节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-01-04
难易度:High
关键字:esteem, gorilla, liberate, heartwarming, tsunami, conservationist
Hello, friends.
Welcome back.
Today we are talking about Famous Animals.
Now we've already talked about Koko the gorilla and Barry the St. Bernard.
Now we're going to talk about Owen and Mzee, a very unlikely friendship.
But it is a true story.
If you want to learn more about Owen and Mzee, and want to practice your
English,
you can practice reading about them in this English book.
Or if you just want to learn more about them, you can also read it in Chinese.
Well, I hope you join us to learn more about Owen and Mzee at the top of page 15
in your Studio Classroom magazine.
(Music).
Famous Animals.
Owen and Mzee.
This unlikely pair of creatures got the world's attention when little Owen, a
hippo, lost his family to a tsunami.
When he was rescued and taken in by Lafarge Ecosystems,
he immediately started following Mzee, the 130-year-old tortoise.
Mzee seemed to accept the baby hippo as family, and the two became inseparable.
Christian.
Many remember this lion's heartwarming story.
As a cub, Christian was bought from a London department store and raised by
friends John Rendall and Ace Bourke.
He was later reintroduced to the wilds of Africa by a conservationist.
When the friends went to find Christian almost a year later, he remembered them
and gave them both a lion-sized hug!
Thanks for joining us.
Let's talk about Owen and Mzee.
Ryan, what are you reading?
Oh. Well, I'm reading the story about Owen and Mzee.
What makes Owen and Mzee so special?
Well, we'll find out in our article.
It says: This unlikely pair of creatures got the world's attention when little
Owen, a hippo, lost his family to a tsunami.
Poor little Owen, a tiny baby little hippo, lost his family to a tsunami.
And a "tsunami" is a terrible thing to experience.
Yeah, tsunami is a giant wave, a very large wave usually in the ocean.
That's right. It comes from the ocean and hits the land and is... It causes a
lot of damage.
And little Owen's family died in it and he was left alone.
Well, this phrase "an unlikely pair" is an interesting phrase.
But Liz has some more for us on Grammar on the Go.
Hi, friends.
How are you today?
My name is Liz, and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
I'm here at a local zoo today to see some animals because our article today is
about animals.
Now in our article, we read about Owen and Mzee.
According to the writer:
This unlikely pair of creatures got the world's attention...
That's our Grammar Tip sentence for today.
And we're focusing on the word "unlikely." We usually use the word "unlikely" to
describe situations that probably will not happen.
For example, someone might ask: Is it going to rain?
And if you don't think it will, you can say: It's very unlikely.
But in today's sentence, the word "unlikely" is describing the word "pair." In
this case,
we're talking about how this pair is not a normal kind.
It's not a pair of animals that most people could imagine or expect being
together.
Who would have thought that a hippo and a tortoise could be friends?
It's hard to imagine they could form a pair, so they're an "unlikely" pair.
As you can see, the word "unlikely" can also be used to describe people or
things that are different from what people expect.
For example, let's say there's a certain job position that is very popular for
young ladies to apply.
But all of a sudden, an older male applies for this position.
We could describe him as an unlikely candidate for the job.
Or suppose an old lady gets rescued from a burning building, not by a
firefighter but with the help of a cat.
So we can say: The cat is an unlikely hero.
Well, that's all the time we have for today.
Thanks again for joining me here.
I hope to see you again next time.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
Well, when little Owen was lost from his family, he was rescued and taken in by
Lafarge Ecosystems.
When you say someone is "taken in," that means they took care of him, they gave
him a home.
There he immediately started following Mzee, the 130-year-old tortoise?
Yeah. Now a tortoise is a very large turtle.
And here we see he's also a very old turtle.
That's right. And this baby hippo and this very old turtle became friends
because what did Mzee do?
Well, Mzee seems to accept the baby hippo as family, and the two became
inseparable.
That is a... such an interesting story about friendship and what it can mean no
matter your differences.
That's right. And they were inseparable - they could not be pulled apart from
each other.
They loved each other so much.
That's right. Another wonderful story about friendship is Christian.
