10-11 BCKSS CampusTV
English Cube
1. CampusTV
G
Welcome to English Cube. This is Yuki Yeung.
B
This is Jacky Mui. This is the first English programme we’ve ever produced!
I’m so excited Yuki.
G
Me too. I wish our schoolmates could discover the fun side of learning
English by watching English Cube.
B
So today, what are we going to learn?
G
Why don’t we start by telling our schoolmates some key terms in the
production of our TV programmes?
B
Sure!
G
Before we can take our video camera out for shooting, we should make
some plans.
B
Yes, quite often we have to write a script for the programme. This is not an
easy task as we have to think of some fun ways of doing a show.
G
The second thing is to bring everything we need to the shooting location. A
video camera, a microphone, a tripod and don’t forget the battery. You
don’t want cut the show to get another battery.
B
And when the shooting is taking place, we have to make sure that the
volume is tuned to the right level so it’s not too high or too low. To get the
best picture composition, we often have to zoom in and zoom out.
G
The most annoying thing is to re-do the same thing again, again and again,
when something goes wrong. We call this NG. Just like this …
B
Is that all?
G
Nope. We also need to edit in non-linear editing software like Premiere
Pro. First of all, we have to select clips that are useful, then we have to
arrange the clips in a way that is logical. Finally, we have to add voice over,
pictures, captions, music and a credit list.
B
If there are no technical problems, then we can export the clip.
G
Yes. Roughly speaking: a simple 1 minute video equals 1 hour of
preparation plus 1 hour of shooting plus 1 hour of editing. That’s the
formula. So this episode is gonna take us 4 to 5 hours to produce if we
don’t encounter any major glitches.
B
TV production is never an easy task. Could you teach me how to edit?
G
It’s my pleasure. That’s all for today. Thanks for watching English Cube.
Bye!
B
Bye!
2. Getting slim
E
One and two and three and four.
P
Welcome to English Cube. This is Pat from 1A.
E
Haiii, this is Elaine from 1A.
P
What are you doing, Elaine?
E
I’m doing exercise.
P
I can see that.
E
Look, Pat, I’m getting much fatter this year. I want to become slimmer.
P
I think you are slim enough.
E
Not enough. In fact, I have set my exercise schedule. I’m planning to do 10
rounds of weight exercise every day. I’m sure I’ll get slimmer.
P
Then I think you’ll have a slim chance of getting slimmer.
E
What … what are you talking about?
P
A slim chance of getting slimmer.
E
You mean a little chance of getting slimmer?
P
Yes, exactly.
E
Can’t you be more encouraging?
P
Then how about a fat chance of getting slimmer?
E
A fat chance of getting slimmer? I don’t have a clue what you are talking
about.
P
In fact both ‘fat chance’ and ‘slim chance’ mean the same. They mean a
very little likelihood. For example, “He has only got half an hour to get to
the airport. He has a slim chance to catch the plane.” Fat chance is also
possible here.
E
Interesting! Why do ‘slim chance’ and ‘fat chance’ mean the same?
P
I don’t know. Maybe people getting too slim or too fat are really not that
many.
E
That’s a possible explanation. Then, how can I get slimmer?
P
Weight exercise for such a short time can only consume your glucose. You
have to do aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes to start burning your fat.
Come with me and do some running exercise.
E
Let’s go!
3. Booking a table
G
Welcome to English Cube. This is Tanni from 2A.
B
This is Jacky from 2A.
G
Jacky, what do you want to learn in this episode?
B
Well, I’ve been looking for a good restaurant to celebrate Jenny’s birthday.
G
So you want me to recommend a few famous restaurants
B
Not really. I’m just worrying that I may make blunders when I book an
English speaking restaurant. Could you teach me how?
G
Sure. Why don’t we do a role play?
G
A. Harbourview Restaurant. How may I help you?
B
B. I’d like to book a table, please.
G
A. Certainly. For what date, please?
B
B. The 8th of June.
G
A. And for what time?
B
B. 8:30 please.
G
A. How many people?
B
B. 2
G
A. May I have your surname please?
B
B. It’s Mr Yu.
G
A. May I have your phone number, sir?
B
B. 92346234
G
A. Thank you for calling. We look forward to seeing you on the 8th of June.
Bye.
G
Do you feel more confident about making the call now?
