节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-06-05
难易度:Low
关键字:adventure, scenery, crash, relaxation, gorge, rock formation
OK. Welcome back, everybody.
I'm told that Hokkaido has a very different feel from the rest of Japan.
It has 6 national parks, 4 semi-national parks, 12 natural parks and 12
protected wetland sites, which make it the perfect place to get out into nature.
Let's continue now with Daisetsuzan National Park and learn more why it's such a
great place to relax on line 14.
(Music).
Hokkaido.
In the park's center lies Soun-kyo Gorge, with 100-meter cliffs rising on either
side.
The gorge's crashing waterfalls and interesting rock formations attract millions
of visitors yearly.
Ride the Kuro-dake lift to view Mt. Daisetsuzan from a height of 1,700 meters.
Or hike or bicycle through the gorge.
After all that exercise, you'll need some relaxation.
Enjoy the natural hot water at Soun-kyo onsen (hot spring) in the center of the
gorge.
(Music).
Hokkaido has a lot to offer for people looking for natural beauty or for an
adventure.
We were just looking at Daisetsuzan National Park where you can find some of the
largest mountains in Hokkaido as well as a lot of plants and animals.
We were just talking about how you can take a guided hike from a nearby city
called Furano.
So what's next?
OK. So we've talked about the very high parts of the park.
Now let's talk about some of the lower parks of... parts of the park.
And in the center of the park, there's a special place.
Right. It's called the Soun-kyo Gorge, with 100-meter cliffs rising on either
side. Wow!
Now let's define what a "gorge" is so we know what we're talking about.
Now a gorge is a part of the land that is very deep between two sides... two
mountains that come together.
It's the very low part in the valley.
And usually in a gorge, there is some sort of river, and there's cliffs on the
sides.
Yeah. This is a very deep valley.
And like you said, usually there's a river.
And usually it is the river that makes the gorge.
A lot of water running through for a very long time makes it very deep.
And this one is 100 meters deep, very... very deep.
That's right.
Now have you ever visited a gorge?
Well, I've visited a very deep canyon; I don't know if that counts, though.
A gorge would be different.
A gorge is maybe a little skinnier.
It's thin; it's very long and thin.
It's not very... it's not so much a canyon that's wide.
So it's very beautiful to see one.
And often they do build bridges across them because they're small enough...
well, cross, but it's very deep.
And so you're standing on a bridge looking down.
It's very exciting.
It's definitely an adventure part of a... of a trip.
Right. There's actually a gorge in Taiwan, right?
Now that's right.
There's a very famous gorge in Taiwan.
Yes, there is, the Taroko Gorge over in Hualien.
And so, yeah, that's the same shape that you can find here.
Except here they have cliffs rising for 100 meters on either side.
That means they go up the sides of the mountain.
And when you have a gorge with big cliffs, it allows for some other interesting
things involved.
That's right.
We're talking, of course, about waterfalls.
This gorge has crashing waterfalls and very interesting rock formations.
First, let's talk about these waterfalls.
It says they're crashing.
That's right. "Crashing" means they're falling very quickly and they're making a
very loud noise.
And if you can imagine a 100-meter waterfall, I can imagine it would make a lot
of noise.
Now you can see a picture of a waterfall on page 18 in your Studio Classroom
magazine.
And you can kind of imagine what that would sound like; and that would be the
crashing sound.
Right. A waterfall is when a river comes to an end at a cliff and then falls
down.
And so it's "crashing." We sometimes use that word "crash" as a verb when two
things hit each other very hard.
And so that is when the water hits the bottom of the waterfall, and it is
crashing.
That's right. And we also saw we have interesting rock formations.
So we know what rocks are, but what is a rock formation?
Well, a "rock formation" is when there are shapes made out of rocks.
And they're usually very interesting shapes.
That word "formation" is referring to something that makes an interesting shape.
And "formation" also means it's naturally made, that humans didn't make it.
It came from nature.
And that's why it's interesting because it's just the way they are.
Yeah, it's natural.
