Listening: Time Zones
Our planet, the Earth, is the 3rd planet from the Sun.
It is a beautiful, rotating sphere.
The side facing the Sun is in daylight.
The side facing away from the Sun is in darkness.
For example, when it’s daytime in the US, it’s night time in China.
In fact, there’s a 12-hour time difference between Boston and Shanghai.
When it’s midnight in Shanghai, it’s noon in Boston.
The Earth rotates from west to east.
To know which direction is east or west, watch the Sun.
The Sun travels through the sky from east to west.
The Sun comes up in the east and goes down in the west.
Again, this is because the Earth rotates.
It takes 24 hours for the Earth to make a complete rotation, and that is the length of one day.
Because of the Earth’s rotation, the Earth is divided into time zones.
Some countries, such as the US, have several time zones.
When it’s 10am in New York, it’s 7am in San Francisco.
Europe and the US are separated by several time zones.
When it’s 5pm in Paris, it’s 11am in Boston.
So there’s a six-hour difference between Paris and Boston.
One large country, China, has just one time zone for the whole country.
As a result, at the same time, some parts of the country can be dark and other parts can be light.
As you travel around the Earth, the time changes.
The time of day depends on your location on the planet.
When you travel east or west, you may cross several timezones.
For example, if you travel from Beijing to Los Angeles, you cross eight time zones.
That means when it’s noon on Sunday in China, it’s 8pm on Saturday in Los Angeles.
For travelers, this means it can be very difficult to sleep after a long flight.
The clock may say 8pm, but for your body it’s noon.
This is called jet lag (/dʒɛt/ /læɡ/ 时差).
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Listening: Kim’s Movie Star Dream
Kim is a popular Korean actress.
She’s 28 years old, slim (/slɪm/ 苗条的) and beautiful.
She has a large fan club and her movies are very popular.
Everywhere she goes, her fans want her autograph (/'ɔtəɡræf/ 亲笔签名).
But Kim wants more.
She wants to be popular all over the world.
Tomorrow is a special day for her.
She is leaving for Hollywood.
She’s going to Hollywood to meet with some top movie executives (/ɪɡ'zɛkjətɪv/ 主管，执行官).
The meeting is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
If the meeting goes well, she’ll be in a Hollywood movie.
This is her chance to become a star.
She met the movie’s director last year.
He came to Korea and saw her latest movie.
After that he decided to use her in his new movie.
Fortunately, Kim’s English is excellent, so she can play the role.
The director wants her to play a major role in the movie.
The movie’s story will take place in the future.
At that time, the world will be a very different place.
Unfortunately, much of the world will be polluted.
Robots will do much of the work, and only the very rich can have a good life.
The ending of the movie is still a secret.
Even Kim doesn’t know how it will end.
But she hopes it will have a happy ending.
She wants people to have hope for a better future.
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Vocabulary: Actions & Comparisons (/kəm'pærɪsn/比较)
These people are having a meeting.
The woman is giving a presentation.
This person is having a scary dream.
In his dream, something is chasing (/tʃes/ 追赶) him, so he is running as fast as he can.
This old man is a tourist.
He is looking out the window of his tour bus.
This young couple is in an art museum.
They are looking at a famous painting.
The sun is setting (沉没，此意为太阳落山) behind the mountains.
The sky is turning red.
The longest line is the one on the top.
The top line is the longest of the three lines.
The shortest line is the one in the middle.
The line in the middle is shorter than the other two.
The bottom line is the shortest.
The shortest of these three lines is the one on the bottom.
The shirt on the left is more expensive than the shirt on the right.
The shirt on the right is less expensive than the shirt on the left.
The shirt on the left isn’t as expensive as the one on the right.
The shirt on the left costs less than the one on the right.
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Vocabulary: Seasons & Weather
Winter is the coldest season because the sun is at its lowest point in the sky.
Winter sports include skiing (/'ski:iŋ/ 滑雪) and ice skating (/ˈsketɪŋ/ 溜冰).
Summer is the hottest season because the sun is at its highest point in the sky.
Many people like to go swimming in the summer because of the hot weather.
Spring is the season when the weather gets warmer each day.
For many animals, new life begins in the spring.
Autumn is the season when the weather begins to cool and the days begin to shorten.
Autumn is when trees turn many colors and leaves fall to the ground.
Rainy season is the season when some countries get most of their rainfall (/'ren'fɔl/ 降雨).
Rainy season usually lasts for one or two months.
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Dialogue: Missing the Flight
M: Hi, I’m sorry to be late.
W: What happened? You were supposed to be here an hour ago.
M: Yes, I know. But I missed my flight.
W: You missed your flight? How did that happen?
M: I got on the wrong bus this morning. So I was late to the airport. By the time I arrived, the gate was closed.
W: What did you do then?
M: I had to rebook my flight and get on the waiting list.
W: Oh, that’s too bad. At least you got here.
M: Yes, it wasn’t easy getting on the next flight. I had to run to the gate.
W: This kind of thing happens a lot lately. Last week I missed a flight too.
M: What happened?
W: There was a traffic accident near the airport.
M: You were driving?
W: No, I wasn’t. I was in a taxi. But it took a long time to get to the airport. The traffic was stopped for nearly 15 minutes. By the time I got there it was too late to get on the flight. The next flight wasn’t for another 3 hours, so it was a long wait. From now on I’ll try to get to the airport much earlier.
M: Me too.
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Dialogue: A Going Away Party
M: What’s the matter? Why do you look so sad?
W: Ada has anew job, she’s going to Beijing.
M: Really? When’s she leaving?
W: She’s leaving at the end of next week.
M: That soon?
W: Yes, she just told me.
M: That’s too bad. I really enjoy working with her.
W: Me too. I’m going to miss her. Let’s have a going away party for her.
M: Good idea. How about this weekend?
W: Friday evening would be better. We can have it afterwork.
M: Yes, Friday is better.
W: Let’s go to her favorite restaurant, ok?
M: Which one? The Italian one or the German one?
W: The Italian one has better food. So let’s go there.Their pizzas are awesome (/'ɔsəm/很棒的).
M: Ok, I’ll make the reservations.
W: Let me check with Ada first. We don’t want her to miss her party.
M: Yeah, that’s for sure. And could you please invite everyone in the office?
W: Sure, no problem. Nobody will want to miss it.