节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-05-26
难易度:Medium
关键字:hostel, assistance, comprehend, limitless
Welcome back, everybody.
I guarantee you, if you go on a working holiday, it will change your life
forever.
It's true.
You'll come back a different person.
Working holidays are very challenging.
But there is one thing I can think of that will help make the traveling
smoother.
And that is English speaking and listening skills.
Let's see what Vincent says about that on line 23.
Taking a Working Holiday.
Talking to Westerners in English was challenging.
They speak English faster than I can comprehend it.
I had to learn to pay close attention.
What was the most important lesson you learned?
I spend a lot of time alone here, so I'm learning to really appreciate who I am.
My working holiday taught me that the world is a big place with limitless
possibilities.
I learned to love meeting new people.
Would you do it again?
For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Definitely.
Since my working holiday, I've never really stopped traveling.
All right. So now we're looking at the next question that Studio Classroom asks,
which is looking at some of the trouble or the hardships that these people went
through on their working vacations.
And we saw that, well, Claire she got some help, some assistance from her
friends.
But what about Vincent?
Vincent says: Talking to Westerners in English was challenging.
Now we did learn earlier that he was a little bit anxious when he was going in,
afraid that maybe his English would not been good enough that he would not be
able to communicate.
Well, that's the obstacle he found.
Yeah. He found it to be true.
His English kind of... he wanted to improve it even more because it was a
challenge.
It was difficult for him.
And he said that in Australia, they speak English faster than I can comprehend
it.
Now that makes sense.
When you talk to a native speaker of any language... for example, I studied
Spanish in high school.
But as soon as I tried to talk to somebody who grew up speaking Spanish,
I had a very hard time understanding them because the speed is a lot faster.
You talk naturally a lot faster in your first language.
So he had a hard time comprehending it.
Yeah. Now when you're "comprehending" something, that means that you understand
it completely.
So he wasn't able to always completely understand what everyone around him was
saying.
So he has a tip for us.
If you are in a foreign country talking to someone in their native language, you
need to pay close attention.
He said: I had to learn how to pay close attention.
Yeah. And when you're paying attention to something, or especially paying close
attention to something,
that means you are watching or listening very carefully.
That's right.
You're... you're listening.
You're... you're keeping focused.
You're... you're not distracted because it gets harder and harder the faster
they talk if you miss a lot of pieces.
I know that happens to me all the time.
Especially with me in Chinese.
In class, it's very easy for me to listen to the teacher.
And sometimes I feel like a kid, we're just learning basic sentences.
But then I go outside and start talking with some of you, and I get all upset
and sad...
Maybe a little... (because I can't understand.) ... a little anxious, Ryan?
Uh... I can't quite comprehend it, yes.
Oh... nice. OK.
Well, our next question from Studio Classroom is: What was the most important
lesson you learned?
Great question.
When you are going somewhere on a working holiday and you're spending a lot of
time outside of your home country, you are going to learn a lot.
That's right.
You're going to learn so much just from living somewhere different.
You don't even have to be talking or... working, really.
You can just be there and learn something new.
Especially if you're there for a long time.
So let's see what Claire has to say here.
She says: I spend a lot of time alone there in Canada; so she says: I'm learning
to really appreciate who I am.
Interesting.
She does have friends at church.
We know she's not there all by herself and that they're helping her overcome
obstacles.
But she says she spends a lot of time alone.
Now that's not what I would've originally thought somebody would say.
Yeah, it's interesting.
When you spend a lot of time alone, well, maybe sometimes you wouldn't learn
very much about yourself, I would think,
because I actually learned a similar lesson when I traveled to Taiwan by
spending time other people.
That's right.
So maybe you do need to spend time by yourself to learn about yourself, but
also, I'm hoping she has friends as she gets out to do things with.
But I'm glad she's making the most of every situation.
I think that's great, yeah.
And she's learning to appreciate herself.
She likes herself and is comfortable with yourself.
And I think that's wonderful.
That's right. We all need to reach that appreciation, we like ourselves, we are
comfortable.
Yeah. All right. So now let's see Vincent's answer.
He says: My working holiday taught me that the world is a big place with
limitless possibilities.
That's right.
When he says "limitless" possibilities, he means there is no limit to them;
there will never be.
There're so many possibilities that you can't even count them.
They just continue and continue, and they're never going to stop.
Yeah. One way to think about the word "limitless" is there can never be too many
or too much of whatever it is you're talking about.
So here he's saying there can never be too many possibilities.
There is no edge, no limit.
They just keep coming.
That's right. They just keep coming.
There're so many because the world is such a big and exciting place.
He said, "I learned to love meeting new people." And I think that's fantastic.
I am like Vincent, I love meeting new people.
Well, that's exactly what he did.
He went to so many different cities and lived in different people's houses and
tried so many things.
He did meet a lot of people.
That's right.
Now Studio Classroom has one final question:
Would you do it again?
OK. So Claire says: For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Now usually "once-in-a-lifetime" is referring to something that doesn't happen
but once.
It only happens once in your life, and so you want to experience it while you
can.
Yes, it's definitely a special experience when you do a once-in-a-lifetime
adventure.
So she's saying that she probably won't have the chance, nor would she do it
again because it's just... this is what she wanted to do.
Just that once.
Now Vincent, though, he says he definitely would want to take a working holiday
again.
He says: Since my working holiday, I've never really stopped traveling.
Well, that's really cool.
He's never stopped traveling.
He's never given up his adventure, his desire to go and meet new people.
And I hope that that's something we could all experience.
That really sounds wonderful.
For now, though, let's watch the skit.
Hey, tell me more about your working holiday in Australia.
Where did you stay?
Oh. I stayed wherever I could.
Sometimes I stayed in hostels.
Other times I shared a house or stayed in a cabin or camped.
Sometimes I even slept in my car.
Oh, you had a big adventure.
What kind of work did you do?
Well, I worked at different jobs as I traveled.
How about you?
Where did you stay?
Well, I got a house in Vancouver.
Wow, a house!
That's much better than sleeping in a car, huh.
So, what did you do there?
I worked with a Chinese medicine doctor.
Wow. That sounds interesting.
What was your biggest challenge?
Well, I planned a lot before I left.
And I got a lot of help from friends at church.
So you haven't had any huge obstacles?
No, not really.
How about you?
Well, talking to Westerners in English was challenging.
They speak English faster than I can comprehend it.
I had to learn to pay close attention.
I know what you mean.
Well, over all, I had a great experience.
I learned to appreciate who I am.
Well, I learned that the world is a big place with limitless possibilities.
A working holiday is a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Once in a lifetime? Not for me!
I'm ready to go again and again and again and again and again...
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And I guess that's it for today.
Goodbye and take care.
Thank you, Michelle.
Friends, I'm sure you've realized by now that a working holiday works best if
you don't already have a job.
Sounds weird, I know.
But with working holidays lasting as long as six months or a year, you'll need a
nice, big chunk of free time to do it.
It's not often that we're able to get away for such long periods of time.
That's why when a working holiday opportunity presents itself, you should
absolutely go for it.
OK, everyone, I hope all of you have a great weekend.
We'll see you on Monday.