It happened that way on its own.
It was not made by people.
And so this would, of course, attract millions of visitors to come and see.
That's right.
Every year, it says "yearly," that means millions of visitors visit to see this
every year.
Yeah. They're attracted. They want to go see it, so.
What else can you do?
Well, you can ride the Kuro-dake lift to view Mt. Daisetsuzan from a height of
1,700 meters.
Wow, very nice! So this... this one actually sounds kind of cool to me.
1,700 meters! That's very high.
And so you can ride this lift.
What is a lift?
Now a lift would be... usually has a wire that runs from tower to tower.
And you're sitting in a small kind of swing or car... and you just sit and then
it pulls you up the side of the mountain.
Yeah. Now these lifts are very popular in the winter for people who want to go
skiing on the mountain.
And they'll carry skiiers up those lifts so that they can go back down the
mountain on skis.
But you can also ride them in the summer, which we can see here, for
sightseeing, or if you want to ride up and hike down.
Right. So you can ride the lift up and then either hike back down through the
gorge, or you can also ride a bicycle through it.
That sounds like an exciting adventure taking a bicycle through the gorge.
Now after all of this exercise, you'll need some relaxation.
OK. And of course, relaxation sounds very nice to me actually right now even.
The word "relaxation" means to rest, to do something calm so that you don't feel
as worried.
That's right, to rest.
And we know in Japan, a great way to relax is to enjoy natural hot water at hot
springs, specifically here at the park's hot springs.
Right. These are called... that's right, the Soun-kyo onsen, hot springs, and
these are in the very center of the gorge.
So after all this exercise, going up to the top of these mountains, hiking and
riding your bike down, you finally get to the bottom where you can relax.
That's right.
And we see that the waters there as well as natural hot springs so you can
enjoy, and enjoy the scenery as well as relax your muscles.
Right. The hot spring is where the hot water comes out of the ground.
It's very exciting and very relaxing.
Well, we've learned a lot today. But join us tomorrow for a little bit more of
Hokkaido.
Right now let's go to the Chat Room.
So Ken, what are you reading today?
Hi, Bryan.
I'm reading about Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido, Japan.
Oh. What's that national park like?
Well, there's this gorge with crashing waterfalls and interesting rock
formations.
Oh. I love waterfalls.
Say, Bryan, waterfall is countable, right?
That's right.
You can talk about one waterfall or two waterfalls.
What about "falls"?
Is "falls" countable?
Do you say one fall, two falls?
No, you don't say "one fall." The usual usage is "falls," plural, even for a
single waterfall.
So a waterfall should be called "a falls"?
Not "a" falls.
It's more common to say "the" falls.
OK, the falls.
What about the verb?
Would "falls" use a plural or singular verb?
That depends.
If you just talk about the falls, then you'd use a plural verb.
So you might say the falls are 30 meters high.
But if you're referring to a particular falls like the Niagara Falls, then you
should use a singular verb.
So I should say the Niagara Falls is very beautiful?
That's right.
And we have a similar usage for rapids.
Rapids? Doesn't "rapid" mean very fast?
Yes, it does if you use it as an adjective.
But as a noun, a rapid is a part of a river where the water moves very fast.
Oh, you mean whitewater?
That's right.
Whitewater is formed in a rapid.
The speed and high volume of the rapid form bubbly water which appears white.
So we should say rapids, plural.
Yes. We usually use it in the plural because in a fast moving river, you see
lots and lots of rapids.
I see.
Well, thanks for your explanation.
No problem.
(Chinese).
(Chinese).
And I guess it's time for us to say goodbye.
Goodbye and take care.
Friends, reading and listening is great.
But if you truly want to take your English to the next level, you need to talk.
We encourage you to do that with each lesson's Talk About It questions.
This lesson's questions at the top of page 19 contain a suggested sentence
pattern for your response.
We hope you'll use these and every lesson's Talk About It questions in your
quest for better English.
OK. Lots more to do and see in Japan's beautiful northern island tomorrow.
Until then, have a great day.