B
Thank you so much! Bye.
4. Ordering meal
G
Welcome to English Cube. This is Tanni Cheng.
B
This is Jacky Yu. Tanni, I’ve booked the restaurant for Jenny’s birthday. Now I
have another problem. I don’t know how to order food in English. Could you
help me, please?
G
I’m your Angel. You can always count on me. Let me teach you some useful
phrases. Look at this script.
B
Hi, I’ve booked a table for 2.
G
What’s your phone number, sir?
B
92346234.
G
Okay, Mr Yu. Come in please.
B
Could you recommend some of your more popular dishes?
G
Our signature dish is ‘Grilled Australian Lobster in Garlic Sauce’. Lobsters are
usually steamed but ours are grilled. That’s what makes it special. Would you
like to order one?
B
Okay, I’ll try this. I would also like to have a grilled steak.
G
How would you like your steak done?
B
Medium, please.
G
Would you like any drinks?
B
One fruit punch, one lime soda please.
G
Alright, let me repeat your order. One Australian Lobster, a grilled steak, one
fruit punch and one lime soda.
B
That’s right.
G
Your order will be ready in 20 minutes. If you have any further orders, I’ll be
happy to serve you.
B
Thanks.
G
Do you feel less worried now?
B
How about paying for the meal?
G
You can say, “Can I have the check please?” or you can simply say “Check,
please”
B
Thank you so much, Tanni!
B
Thanks for watching English Cube. Bye.
G
Bye.
5. Tickle Tickle
B
Welcome to English Cube, this is Pat from 1A.
G
This is Elaine from 1A.
B
What are we going to learn today?
G
Close your eyes and stand up.
B
What do you want to do with me?
G
Just close your eyes.
B
Okay.
B
Au, au, could you please stop? It’s so ticklish!
G
This is the word we need to teach.
B
Okay. So, to tickle, is to move your fingers on a sensitive part of somebody's
body to make them laugh. This is a verb.
G
Ticklish is an adjective. If you are sensitive to being tickled, you are ticklish.
B
Mmm, you are right. We don’t usually use these two words but when you
need to express this, you need them. Elaine, any more interesting phrases we
can talk about?
G
Yes, did you notice your reaction when I tickled you?
B
I was like ... moving my body and almost laughed my head off.
G
Dada, this is another interesting phrase, ‘laugh my head off’
B
You are right. In Chinese, we says “my belly aches from laughing”. But in
English, we say ‘laugh my head off’. Elaine, do you think people do laugh their
heads off?
G
I don’t know.
B
Now close your eyes.
6. Do you have the time?
G
It’s 10 past 9 already. Where are you, Jacky?
B
Hey Sandy, do you have the time?
C
Yes, I have time. Are you asking me out?
B
No! No! No! I meant do you have ‘the time’. What time is it?
C
Don’t be shy, my little boy. Let’s go to Ocean Park together, shall we?
B
Sorry, I’m in a hurry. I have to go now. Bye!
C
Jacky! Jacky!
B
Sorry Yuki, I’m late.
G
Where have you been? You are 15 minutes late!
B
Today is just not my day. I got up late this morning because the clock wouldn’t
ring. And the minibus sped away when I got to the station. And, you wouldn’t
believe it. I bumped into Sandy just now and I asked her “do you have the
time”. But she thought I was asking her out!
G
Lucky you!
B
Don’t tease me, could you?
G
Seriously, the use ‘the’ is a really important topic. The reason why she
misunderstood you might be because she didn’t know that ‘the time’ means
‘the time you see on your watch’, whereas time without ‘the’ means the time
you have generally.
B
Let’s do a role play, shall we? “Excuse me, do you have the time?”
G
“It’s 9:45”.
B
Here is another situation. “Hey, Yuki, Do you have time after school?”
G
“Yeah, let’s hang out at McDonald’s.”
B
Now let’s take a look at another use of ‘the’. Do you say A: ‘My mother went
to the school to take my school report’. Or B: ‘My mother went to school to
take my school report’.
G
A is correct. Your mother is not a student. So you should use ‘the’ here to
indicate this. My mother went to the school to take my school report.
B
How about this one: A: Betty went to the hospital to see her Grandma. B.
Betty went to hospital to see her Grandma.