That's right. Christine is a lion.
And many remember this lion's heartwarming story.
When we say something is "heartwarming," that means it is touching.
It gives us good feelings, good emotions.
It's something very positive.
Yeah. And this story does give you very good feelings.
As a cub, Christian was bought from a London department store and raised by
friends John Rendall and Ace Bourke.
So they bought a lion at a department store?
Yeah. That seems a little bit strange, but not quite heartwarming yet.
No. That's not the heartwarming part.
They raised him.
And later, he was introduced to the wilds of Africa by a conservationist.
That's right. "Conservationist" is someone who protects nature.
When the friends went to find Christian almost a year later, he remembered them
and gave them both a lion-sized hug.
Oh. Now that is heartwarming.
Well, we're going to go for today.
But first, let's watch a video all about Owen and Mzee.
(Music).
This is a story whatever level you look at it, it's almost impossible not to
take away something that is really profound.
It was a newspaper picture taken by photographer Peter Greste that spurred
Hatkoff's interest.
It showed this: the unusual relationship between the baby hippo and the wise,
old tortoise at the wildlife preserve they now both call home.
How Owen got there is another story.
Owen was somehow separated from his family as a result of the tsunami.
His family went back up stream, we think.
And he ended up on the beach in the marine park.
An interesting mix of people tried to rescue him, including fishermen using
their precious nets.
He was very, very frightened, but he was also very angry.
When we first saw him, he was in the back of a pickup truck trussed up with
nets.
Because hippos are so territorial and considered the most dangerous animal in
Africa, Owen couldn't be left alone.
We can't take Owen back to the wild.
He would be either killed by local people, or killed by a male in the territory
somewhere up by river.
So he's basically now going to be an animal in captivity for the rest of his
life.
And so he went to Haller Park which is actually a reclaimed limestone quarry
ecosystem.
And there he met Mzee, a family pet who was brought to the park about 30 years
ago.
We spent long time watching them and then taking photographs.
And we thought, well, this is cute.
And let's take the pictures now because in a week's time, it'll be over.
And now months later, we're seeing Mzee showing affection towards Owen, which is
equally surprising.
Excuse me, Bryan.
Can I ask you a question?
Sure, Ken. What is it?
Well, I'm reading a book about this composer who "lost his parents" at a young
age.
What does that mean?
That means that his parents died when he was a child.
Saying someone lost a friend or family member is a polite way of saying that
person died.
Oh. Well, it's sad that his parents died when he was so young.
Hey, Bryan, that reminds me of something my friend Mark said.
What's that?
Well, his sister made a really bad decision.
And Mark said he thought she had "lost her mind." That must be another idiom,
right?
Yes, it is.
"Losing one's mind" means becoming crazy or insane.
But we sometimes use it to say that someone was not thinking clearly.
OK. That makes sense.
It sounded like Mark had lost patience with his sister.
Hey, that's another saying that uses "lost," isn't it?
Right. As you probably know, Ken, "losing patience with someone" means getting
upset with them.
It means that you don't want to be patient with them anymore.
And does "losing one's temper" mean the same thing as losing patience?
Well, that's close.
Losing one's temper can be a very serious situation.
When someone loses their temper, they start yelling and acting really angry.
It seems like they have lost control of their emotions and their temper.
Well, that's really helpful.
Thanks for not losing patience with me after I ask all these questions.
Don't worry, Ken.
You can ask me any question you want.
Thanks.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that's it for today's Language Tips.
I'll see you soon.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Michelle.
Before we go, we must mention Paul the Octopus.
If you remember the 2010 World Cup, Paul accurately predicted the winner of all
seven of the German football team's matches.
Later, Paul went on to predict the winner of the final match between Spain and
Holland.
Now the chances of an octopus or human correctly choosing all eight winners is
one in 256, not easy to do.
Paul's perfect record beat out other rival animal psychics like Manny the
Parakeet who predicted Holland would beat Spain in the finals.
Better luck next time, Manny.
OK, everyone, I hope the rest of your Wednesday is great.
Please join Studio Classroom tomorrow when we head to Africa.
Bye-bye.