节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-04-13
难易度:Medium
关键字:luxury, walk of life, grave, unthinkable, maiden voyage, unsinkable
Hi, everybody. Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
So happy you've joined us today.
My name is Steve.
Well, you've seen the Hollywood movie.
Now it's time to get the rest of the story.
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the first, and last, journey of the
Titanic - the biggest, fastest, most luxurious ship of its time.
Now for the next two days, we want to pause and remember this famous ship,
and also the people who were on it as it sank in the frigid North Atlantic
Ocean.
Let's start reading on page 28.
(Music).
Titanic.
This week the world remembers the famous ship's historic journey.
Titanic, the largest passenger ship of its time, set out on its maiden voyage
one hundred years ago this week.
Famous long before it set sail, this "ship of dreams" offered the finest
luxuries of its day.
Scheduled to sail from Southampton, England, to New York City, Titanic welcomed
passengers from all walks of life.
No doubt, each one boarding the ship on April 10, 1912, was filled with
excitement and confidence.
This confidence existed because Titanic was said by all to be "unsinkable.".
Hello.
Today we have a HISTORY article to discuss, and it's about the Titanic.
That's right, Brandon.
Today we are talking about the Titanic.
Now friends, what do you think of when you hear the word Titanic?
Well, I think of something that's huge because the Titanic, which is a ship, was
very huge.
That's true.
We think of the word Titanic, usually we think of maybe the boat that became
very famous.
Brandon, is there a movie that you might think of?
I think you're right.
Of course, there is.
There's a famous movie called Titanic, and it's a very long movie.
But it's also, I think, personally, a very interesting movie.
That's right.
And it is exactly about the Titanic, which is what we're talking about today.
So the word Titanic means large, but it is a name for a very famous boat.
And this week the world remembers the famous ship's historic journey.
Now a historic journey - something that we look back in history - and when the
Titanic went out, when it set sail as we'll talk about later,
when it started this journey, it was historic because nothing had happened like
this before.
A ship of its size had not set sail before the Titanic actually went out into
the open waters.
That's right.
Titanic is a very interesting story, and a very sad story about a very famous
boat.
Well, if you want to see a picture of the Titanic, you can look in your Studio
Classroom magazine on page 28 and see a picture of this very famous boat that we
will be talking about today.
And we begin our article with "Titanic, the largest passenger ship of its time."
And so that tells us that, yes, it was a huge ship,
and it was a passenger ship - so people could go on the ship, they could take a
trip on the Titanic.
That's right.
Now there were other boats that were as large but were for carrying different
products, not people.
So this was for people.
And it set out on its maiden voyage one hundred years ago this week.
Now a "maiden voyage" refers to the first time something goes on its way.
So for a ship, it is the first time that it leaves the... leaves land and heads
out into the ocean; "maiden" being the first time that happens.
And famous long before is set sail, this "ship of dreams" offered the finest
luxuries.
And so we see that this ship was famous long before it set sail.
When a ship sets sail, it means that it actually goes out into the water; it
begins its journey.
That's right.
It was famous before it even set sail because of the luxuries.
It had incredible luxuries for its day.
No... no other boat really had this.
That's right. And if something... we're talking about "luxuries" here.
That's something that is quite expensive.
And so maybe you have some luxuries in your own life.
Maybe you want to do something that's not ordinary, and you have to pay a little
extra money.
That's a luxury.
That's right.
And this is the noun of that word, luxuries.
Well, scheduled to sail from Southampton, England, to New York City, Titanic
welcomed passengers from all walks of life.
That's right.
"Walks of life" meaning people that were rich or wealthy, or people that...
maybe they didn't have very much money at all.
They're... were from different "walks of life." You'll hear this phrase.
And it just means all kinds of people could come onto the Titanic.
That's right.
People from all different parts of life, so rich and poor, if they had a lot of
money, they had nothing,
if there is a lot of them, or if there's just one of them, people from
everywhere.
This includes all people.
Well, no doubt, each one of them, no matter what walk of life they came from,
were excited as they boarded the ship.
We see the phrase here, "no doubt." That just means that something is very
likely.
It's very likely that the people who were boarding the ship on April 10, 1912,
that they were filled with excitement and confidence.
They thought: This is a huge ship. Why would there be any problems at all?
They were very confident.
That's right. They were confident and excited.
Well, this confidence existed because Titanic was said by all to be
"unsinkable." So that means "unsinkable," when something is sinkable,
that means it can go underneath or go underwater.
It is unsinkable, so they thought this boat would never fail.
Well, we're going to see exactly what happens with Titanic.
But first, we need to visit Ken in the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan, did you know that one hundred years ago this week, the Titanic set
out on its maiden voyage?
Oh, really. I didn't know that.
Yep. That's what this article says.
Hey, Bryan, I didn't know that the Titanic was a sailboat.
A sailboat?
No, it wasn't a sailboat.
It was a steam ship.
A steam ship?
So there were no sails?
Nope.
But why does the article say it set sail?
Ah, good question.
Why don't we go to Doris for the answer.
OK.
When "sail" is used as a verb, it can mean to move across the surface of water
using a sailboat.
By extension, "sail" can also mean to travel in a boat or ship.
The phrase "set sail" means to begin a voyage.
Oh, so saying the Titanic set sail means it began the voyage.
That's right.
It's a figure of speech.
You sail on ships whether they have sails or not.
In fact, the word "ship," when used as a verb, means to transport goods whether
by sea, land or air.
So I can say I'm shipping something when I send it somewhere by ship, plane or
truck.
Yes, you can.
But "ship" implies a larger quantity than "send." A publisher will "ship" 5,000
copies of a book to a book store and "send" one copy to you.
Right. So are there any other names of vehicles that can be used as a verb?
Sure.
Have you ever "taxied" on an airport runway?
Taxi? Are taxi cabs allowed on the runway?
That sounds dangerous.
No, Ken. When an airplane moves over the runway under its own power, we call
that "taxiing." Here's another example.
When you finish eating in a fast food restaurant, you should remember to bus
your tray and bring the trash to the garbage bin.
Bus my tray?
Somehow I don't think you mean to drive a bus.
No. "To bus" means to carry something in a restaurant.
Oh, interesting.
Well, thanks for teaching me all that.
My pleasure, Ken.