节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-03-02
难易度:High
关键字:sheer, muse, have the itch to, persist, decipher
(Music).
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to study English with us.
We appreciate it.
My name is Steve.
Our CULTURE focus this month is on Beatrix Potter, the English author and
illustrator who created the adorable and lovable Peter Rabbit.
Now one reason for Potter's success, as we found out yesterday, is that she
wrote about things she was familiar with and things she was interested in,
namely plants and animals, except her animals talked.
Now let's begin today's reading on the right side of page 13 and learn more
about Beatrix Potter's formative years, which is just to say her childhood.
(Music).
Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.
Growing up surrounded by nature and her pets, Potter ended up learning quite a
bit about both animals and plant life through sheer observation.
During their holidays in the countryside, she and Bertram immersed themselves in
the natural world.
She put that knowledge to good use.
Potter used her observations of nature to draw detailed pictures of her muses -
animals and plants.
Her parents were so impressed with her work that they hired a drawing teacher to
give her lessons for a number of years.
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us in the studio.
I'm excited to have you back talking about Beatrix Potter and her very famous
Peter Rabbit.
Yes. Now we've been talking about Beatrix Potter's childhood, how her and her
brother were fond of many strange critters.
And we're starting to see how she is going to turn that into her story - Peter
Rabbit.
That's right.
Growing up surrounded by nature and her pets, Potter ended up learning quite a
bit about both animals and plants.
Now Ryan, she grew up around nature, which you did not.
I did not.
So this could not be something you would write about because she's following the
rule of write what you know.
Exactly. Now she grew up in... we saw yesterday, in the countryside in Scotland
and also being near the Lake District of England,
and so she spent a lot of time around these plants and animals.
And we see now today, Kaylah, that she learned a lot about them through sheer
observation.
Now that's a cool word to use.
Now I like using this word in normal conversation, but it's also fun to write
with.
The word "sheer" is focusing on what is coming next is the only thing that was
used.
So she only used observation.
She... it was the most important part of learning, this sheer observation.
Yes. Now "sheer" means that, yeah, you only do something.
And if she is only using observation, that means just by looking around,
watching nature and paying attention and she began to learn a lot about it.
That's right.
Now most children learn how to interact with people through sheer observation.
They just learn by watching.
Now what's another context, another word that we could use with "sheer"?
Well, if you say that you learn about a story just through sheer listening
perhaps, that means you only heard it but you can still learn a lot by only
listening.
That's right.
Now you can learn an instrument by sheer practice.
It's the only thing you do is you just keep practicing.
Now I know that doesn't feel like something you can only do, but it's also an
option.
Yeah. If you want to be good at an instrument, you should definitely practice, I
think.
OK. Now during their holidays in the countryside, Beatrix and her brother
Bertram immersed themselves in the natural world.
What a cool experience!
Now most children don't have the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature on
vacation.
Ryan, where did you vacation as a kid?
I usually went to visit my family in Arizona and Texas in the United States.
Now did you have the opportunity to immerse in nature?
Sometimes, but many of the times it was in the desert where most of the critters
were not very nice.
That's right.
Yeah.
So be able to immerse yourself in a... in nature, in the natural world means
you're completely surrounded by it.
"Immersed" is most commonly, if you want a mental picture, think about water.
If you're going to immerse yourself, that means you jump in the water and you're
completely surrounded by it.
It's over your head and you're holding your breath, you're immersed.
Exactly. That's a good example, Kaylah.
Now here we're using this word to describe how Beatrix and her brother were
surrounded by the natural world or surrounded by nature.
Which is how they learned through sheer observation.
Exactly. Now they put that knowledge to good use.
If you use this phrase, putting something to good use, that means you are using
it very well and very effectively.
That's right. Potter used her observations of nature to draw detailed pictures
of her muses.
And her muses were animals and plants.
Yes. Now the word "muse" here is referring to someone's thoughts, something that
entertains someone's mind.
And so here she is thinking about animals and plants.
That's right. They are what give her the inspiration.
Your muse is something you're thinking about and is inspiring you to do
something.
Maybe if you are in love with someone, they are your muse to write poetry.
Now her... her muses were animals and plants.
OK. Now we see here she didn't start out as an author.
First she was drawing detailed pictures of plants and animals that she knew so
much about.
So she was an illustrator first.
Well, her parents were so impressed with her work that they hired a drawing
teacher to give her lessons for a number of years.
Yeah. OK, so her parents were very impressed.
We see that she was drawing detailed pictures, which means they were... they
were very accurate,
and they were very close to what the animals really looked like and what the
plants really looked like in nature.
That's right. And we see the phrase "a number of something" again.
We saw that yesterday.
And once again, that refers to "several" years, several of something.
So for a number of years, she was taking drawing lessons.
Well, this is going to help her become a fantastic illustrator and writer.
First, let's stop in and see the skit.
Beatrix, we know quite a bit about animals and plant life.
Well, that's no surprise.
We spent a lot of time surrounded by nature.
Especially on holidays in the countryside.
That's when we can immerse ourselves in the natural world.
Ah, yes.
We can learn so much through sheer observation.
That's true.
And look! Look! I'm putting my knowledge to good use.
I'm drawing pictures of animals and plants.
Oh. Look at the details.
I'm very impressed.
My big sister is a talented illustrator.
Thank you, Bertram.
But I want to do more than draw.
I know. You've always had the itch to write.
I remember you kept a journal.
It was very interesting.
Bertram, did you read my journal?
Uh... how could I?
It was written in a secret code.
That's why it was interesting.
Well, I've always enjoyed both drawing and writing.
And you persisted in developing both talents.
Yes. And perhaps one day I will create something that is quite special.
I'm sure you will, Beatrix.
I'm sure you will.
But what?
Why don't you talk to Peter Rabbit?
Maybe he has an interesting idea.
Oh, yes.
Yes, Peter? Peter, what do you think?
Oh! Oh, that is interesting.
What do you think?
Oh, very good. Yes, I like that. Oh, I shouldwrite that down.