【英语趣味课堂】地球一小时-Earth Hour

Rachel: So Steven, we've been talking about Costa Rica and how beautiful nature is there and how important it is to preserve it. What do you do in your life to save the environment or to protect the environment?

 

Steven: It's almost daily that I think about this question that you just asked me. For example in my university I made this project for promoting Earth Hour which is just turning off the lights for one hour and enjoy a concert or some activity that doesn't require electricity. This Earth Hour is actually produced or created in Australia but we just trying to promote eco-systems, eco-friendly programs to the world.

 

Rachel: That sounds great, so how many people attended the event?

 

Steven: More than two hundred people from the university came in and watch and enjoyed and actually all of them stayed and we also attracted faculty¹ people which we never thought they would ever come and it's impressive² that all these people actually wanted to make a change to the world.

 

Rachel: So that sounds like an amazing project Steven. If other students in universities around the world wanted to organize something like it, what were the steps you went through to organize that event?

 

Steven: Well, this even was mostly already planned by this organization called earth hour of course. However, in order to make the idea to actually work, we went through lots of paperwork. We tried to recruit³ as many people through advertisement and trying to be as eco-friendly as possible by reducing paper, and also we tried to recruit activities from the university in order to promote people to come in and enjoy this wonderful concert, and of course we had some marshmallow, chocolate, cracker⁴ which attracted most of the people.

 

Rachel: That sounds wonderful. So you had the barbeque as well as the concert and then candlelight as well. Is that right?

 

Steven: Yeah, I actually had candles which is lighting⁵ the concert and of course the barbeque. This was the main attraction for people but also because of this they learned⁶ that by turning off one hour of light they can actually survive. They can actually survive without the internet or turning on the lights and doing their homework

重点词汇：

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

not require

 

 

The event doesn't require electricity.

 

When something is not required, it means we don’t need it or it’s not necessary in order to do something else. Notice the following.

 

In many countries, teaching⁷ English doesn’t require a Master’s degree.

My calculator⁸ doesn’t require batteries.

impressive

 

 

It is impressive that all these people came.

 

Something or someone we respect or admire is impressive. Note the samples.

 

After only a year abroad, her English skills are impressive.

The band’s live performance was impressive.

go through steps

 

 

What were the steps you went through?

 

The steps you go through tell what you do first, second, third, etc., to complete something. Notice the following.

 

You need to go through several steps to get a visa.

It was a four step process to gain acceptance⁹ to the university.

paperwork

 

 

We went through lots of paperwork.

 

Paperwork usually means administrative¹⁰ tasks such as sending e-mail, writing reports and updating or managing files. Notice the sample sentences.

 

I’m a secretary, so I spend most of my day doing paperwork.

These days, most paperwork is digital.

recruit people

 

 

We tried to recruit people through advertisements.

 

When we recruit people, we try to get them to join our group or organization. Here are two examples of the phrase ‘recruit people’.

 

Our company often recruits¹¹ people at university job fairs.

The salary is low so it’s difficult to recruit people for that job.

1 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

2 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。

3 recruit   

n.招聘，新兵，新成员；v.恢复，补充，招募

参考例句：

• The country's first act would be to recruit for the navy.国家的第一个行动是为海军征募新兵。
• This is a nationwide campaign to recruit women into trade unions.这是一次吸收妇女参加工会的全国性运动。

4 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 calculator   

n.计算者，计算机

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your calculator that day.那天你可别忘了带计算器。
• I totaled my expenses with a calculator. 我用计算器算出开支的总金额。

9 acceptance   

n.接受，接收，验收，接纳；承认，认可

参考例句：

• The new laws gained widespread acceptance.新法令受到广泛赞同。
• It took years for Einstein's theory to gain acceptance.爱因斯坦的理论经过多年才被人们接受。

10 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

11 recruits   

新兵( recruit的名词复数 )； （机构中的）新成员； 就业； 人才开发

参考例句：

• A corps of doctors arrived to inoculate the recruits. 一队医生来给新兵打防疫针。
• The recruits are exercised every day in the art of self-defence. 新兵每天训练自卫技能。