her students.
That's right.
Now Renaissance fairs have grown in popularity and continue to do so.
Since Renaissance fairs are living history, you might think they're designed to
be primarily educational, just like they were originally.
OK. Well, this would make sense to me, Kaylah, because it did start from a
schoolteacher, like you said.
And so I would think they would be primarily educational.
Now what is "primarily"?
"Primarily" means the first reason or the main reason for something.
So the main reason being educational, to learn something; but that's not the
case.
It is "living history." And that's something fun to experience.
Yeah. Now we use the phrase "living history" to describe how something like
history,
which normally isn't alive, can be alive in the sense that you can experience
it.
That's right. You get to experience and live in a historical time.
Now they're not designed to be primary educational.
But it can be true sometimes because some people do try to make the fairs as
genuine as possible.
OK. Now something that is "genuine" is completely real or just like the real
thing.
And so people are trying to make the Renaissance fairs genuine.
That means they want them to be just as real as it would have been during the
Renaissance period.
That's right.
Now you could describe someone as being genuine as well.
It's not only in describing events; you can describe people that way.
So if you are a genuine person, that means you are very real.
People know who you are.
And you're the same person all the time; you are very honest.
Yeah, you're very honest, you're very true.
People can see the real you, and you are not being fake.
And I think that's important.
That's right.
So this is a good word to use to describe things.
It's actually a very good word to use in your writing.
Absolutely, so.
We know speaking about Renaissance fairs that many people want them to be
genuine,
so they will wear the correct clothes, they will cook the right food that would
have been around in that period.
But for many others, the key word here is not to be genuine but to have
entertainment.
That's right.
We have this word "however" means even though some people like it to be genuine,
others really want it to be entertaining.
So the key word being entertainment.
OK. First, let's try this phrase "key word." Now you've probably heard this
before speaking about when you're learning a language.
Learning English, you probably hear about key words.
But in this sentence, we're talking about the most important part for many
people, especially when they're talking about an event.
That's right.
Now the most important part for them is the entertainment.
With all the jugglers, m... musicians and magicians meandering about, you will
definitely be entertained.
OK. So we remember from yesterday what jugglers are - they throw balls in the
air.
And then we also saw musicians; we know they play music.
What about magicians?
Well, a magician is someone, we say, does magic.
They do the tricks that make things disappear or reappear or do crazy things:
they turn scarves into birds and pull rabbits out of hats.
Yeah. Or usually they have a lot of cards coming out of their sleeves and things
like that.
They're a lot of fun to watch.
And if you go to a Renaissance fair, you might see these people meandering
about.
Now to "meander" means to move slowly in no particular direction or with no
clear purpose.
Now yesterday we learned the word - to stroll.
"To stroll" means to walk slowly through something.
But to meander is walking slowly but not in a set direction, means they're kind
of just making their way through the crowd entertaining other people.
OK. So you will definitely be entertained if you see these people.
Now a Renaissance fair will be a feast for your eyes and your ears, not to
mention your stomach.
OK. Well, we know what a feast for your stomach is.
That's a lot of food.
But Ryan, what would it mean to be a feast for your ears and eyes because you
don't really want food in them?
Right. Well, obviously, a feast for your stomach is when you're eating a lot.
So if you have a feast for your eyes, that means there is a lot that you can
see, that you can enjoy.
And also, same thing for your ears.
There's a lot you can listen to, perhaps a lot of music. And that would be very
enjoyable.
That's right.
The Renaissance had very specific music.
So it's interesting to wander around, to meander and to hear that for yourself.
Well, you can also enjoy sampling the food and drink while watching parades and
live animal displays.
OK. So you can have a feast for your eyes and your ears and of course, your
stomach.
So you can try out these food and drinks.
And so there's different kinds of food from the Renaissance.
There's different kinds of drinks that you probably haven't had today as well.
That's right. And you can sample them.
That means you can try either a little bit of each one, or try a lot of each
one, just depending on how hungry you are.
But to "sample" means to try it.
Yeah, try a little bit.
And so here you can also watch parades, which as we know from earlier is when
groups of people will walk together to show off their costumes and... and
decorations.
That's right.
So you can see people, animals and all kinds of entertainment.
Well, we'll talk about what more there is to see and experience at a Renaissance
fair.
But first, we need to visit Ken in the Chat Room.
Great.
Here you go, sir.
Thank you.
Hey, Bryan, what's in the box?
It's a present for my wife.
I ordered it online and had it delivered here because I wanted to surprise her.
Whoo, feast your eyes on that.
Wow! A smartphone.
Your wife is going to love that.
I hope so.
She's needed a new cell phone for a long time, and I think this will really be
useful for her.
I think so too.
Hey, Bryan. I've got a question.
What did you mean just now when you said "feast your eyes on this"?
To feast your eyes on something means to enjoy looking at something because it's
beautiful or exciting.
So you can feast your eyes on a piece of art or a sunset.
Oh, I get it.
You are saying you thought the smartphone was beautiful.
Does this also have anything to do with the saying, a feast for the eyes?
Yes. In fact, there are two forms of the same idiom.
A feast for the eyes is something that is pleasant to look at.
So saying this painting is a feast for the eyes means the same as saying I'm
feasting my eyes on this painting?
That's right.
The idiom compares looking at something to eating a feast because both can give
you a lot of pleasure.
You know, that reminds me of another idiom, food for thought.
Oh, yes. "Food for thought" compares thinking to eating.
It means something worth thinking about.
So you can say that an interesting book or movie has given you food for thought.
That's what I thought it meant.
And this conversation has given me lots of food for thought.
Hey, I hope your wife enjoys the smartphone.
I certainly hope so.