Vocabulary Challenge 27: https://tw.voicetube.com/everyday/20190828
Script:
Where are all the bees? There used to be so many bees around everywhere we went. To be honest, I’ve been afraid of bees since I was a kid.
I was afraid of getting stung and would intentionally stay away from bees. I was never stung until last year.
I was using this ride-sharing service, and the driver was just talking to me. At the time, I was in the US, and the driver was asking me where I was from and telling me that she likes Chinese food and that she has many Asian friends. I understand she was just being friendly, but I think I’ve had this conversation about a hundred times. But you know, it’s good to be positive, so I had a good conversation with her.
For some reason, she had the window opening when driving on the freeway. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but I reacted by slapping my thigh, and all of a sudden, OW! I felt a sharp pain in my palm. I thought I somehow slapped a pin on my pants or something. Then I looked down, and there was this bee on my thigh.
Anyways, that was the first time I got stung, can you believe it? I got stung in a car of all places. It didn’t hurt much at all. I rinsed and washed the wound with soap and cold water and the swelling and throbbing quickly subsided. So, not exactly crossing off another item on my bucket list, but an interesting event nonetheless. OK, have you ever been stung by a bee? What are some words that come to mind when you think of bees? Insects? Pollen? The ecosystem? Let’s move on to our sentence of the day.
For instance, fossil records suggest bees may have evolved from wasps that gave up hunting after they acquired a taste for nectar.
舉個例，化石記錄顯示：蜜蜂可能是從嚐過花蜜的美味後而放棄獵食的黃蜂演化而來。
So let’s say this sentence again.
For instance, fossil records suggest bees may have evolved from wasps that gave up hunting after they acquired a taste for nectar.
Faster
For instance, fossil records suggest bees may have evolved from wasps that gave up hunting after they acquired a taste for nectar.
OK, you know this game. What are the possible thought groups? 「字組」
For instance, (1)
fossil records suggest (2)
bees may have evolved (3)
from wasps that gave up hunting (4)
after they acquired a taste for nectar. (5)
You can break it up into five groups. What?! 5 groups? Well, you don’t really pause too long, as the pause between suggest and bees is a slight pause.
How about intonation? 語調
For instance, (rise- give more info)
fossil records suggest (rise)
bees may have evolved (rise)
from wasps that gave up hunting (fall)
after they acquired a taste for nectar. (fall)
What about the sentence stress? 句子的重音 You could say:
For instance, (rise- gove more info)
fossil records suggest (rise)
bees may have evolved (rise)
from wasps that gave up hunting (fall)
after they acquired a taste for nectar. (fall)
Lots of content words since the speaker is giving an example here.
OK, it’s grammar time!!! 大家最愛的文法時間到了!!!
Today’s sentence pattern is:
For instance, or For example,
There is very little difference between for example and for instance. They have the same or nearly the same meaning, and they are used in the same way. Both of these expressions are used when a speaker or writer wants to introduce a specific person or thing that helps to explain or confirm a general statement. Note, however, that for example is used much more frequently than for instance, particularly in formal contexts, so in academic writing it is a safer choice.
http://learnersdictionary.com/qa/is-there-a-difference-between-for-example-and-for-instance
In theory, for instance is used for a specific illustration. For example is used to describe a real or theoretical case when there are also other possible types.
Examples
What should we do in case of an emergency, for instance, a fire? (This is a specific situation.)
You will be tested on computer programs, for example, Word and PowerPoint. (There are other types of programs not mentioned.)
In practice, the words are used interchangeably.
The abbreviation for for example is not Ex.!
e.g.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/%E8%A9%9E%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AA%9E/eg
ABBREVIATION FOR exempli gratia: a Latin phrase that means “for example”. It can be pronounced as “e.g.” or “for example”:
You should eat more food that contains a lot of fibre, e.g. fruit, vegetables, and bread.
The main point I want you to learn is, after you present an opinion and explanation. A good way to make your point more clear is to give an example.
I think reducing our consumption of plastic is the best way to fight pollution. It is estimated that millions of tons of plastic waste enters the ocean each year. If we stop using plastic spoons, straws, bottles and other products, we can reduce that number by more than 50%. For example, in my country, we recently stopped using plastic straws and eating utensils. Just in one year, we reduced plastic waste by close to a million ton.
OK, let’s take a break! We often hear bees are responsible for the pollination about 70 to 90% of global food. We all know that bees are extremely important for the ecosystem because without them, many plants would not survive. However, are they really responsible for 70-90% of all our food?
Well, I did a little research and most scientists seem to disagree with this claim.
According to a scientist from the University of Sydney, this is not true. Let’s listen to what he has to say:
Estimates of flowering plants that require pollination by animals are between 78% in temperate regions and 94% in tropical regions. However, only a fraction of these are pollinated by bees.
Considering only the crops used for human food consumption (115), some 75% require pollination by animals but this is only essential for 41 crops (36%). However, the bulk of human food (60%) is cereals (穀類植物，穀物), which do not require pollination by animals; this means that about 35% of plants used for human consumption require animal pollination.How many of these plants require pollination by bees has not been estimated accurately. However, it is clear that most animal pollination involves insects (but let’s not discard birds and bats!) among which bees, hoverflies and butterflies are the most common pollinators.
So, from this, we learn that bees are important for the pollination of crops and we should protect them. However, we must also not forget other animals such as butterflies, birds, and bats that are essential for pollination. Our efforts to conserve and protect animals and our environment must be thorough and balanced.
https://metafact.io/factcheck_answers/378
OK, let’s go back to vocabulary learning and go over some new words.
| Word | Form |
| Word of the day!
1. reproduce When living things reproduce, they produce young plants, animals, etc. 生殖；生育；繁殖 reproduce sexually, sexual reproduction 有性繁殖 reproduce asexually, asexual reproduction 無性繁殖 These plants can reproduce sexually and asexually. 這些植物既可以進行有性繁殖，也可以進行無性繁殖。 |
(v.) |
| 2. pollinate
pollinate 傳粉 to give a flower or plant pollen so that it can produce seeds flowers pollinated by bees cross pollinate 異花傳粉 to transfer of pollen (= powder produced by the male part of a flower) is carried from one flower to another by wind, insects, etc. |
(v.) |
| 3. ecosystem 生態系統
all the living things in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment protect the ecosystem 保護生態系統 Pollution can have disastrous effects on the delicately balanced ecosystem. 污染會對脆弱的生態平衡造成災難性的破壞。 |
(n.) |
| 4. heterogeneous
consisting of parts or things that are very different from each other 各種各樣的；混雜的 The United States has a heterogenous population. |
(adj.)
|
| 5. preference
the fact that you like something or someone more than another thing or person 偏愛；愛好；喜愛 preference for something Her preference is for comfortable rather than stylish clothes. 她更注重衣服的舒適性，而非時髦的款式。 I have a preference for sweet food over spicy. Choosing furniture is largely a matter of personal preference. |
(n.) |
Song of the week: