英语趣味课堂：法国 France

Todd: OK, Hello!

Raphael: Hello!

Todd: Can you say your name please?

Raphael: Yeah, sure. My name is Raphael Thibault

Todd: Thibault!

Raphael: Yeah! Thibault!

Todd: OK, and that's your last name?

Raphael: Ah, yeah, it's my last name, but it's a first name too in France.

Todd: Oh, really

Raphael: Yeah! It's quite traditional. It's from the middle ages.

Todd: OK

Raphael: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Todd: Wow, Where are you from in France?

Raphael: I just finished my studies in Paris, but I was born in the South. Actually, it's the place they make foie gras. If you know about foie gras.

Todd: Yeah, yeah, yeah

Raphael: We used to eat on Christmas and..

Todd: What exactly is foie gras? Sorry, it's hard for me to say.

Raphael: It's from the duck. It's um, how do you call it?

Todd: The liver?

Raphael: Yeah, the liver! That's it. The liver, and it's cooked an official way and you can have it both like cold or hot, I mean, any kind, but the point is, the duck has to be fed in nature, right! It's not working if it's in a, industrial feeding duck

Todd: Oh, really!

Raphael: It doesn't produce really good foie gras, yeah!

Todd: So the duck must come from nature?

Raphael: Yeah, actually, that's why this place is famous for because it's countryside. There's no really big cities and most of the people are farmers so they actually produce some really good foie gras, like I heard the competition comes from East Europe now but they make more like industrial foie gras. It's a little different, but anyway, that's the place I'm born.

Todd: Wow! Is that the eastern side or the western side?

Raphael: It's the southwest.

Todd: OK, towards Spain.

Raphael: Yeah, that's it. Exactly! Like below Bordeaux, a city called Bordeaux, it's a bit below this city.

Todd: OK, so Bordeaux is known for wine.

Raphael: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Todd: So, is it near the mountains or?

Raphael: It's not that close to Spain. It's, how can I say, yeah, it's not the extremity3 of France, it's more like center-south, you know.

Todd: Oh, OK. Sounds like a pretty place though.

Raphael: What?

Todd: It sounds like a pretty place.

Raphael: Yeah, yeah, it's quite nice. It's quite nice. I mean, it's countryside right. You have to like it. There's not a lot of things to do, but, I spend like my, from fifteen years old, I live there and then I moved to another city called La Rochelle, which is close to the sea, just in front of the sea actually, and that's a better place. I like it much.

学习内容：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

traditional

My last name, Thibault, is quite traditional.

Something 'traditional' is part of a custom or typical action for a specific area. Traditional things have long histories. Notice the following:

The women wear traditional clothes for the wedding ceremony.

These are some traditional foods in this part.

middle ages

My last name is from the middle ages.

This is a time period in Europe with began as early as 500 A.D. and went until around 1400 A.D. Notice the following:

Many people died of diseases during the middle ages.

The Catholic church became very powerful in the middle ages.

point

You can eat foie gras hot or cold, but the point is that the duck has to be fed in nature.

When 'point' is used like this it is referring to the most important piece of information or element. Notice the following:

The point of our visit was to see famous historical sight.

What is the point of this exercise?

famous for

This place is famous for foie gras.

If a restaurant is 'famous for' something then many people know that they prepare this dish very well. People or places can be famous for good or bad things. Notice the following:

He is famous for giving great concerts.

They are famous for robbing banks in the early 1970s.

known for

Bordeaux is known for wine.

The phrase 'known for' means the same as 'famous for.' Notice the following:

This area is known for being dangerous.

What movies is the actress known for?

1 liver

n.肝;肝脏

参考例句：

He has a weak liver.他的肝脏不好。

The largest organ in the body is the liver.人体最大的器官是肝脏。

2 known

adj.大家知道的;知名的，已知的

参考例句：

He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。

He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

3 extremity

n.末端，尽头;尽力;终极;极度

参考例句：

I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。

What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢?

4 specific

adj.明确的;具体的;特定的

参考例句：

The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。

We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

5 diseases

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 );弊端;恶疾;痼疾

参考例句：

Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。

The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

6 catholic

adj.天主教的;n.天主教徒

参考例句：

The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。

She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

7 powerful

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。

Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音!

8 element

n.元素;组成部分，成分;零件，元件

参考例句：

Justice is an important element of good government.公正是仁政的要素。

Carbon is an element,while carbon dioxide is a compound.碳是一种(化学)元素，而二氧化碳则是一种化合物。

9 historical

adj.历史的，史实的，历史上的

参考例句：

The book is based on historical events.这本书是根据历史事件写成的。

We have shared the same historical experiences.咱们有着共同的历史遭遇。

10 robbing

n.回采[回收]矿柱v.抢夺( rob的现在分词 );抢劫;掠夺;使丧失

参考例句：

He abetted the thief in robbing the bank. 他教唆贼去抢劫银行。 来自《简明英汉词典》

Robbing graves is grisly. 盗墓是可怕的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 phrase

n.短语，词组;成语，习语

参考例句：

The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。

That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

12 means

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。

We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。