节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-03-07
难易度:High
关键字:paradigm, sustainable, drastically, customary, respiratory, deforestation
Welcome back, everybody.
You know, to be honest, I've never thought about this before, but the way we
boil water can really affect the quality of our lives.
Of course, The Paradigm Project didn't invent the stove.
It just changed the design a little all in an attempt to improve people's lives.
Let's get back to the lesson now on line 16.
The Paradigm Project.
Designed to transfer heat to pots quickly, Rocket Stoves are much more efficient
than customary cooking fires.
By using these stoves, families can make one bundle of firewood last for two to
three weeks, as opposed to two to three days.
This results in fewer wood-gathering trips, which often require a full day of
walking back and forth in the heat.
Less wood gathering means less deforestation in places like Kenya, where more
than 100 million trees are cut down annually for fuel.
All right. So we've seen how these Rocket Stoves by The Paradigm Project.
They create a lot less smoke for the people that use them, so they are
healthier, Kaylah.
That's the first part that we've talked about.
What about... are they efficient?
Well, they are designed to transfer heat to pots quickly.
So that definitely helps.
OK. So yeah, if it transfers heat... if something is transferred, that means you
move it from one place to the other.
So heat is moved from the fire to the pots very quickly.
That makes them efficient.
Now if you think about you're trying to boil a pot of water, think about how
long it takes to boil a pot of water sometimes.
Well, this stove is designed so that doesn't take as long.
Yeah. And that makes them much more efficient than customary cooking fires.
Now something that is "customary" is referring to something that is usual or the
way something is normally done.
Again, we were talking about open fires.
I think that's what this is talking about, Kaylah.
That's right. A customary cooking fire would then be an open fire because it's
the usual fire.
I would like to look at this word for a second, "customary." We see customary
means it is usual.
But if you say something is custom, that means it is special.
Hmm. That's a good point.
Now a custom, the word "custom" as a noun is referring to the normal way things
are done.
But if something is an adjective, the adjective "custom," that means it is
special or unique.
Interesting.
Interesting.
But here we see that customary means the usual, the more common way.
So that would probably go with the noun form of custom, meaning the way things
are done.
Now by using these stoves, families can make one bundle of firewood last for two
to three weeks.
Now Kaylah, what is a firewood?
Well, firewood is what we put in a fire.
It is simply the wood that we burn.
You have to have wood to be burning a fire.
And you call that "firewood" because you're going to light it on fire.
But they say "a bundle of" it.
Right. And "a bundle" is referring to a group of something.
If you got something tied together, maybe several pieces of firewood tied
together is called a bundle.
And in this stove, they can last two to three weeks, as opposed to two to three
days.
Now that is impressive.
It can last so much longer.
And that's a great sentence, so let's check in with Liz with Grammar on the Go.
Hello, friends.
Greetings from Kenya.
My name is Liz and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
So we're talking about these special stoves that The Paradigm Project is
introducing to different communities around the world, including here in Kenya.
We read in today's article:
By using these stoves, families can make one bundle of firewood last for two to
three weeks, as opposed to two to three days.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Notice the phrase "as opposed to." It's an idiom that means in contrast to or
instead of.
So today's sentence means: By using these stoves, families can make one bundle
of firewood last for two to three weeks instead of just two to three days.
"As opposed to" is a great idiom to use when you want to show how there is a big
difference between two situations or conditions.
For example, let's say there used to be an old mountain road that people have to
travel on in order to get through the mountains.
Now there is a new road, and it's much faster to get through the mountains if
you go that way.
So we can say:
If you want to travel through the mountains, take the new road as opposed to the
old road; it will save you more time.
Or let's say you're stuck in an airport waiting for your next flight, you would
much rather go shopping than sit in the waiting room.
So you can say:
If I have to wait several hours in an airport, I would go shopping as opposed to
sitting in the waiting room.
