Vocabulary Challenge 16: https://tw.voicetube.com/everyday/20190619
Script:
Woah, woah, plate tectonics? Are you kidding me? This is way too technical to be on our speaking challenge! When was the last time you ever talk about plate tectonics (板塊構造學) in real life?
Hey, how’s your day.
Oh, it’s going great! Did you feel the earth’s crust move yesterday? Yeah, it was cool. Geology rocks, no pun intended.
同學有聽得懂我的笑話嗎? Geology rocks…rocks, pun雙關語? Get it? No, think about it.
Let’s move on to our sentence of the day!
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet, the story of plate tectonics shows us it can take a little while before earth-shaking ideas change the world.
板塊構造學說的發展就如同不斷變化的地球表面，在這驚天動地的想法改變世界之前，總是會需要花上一段時間。
So let’s say this sentence again.
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet, the story of plate tectonics shows us it can take a little while before earth-shaking ideas change the world.
Faster
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet, the story of plate tectonics shows us it can take a little while before earth-shaking ideas change the world.
OK, you know the drill. What are the possible thought groups「字組」?
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet (1)
the story of plate tectonics shows us (2)
(that) it can take a little while (3)
before earth-shaking ideas change the world. (4)
Now you can break this huge sentence up into more pieces, but let’s stick to 4 for the sake of fluency.
How about intonation 語調?
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet (fall-rise)
the story of plate tectonics shows us (rise)
(that) it can take a little while (fall),
you are giving the listeners a break here, “before” is enough to connect the two clauses
before earth-shaking ideas change the world. (fall)
What about the sentence stress? 句子的重音 You could say:
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet (1)
the story of plate tectonics shows us (2)
(that) it can take a little while (3)
before earth-shaking ideas change the world. (4)
就是這些英文詞彙已經被提過了所以沒有放那麼多的重音在他們
同學你看我們這邊放重音的字都是提供新資訊的字
除了形容詞a little以外其他都是名詞和名詞片語
surface, plate tectonics, earth-shaking ideas 尤其他這邊在比較, 所以比較的名詞一定要強調
So here, we are stressing the key content words, especially the nouns that are being compared.
OK, it’s grammar time!!! 大家最愛的文法時間到了!!!
Now that is a humongous sentence:
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet (1)
the story of plate tectonics shows us (2)
(that) it can take a little while (3)
before earth-shaking ideas change the world. (4)
So, to explain it easily, you can say
Just like something,…
Just like my father, my brother likes to watch sports.
If you want to break it down, I would say
Just like…is a prepositional phrase in this case serving the function of an adverb used to compare. The story of plate tectonics shows us (this is the main independent clause) that it can take a little while (noun clause) before earth-shaking ideas change the world (subordinate clause).
Teacher, this is confusing! OK, then use remember how to use it but being able to break down a sentence will help you understand the relationship between ideas on more advanced tests like the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE, which sometimes uses dense and complex sentence patterns to assess your ability to decode information. Is it annoying? Yeah, but they are assessing your ability to use English at a graduate level.
OK, let’s take a break!
So I chose a really long sentence today, mostly because I wanted to torture you. Of course not!
I like the comparison that it makes:
Just like the surface of our dynamic planet (1)
the story of plate tectonics shows us (2)
(that) it can take a little while (3)
before earth-shaking ideas change the world. (4)
What is this sentence trying to say? It’s saying that the story of plate tectonics is a complex and revolutionary idea and people did not accept it at first even though it is a true and observable phenomenon. Like all earth-shaking, revolutionary and innovative ideas, it takes time before people will believe it. But if you hold on to these ideas, sometimes, they can change the world. Cool, huh? at least, that is what I got out of the sentence.
這句話試著說什麼？它說板塊構造的故事是一個複雜而革命性的想法，人們最初並不接受它，即使它是一個真實的，可觀察的現象。像所有驚天動地，革命性和創新性的想法一樣，人們相信它需要時間。但如果你堅持這些想法，有時候，他們可以改變這個世界。很酷，對吧？至少，這就是我從句子中得到的。
OK, let’s get back to English learning!
| Word | Form |
| Today’s word of the day is
dynamic continuously changing or developing a dynamic process 不斷變化發展的過程 Business innovation is a dynamic process. 商業革新是一個不斷變化發展的過程。 The situation is dynamic and may change at any time. 局勢不穩定，可能隨時發生變化。 dynamic also means having a lot of ideas and enthusiasm 思維活躍的；活潑的，充滿活力的，精力充沛的 He’s young and dynamic and will be a great addition to the team. 他年輕活潑，會給團隊增添不少活力。 |
(adj.)
|
| 2. surface
the outer or top part or layer of something 表面，表層，外層 Tropical rain forests used to cover ten percent of the earth’s surface. 以前，地球表面的10%都被熱帶雨林所覆蓋。 You could say, the surface of…(什麼)的表面 Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the surface of the moon. 尼爾‧阿姆斯壯是第一個登上月球的人。 |
(n.) |
| 3. continental drift
Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface. 大陸漂移是一種解釋大陸如何在地球表面轉移位置的理論。 大陸漂移 The theory of continental drift was not accepted for many years. 大陸漂移理論在過去多年來一直未被接受。 |
(n.) |
| 4. plate tectonics
the study of how the surface of the earth is formed, how the separate pieces of it move, and the effects of this movement 板塊構造學（研究地球表面是如何形成的、其不同部分如何移動以及這種移動會產生什麼效應） Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate tectonics. 今天，大陸漂移理論已經被板塊構造學所取代。 |
(n.)
|
| 5. mantle
(geology) the part of the earth that surrounds the central core 地幔 The mantle surrounds the Earth’s core. 地幔環繞著地球的核心。 |
(n., singular) |
OK, I’m sure you guys are now experts on plate tectonics. The next time you meet someone at a bar, you can tell them all about plate tectonics, and they will soon leave you alone.
Today’s theme song is Earthquake – The Flirtations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDYa3ogFIFI