Vocabulary Challenge 31: https://tw.voicetube.com/videos/76579
Sentence of the Day: What’s neat is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 found in all these living things here on Earth is pretty much the same as what’s in the atmosphere.
Speaking Challenge: Use the following link to record your message and leave your recording link in the comments: https://voicespice.com/
e.g. https://voicespice.com/Player.aspx?c=p&h=147A33E5&j=110C3E
老師的口說挑戰錄音檔:
(中英版)
(全英版)
Transcript:
Carbon dating? Does this mean that carbons are dating?
No. Carbons aren’t going on a date.
Carbon dating (碳素定年)is a method of calculating the age of extremely old objects by measuring the amount of a particular type of carbon in them（計算古物年代的）碳年代測定法，碳定年法.
So we always see this term carbon dating when we are reading about archaeology and ancient civilizations, but what is it exactly? Well, the video will tell you, but let’s think first.
What words do you think will be mentioned in the video? Carbon? Chemistry? Half-life?
Let’s move on to our sentence of the day.
What’s neat is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 found in all these living things here on Earth is pretty much the same as what’s in the atmosphere.
很美妙的是在這些地球上生命體中發現的碳十二和碳十四的比例，和大氣中的比例幾乎一樣。
So let’s say this sentence again.
What’s neat is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 found in all these living things here on Earth is pretty much the same as what’s in the atmosphere.
Faster
What’s neat is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 found in all these living things here on Earth is pretty much the same as what’s in the atmosphere.
OK, you know this game. What are the possible thought groups? 「字組」
What’s neat
is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14
found in all these living things here on Earth
is pretty much the same
as what’s in the atmosphere.
So if you listen to the recording again, these are the pauses you will hear. The sentence is broken into these five chunks because each chunk is made up of a small piece of important information.
How about intonation? 語調
What’s neat (rise)
is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 (fall)
(THAT IS) found in all these living things here on Earth (rise)
is pretty much the same
as what’s in the atmosphere.
We also use falling intonation when we say something definite, or when we want to be very clear about something:
I think we are completely l↘ost.
OK, here’s the magaz↘ine you wanted.
What about the sentence stress? 句子的重音 You could say:
What’s neat
is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14
found in all these living things here on Earth
is pretty much the same
as what’s in the atmosphere.
Only the speaker of an utterance knows which words are important to him/he, but here, the words are stressed because they bring greater attention to key points, especially the words ratio, ALL living things, and atmosphere.
OK, it’s grammar time!!! 大家最愛的文法時間到了!!!
Today’s sentence pattern is
What’s neat
is that the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14
found in all these living things here on Earth
is pretty much the same
as what’s in the atmosphere.
You can use a phrase like “What’s neat” in speech to help you begin a sentence, followed by a that….noun clause (that 引導的名詞子句)
What’s neat is that… 有趣的是…
What’s most interesting is that… 最有趣的事…
What’s incredible is that… 不可思議的是…
What’s most important is that… 最重要的事…
However, I suggest you do not create your own expression when learning. Try to use ones you have heard or read before and always check to make sure it’s commonly used.
OK, let’s take a break.
So we know carbon dating is useful for determining the date of objects, but why is this important?
When we learn something new, don’t just learn it, analyze and evaluate it.
Well, carbon dating is seen by many scientists to be crucial for making the connection between the past, the present and the future.
Climatologists want to understand the correct timing of past warming and freezing cycles so that they can understand the likelihood of future cycles.
Anthropologists and archeologists want to have factual dates so that they can understand the spread of cultures across the world. We can learn about when a civilization was established, when did it end and whether its end matched geological changes. This can help us better understand how people in the past lived and understand how people and even animals responded to environmental and other changes.
Also, all civilizations have different methods of keeping track of time,
However, carbon-14 dating offers something particularly valuable, called absolute dating, which is the age of the substance before the current time. . This means that it may be used and compared to dates anywhere in the world. In fact, it is considered the, “most important development in absolute dating in archaeology and remains the main tool for dating the past 50,000 years”. With this tool, scientist hopes to unravel the mysteries of how man developed, when the first man lived, where he went, and create a type of timetable of human life.
This method of dating allows researchers to learn about past civilizations, changes in the earth, and in the climate.
OK, let’s go back to vocabulary learning and go over some new words.
| Word | Form |
| Word of the day!
predictable if something or someone is predictable, you know what will happen or what they will do – sometimes used to show disapproval 可預言的；可預計的，可預料的 predictable effect 可預測的效果 Comets appear at predictable times. It was an entertaining but predictable film. |
(adj.) |
| 2. radioactive
having or producing the energy that comes from the breaking up of atoms 具有放射性的；有輻射性的 radioactive waste放射性廢料 radioactive decay 放射衰變 Uranium is a radioactive material. |
(adj.) |
| 3. half-life the length of time needed for the radioactivity of a radioactive substance to be reduced by half（放射性物質的）半衰期The time taken for half of the atoms of a radioactive isotope to decay is called its half-life.放射性同位素的一半原子衰變所需的時間稱為半衰期。 |
(n.) |
| 4. fossilized having become a fossil變成化石的；石化的 fossilized bones 變成化石的骨頭The archeologists discovered fossilized dinosaur bones. 考古學家發現了化石恐龍骨骼。old-fashioned and never changing 因循守舊的；一成不變的。 |
(adj.) |
| 5. limitation the act of controlling and especially reducing something限制，限定 the limitation of nuclear weapons 對核武器的限制If someone or something has limitations, that person or thing is not as good as he, she, or it could be.局限，局限性 Living in an apartment is fine, but it does have its limitations – for example, you don’t have your own garden. 住公寓不錯，但也有其局限性——如沒有自己的花園。 Despite her limitations as an actress, she was a great entertainer. 她作為演員儘管有其局限性，但仍不失為一名了不起的表演者。have limitations 有局限性 The system does have its limitations. 該系統確實有其局限性。place limitations on something 對某些事情施加限制Spending limitations have been placed on the council’s housing budget. 支出限制已經放在了理事會的住房預算上。overcome limitations (=do more than you would normally be able or allowed to do) 克服限制（=比通常能夠或允許做的更多） |
(n.) |
Song of the week:
心智圖詞彙攻略: ericvocab.com
VT Challenge 1-30: http://bit.ly/2PLTZIM
VT31 recording: https://voicespice.com/Player.aspx?c=p&h=147A33E5&j=110C3E