If you want to see some more example sentences, please check out today's Grammar
Tip section in your Studio Classroom magazine.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off, in Kenya.
Bye-bye.
OK. So just one bundle of wood lasts a lot longer in this Rocket Stove.
And this results in fewer wood-gathering trips.
Now a wood-gathering trip is exactly what it sounds like.
It's when you go out to collect wood that you can burn in a fire.
So you gather wood, makes it a trip, so it's a wood-gathering trip.
Yeah. You gather or pick up pieces of wood to burn in your fire.
And if there are fewer trips that you need to go, then that often... eh, those
trips, actually, would often require a full day; so this is saving you a lot of
time.
That's right.
Sometimes they require full day of walking back and forth in the heat depending
on where in the world you live.
It could also be back and forth in the cold.
So this is a good option because then you don't have to take as many trips.
Well, less wood gathering also means less deforestation.
That's right.
And "deforestation" is talking about cutting down many trees.
And so if you need wood to burn in a fire, then you need to cut down trees.
So in this case, Kaylah, there's fewer wood-gathering trips, less wood is being
used, and so there's less deforestation.
And a deforestation is not a good thing.
This is not when we are removing trees for safety reasons.
This is when mankind, when humans are taking away trees, and it's starting to
hurt the environment.
So in places like Kenya, where there are more than 100 million trees being cut
down annually for fuel, that is then referring to deforestation.
Yeah. In Kenya, we see that many trees are cut down annually.
So every year 100 million trees are cut down or more, and they're used for fuel.
They're used to burn in the stoves.
That's right. So if we cut down in the amount of fuel we need, we can cut down
on deforestation.
And therefore, help the environment.
And there's that second piece right there.
Well, let's take a minute to watch this video.
This is another story of great need in our world - a story of a family's burden,
a woman's burden and a dying environment.
But it's also a more common story than you think because 3 billion of us in this
world cook over an open fire for every meal.
One in two of us have to walk miles and miles to collect wood,
to breathe in the equivalent of 40 cigarettes a day and spend 1/3 of our income
on buying fuel just to cook for our families.
As a result, forests are disappearing.
And nearly 2 million of our women and children die each year from the smoke
caused by cooking over open fires.
So what we do about this?
"Do we create a nonprofit to raise awareness, build the cause and implement the
solution to end cooking over open fires?" The Paradigm Project asked this.
And our answer was a little different than you might think.
Our answer was profit.
Profit from the poor so we can profit for the poor, and change the paradigm of
giving,
of investing and of the 3 billion of us that cook over an open fire for every
meal.
The Paradigm Project, a low profit company,
set out to create sustainable economic, social and environmental value within
the developing world communities,
and to impact the lives of millions of people through something pretty simple: a
Rocket Stove,
a stove that would drastically reduce a family's need for wood, improve their
economic stability and create a better, safer environment in the kitchen.
But it's really more a Rocket Stove.
It's a tool for leveraging the hundreds of billions of dollars of value in the
carbon markets,
a tool to turn the tide on deforestation that is devastating our planet, and a
tool to change the paradigm that so many of us face.
Through these Rocket Stoves, The Paradigm Project can leverage the carbon
markets to give investors healthy returns,
to create a sustainable solution for communities that have no other option
available and create profits from the poor so we can profit for the poor.
It's a paradigm shift, but we can't do it alone.
Will you join us?
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that concludes our Language Tips today.
I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
Thank you so much, Michelle.
The Paradigm Project's Rocket Stove seems like a great idea, doesn't it?
It's healthier.
It saves time and it saves the environment.
Yes, The Paradigm Project certainly knows how to think outside the box.
Friends, when you have a free moment, open your Studio Classroom magazine to
page 56 and try the Rapid Review.
It's a practice test designed to sharpen your GEP test-taking skills.
It's also a good tool to measure your English listening comprehension.
OK, everyone, please join us tomorrow for more of The Paradigm Project.
We'll see you then.