节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-05-29
难易度:High
关键字:irritate, irk, edible, booth, conical, Syrian
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Thanks for joining us today.
Where did those tasty treats come from?
You know, our favorite junk food snacks haven't always been around.
Sadly, for the people in the ancient world, they never knew the emotional
comfort to be had in a pile of hot, salty french fries. Hmm.
And the ancients never knew the refreshing fun a cherry flavored popsicle could
it bring on a hot summer day.
Aren't you glad you live in the modern world?
Now our next snack to discuss is made from a vegetable, so I'd say it's healthy.
It's the potato chip on page 49.
(Music).
Where Did Those Tasty Treats Come From?
Potato Chips.
This snack resulted from an irritated chef who wanted to teach a customer a
lesson.
In 1853, Chef George Crum worked at a resort in Saratoga Springs, New York.
He made some french fries for a customer who decided they were too thick and
returned them to the kitchen.
Crum decided to irk the customer with very thinly sliced, crisply fried
potatoes.
His plan backfired; the guest loved the chips,
and soon others were requesting Crum's "Saratoga Chips." Today "potato chips"
come in a wide variety of flavors.
Americans spend 6 billion dollars a year on potato chips.
(Music).
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
And we are back in our FOOD article.
Yesterday we were talking about some of our favorite tasty treats and where they
actually came from.
We saw french fries.
And we're not really sure if they come from France or Belgium.
And then we saw the story of how popsicles got their start.
That's right.
Now we're moving on to another salty snack.
We're talking about potato chips.
Yes. Potato chips are very common.
All around the world people eat a lot of potato chips, especially in the United
States.
Now this snack resulted from an irritated chef who wanted to teach a customer a
lesson.
OK. Well, let's start with "an irritated chef." Now we know a chef is someone
who cooks in a restaurant.
They are professional cook.
But what does it mean when they're irritated?
Well, if you are "irritated," that means you are very annoyed, very upset by
someone, so.
Something is bothering you that causes you to feel irritated.
That's right.
So he's irritated; somebody is bothering him.
And I'm going to guess it's a customer.
Right, because he wanted to teach a customer a lesson.
That... usually you think: Well, OK, he's being kind.
He wants to teach the customer.
But, no. That's not true.
If we use the phrase "teach someone a lesson," what does that mean?
When you're going to teach someone a lesson, that means you are going to correct
them.
You're going to show them that they are wrong, and it's not in a nice way.
Yeah. So here he's really upset by a customer, and he wants to maybe get them
back a little.
That's right.
Maybe... can we do another example of teaching someone a lesson?
Sure.
OK. How about when you're a kid, OK?
If you're a... if you're a kid and you have an older sibling, maybe an older
brother.
Your older brother, you take something of his.
He's going to teach you a lesson by... hurting you, by telling on you.
By going telling mom! That's what usually happen to me.
That's right.
So here the chef he wants to teach this customer who is annoying a lesson, so.
In 1853, a long time ago, Chef Gordon Crum worked at a resort in Saratoga
Springs, New York.
OK, in Saratoga Springs, New York.
So we know we're in New York City, and the chef is probably very upset with
somebody who's probably complaining.
Yeah. Usually if a chef is upset at a customer, it's because the customer is
complaining.
And we'll see how that happens here.
We see the chef made some french fries for a customer who decided they were too
thick and returned them to the kitchen.
OK. So we know what french fries are.
We specifically talked about them yesterday.
But we know that french fries come from potatoes, and they are cuts of potatoes.
Now I like my french fries very thick; but this customer did not.
No. He said they were too thick, and so he returned them to the kitchen said:
Here. Take these back. I want french fries that are less thick, that are more
thin.
Now you can do that in a nice restaurant.
You are allowed to send something back if you are not satisfied with the way
that it is cooked.
But you also run the risk of irritating the chef.
Yeah, making them feel a little bit upset.
And so, the chef he was upset, he was irritated.
So he decided to do something about it.
That's right. The chef is Crum, decided to irk the customer with very thinly
sliced, crisply fried potatoes.
So instead of the thick, juicy, soft slices of a french fry, he decided it'd be
more fun to irk this customer.
Right. So the word "irk" means to annoy someone or to bother someone.
And so he decided... well, the customer wants thin french fries? I'll give him
really thin french fries.
And he made them very crisply fried potatoes.
That's right. So Ryan, let's look at these two words.
We have "irritated" and "irk." So the chef is irritated.
He's already there.
And in turn, he wants to annoy the customer back.
And another way of saying that is he's going to irk him.
Now it really irks me when someone doesn't clean up the bathroom when they're
done.
If you leave puddles on the floor in the bathroom, that irks me.
It really annoys me.
Hmm. You know what irks me is when someone uses toothpaste and they squeeze in
the wrong spot on the tube.
I get really irked!
But here he, the chef, is the one who is trying to irk someone else.
He's trying to get the customer upset.
And he's kind of making fun of him a little by giving him potatoes that are too
thin.
That's right.
But his plan backfired; the guest loved the chips, and soon others were
requesting Crum's Saratoga Chips.
OK. Now we've seen this word "backfired" a little bit earlier.
And here, other people... it did backfire!
They loved it.
The customer loved it.
Other people were requesting more of these Saratoga Chips.
So we see... we saw earlier that the french fries in Enland are actually called
"chips." So this is where we get that word.
So they were specific to this area called chips.
Now well, today potato chips come in a wide variety of flavors.
Americans spend 6 billion dollars a year on potato chips.
That's how many options there are!
Wow! So this... it started as an idea of just a way to irk a customer.
But now it is a huge business.
Many billions of dollars are spent every year.
That's right.
Well, we're going to talk more about some of our favorite treats.
But first, let's visit the Chat Room.
Hi, Ken. Any good news today?
Huh? Oh, no. I'm not looking at the news.
I'm looking at some photos from my trip to Europe.
I went as a backpacker with my cousin.
Wow! Those are beautiful.
Would you like to go back there someday?
Not nearly. I had some bad experiences with hotel rooms.
I'm sure they were pretty expensive.
They can be.
But the real problem was simply finding a place to stay.
Sometimes, at the last resort, I simply slept in a bus station.
Oh, my.
That sounds uncomfortable.
But Ken, I think you meant to say you slept in the bus station "as" a last
resort.
Oh, yeah, that's what I meant.
I couldn't find any other place to stay, so I simply gave up and stayed in the
station for night.
I hope you were able to get a little sleep.
And remember, when you use this idiom, say "as" a last resort.
OK, got it.
I definitely didn't mean "resort" as in an expensive place to stay.
That's true.
Backpackers don't usually stay in resorts.
And in your case, you resorted to stay in a bus station.
I think you're right if resort, as a verb, means something similar to the last
resort.
Yes. Resort, as a verb, means to do something when you run out of other options.
And remember, you usually need to add the preposition TO.
So if I can't open the front door to my house, I might resort to climbing in
through a window?
Yes, you might.
I know I have done that a few times.
You know, looking at those photos does bring back a few good memories.
So taking a trip to Europe may not be your last resort?
No. I would consider going back.
But next time, I'll be making some reservations.