STRONG>: Why do you have this
misshapen
vase, Jana?
Jana: That’s the first vase I made in
my
glassblowing class.
Lee: You’re taking a glassblowing
class?
Jana: Not
for
credit. I’m taking it because I’m interested in culture
and
traditional crafts. Maybe my dad is
rubbing off on me after all.
Lee: Your dad?
Lucía: Jana’s dad is an
anthropologist.
Lee: Oh, cool. And glassblowing is a
traditional craft?
Jana: It is in many countries,
including the U.S. It was one of the first crafts brought here. I
like to think I am helping to
preserve
the
cultural heritage of the
country. And I study traditional crafts of my own country too, of
course.
Lucía: That’s really cool. This vase
seems much more beautiful now.
Lee: I think it’s fantastic. I have
never learned a traditional craft.
Jana: You should try! You could
always come to my glassblowing class.
让我们来学习一些词语（也可阅读英文解释）：
形容某物
misshapen是指它的形状畸形异样。
A
vase：花瓶
Glassblowing：玻璃吹制
Credit：学分.
Traditional crafts： 传统工艺制品，如手工制作的艺术品，家具，陶器等
形容某人
rubs off on
you是指你的行动或思维已经变得像这个人。
An
anthropologist：人类学家
To
preserve：保存维护
Cultural heritage：文化传统/传承。 An
artifact：过去某一时代或时期的人使用的实物，如工具或装饰，往往能够反映当时的历史或文化。
有兴趣听更多英语对话吗？请浏览“
英语学习”专题网页。
American
English
网站提供可供英语学生和教师免费使用的多种英语资源。American
English Facebook网页提供每天更新的英语学习资料。
“日常会话”由美国国务院教育与文化事务局英语语言项目处（Office of English Language
Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs）资深项目官员海蒂·豪兰（Heidi Howland）编写。
Six students from around the world meet. What do they have in
common? They are all exchange students studying at a U.S.
university for a semester. Throughout the semester, they learn more
English, learn about U.S. culture, and learn more about their
fields of study. This series of Everyday Conversations is about these six
students and their experiences during a semester at a university in
the U.S. These conversations are for intermediate-level
English-language learners or higher.
Audio:
https://share.america.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/DEC-W4-D3.mp3?_=1
Audio PlayerUse Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or
decrease volume.
In this conversation, three students
(Lucía,
Jana and
Lee) talk about
culture and traditional crafts.
Lucía: Why do you have this
misshapen vase, Jana?
Jana: That’s the first vase I made in
my
glassblowing class.
Lee: You’re taking a glassblowing
class?
Jana: Not
for
credit. I’m taking it because I’m interested in culture
and
traditional crafts. Maybe my dad is
rubbing off on me after all.
Lee: Your dad?
Lucía: Jana’s dad is an
anthropologist.
Lee: Oh, cool. And glassblowing is a
traditional craft?
Jana: It is in many countries,
including the U.S. It was one of the first crafts brought here. I
like to think I am helping to
preserve
the
cultural heritage of the
country. And I study traditional crafts of my own country too, of
course.
Lucía: That’s really cool. This vase
seems much more beautiful now.
Lee: I think it’s fantastic. I have
never learned a traditional craft.
Jana: You should try! You could
always come to my glassblowing class.
Now let’s review the vocabulary.
Something that is
misshapen has a
shape that is not normal.
A
vase is a container that is used
to hold flowers.
Glassblowing is the art of forming hot
glass into shapes by blowing air into the glass through a special
tube.
Credit is a unit that measures a student’s
progress toward earning a college or university degree. It is the
value that a college or university course contributes to the
completion of the degree.
Traditional crafts: art, furniture, pottery, etc.,
that is skillfully made by hand in traditional ways.
When someone
rubs off on you, it
means that your actions or thinking have become like
his/hers.
An
anthropologist is a person who
studies cultures, customs, societies and the human race.
To
preserve something means to keep
it as it is, especially to protect it.
Cultural heritage is the collective
physical artifacts and traditions of a society that are passed from
one generation to the next. An artifact is an object (such as a
tool or ornament) that was made and used by people in the past and
that often is interesting because of its historical or cultural
meaning.
Ready to learn more English?
Our materials can help.
The American English
website offers a variety of free resources for learners and
teachers of English. The American English Facebook page posts learning
materials for English-language learners daily.
Everyday Conversations are developed by the State Department’s
Heidi Howland, a senior program officer in the Office of English
Language Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