G
A is correct. Betty is not a patient. She just went there to see her Grandma. So
you should use ‘the’ here to indicate this fact. Betty went to the hospital to
see her Grandma. Jacky, I think you should ask Sandy to watch this show.
B
I certainty will. Do you have time after the show?
G
Yeah, let’s grab something to drink at the tuck shop. Bye.
B
Bye.
7. Medical checkup
G
Welcome to English Cube, this is Zoe from 4C.
B
This is Tammy from 4C.
G
Are you okay, Tammy?
B
I’m alright. Just a little bit of sore throat. I think it might be the flu or
something.
G
You are looking so pale! Do you want us to take you to the doctor?
B
I’m alright. Don’t worry. I have body check every year.
G
You mean you have your body examined by a doctor regularly?
B
Yes, you are looking weird.
G
Maybe we can talk about common mistakes in this episode. ‘Body check’ is
not a standard phrase to express the assessment. People probably say this
because of the influence of Chinese. In proper English, we should say
‘medical checkup’ ‘medical checkup’.
B
I see. Now it’s my turn. How would you describe the baggage that you carry
on the plane?
G
‘Hand-carry baggage’?
B
No, it should be just ‘Hand baggage’ or ‘Carry-on baggage’
G
Then what should I call the baggage that goes to the conveyer when I check
in?
B
You just call it ‘check-in baggage’ in this case.
G
Now, it’s my turn to throw you a question. If you have a hearing problem
because you work in a noisy environment, how would you call this type of
disease?
B
Is it ‘job disease’? Ah, it must be ‘career disease’, isn’t it?
G
Neither of them is correctly. The proper way of saying this is ‘occupational
disease’. This has to do with collocation, which means words that usually go
together more than other words.
B
I see.
G
Do you feel better now? Your voice is less raspy.
B
It’s much better. Can I claim anything from CampusTV? You know, as a host,
sore throat is a kind of occupational disease.
G
That’s too far fetching. That’s all for today. Thanks for watching English
Cube. Bye!
B
Bye!
8. Taking a photo
G
Welcome to English Cube. This is Cindy Choi.
B
This is Sandy Lee. Cindy, do you think Hong Kong people are willing to help
others?
G
Why do you ask this question all of a sudden?
B
I happened to walk in a mall and came across an exhibition with lots of Hello
Kitty figures. Then I asked somebody if they can take a photo with me. They all
turned me down and wouldn’t hold the camera.
G
Could you repeat what you asked?
B
G
I asked, “Could you take a photo with me?”
Haha, you should have said“Could you take a photo of me?”
B
What did I say?
G
You said ‘with me’ instead of ‘of me’.
B
Yeah, on second thought, I think I should have said ‘Could you take a photo of
me’ because I don’t want them to be in the photo.
G
Yes. Prepositions can be a major area of study. Let’s take a look at a few more
examples. Which of the following is correct? A: Cheese is made from milk. B:
Cheese is made of milk.
B
A, because you can’t think of milk straight away when you look at cheese. The
material is changed. If the material is not changed, then you would probably
use ‘of’, as in ‘The box is made of wood’.
G
That’s right. Cheese is made from milk. A wooden box is made of wood.
B
Sometimes it’s not the choice of preposition that causes a problem but the
presence of it. If you lost your bag in the airport, would you say, A ‘Could you
search my bag’ OR B ‘Could you search for my bag’?
G
If I lost my bag, I would say‘Could you search for my bag?’ If I lost my purse
which is supposed to be in my bag, I would say ‘I’m searching my bag for my
purse’.
B
Exactly. You are really a grammar guru.
G
Was there a power cut?
B
Search me.
G
What do you mean?
B
Search me means ‘I don’t know’. Thanks for watching English Cube, Bye.
G
Bye.
9. Question Tags
B
Welcome to English Cube. This is Tom from 2E.
G
This is Sally from 1B.
B
Sally, have you ever thought about why this program is called English
Cube?
G
I don’t know. Is that because speaking English is cute? Wait a sec! Is that
because the original name of English Cube is English Tube? You know,
that Youtube kind of thing.
B
That’s quite a reasonable guess. But, what does ‘cube’ mean?
G
A cube means a solid object with six equal square sides.
B
You mean this one.
G
Ohh, the cube is so cute. But it’s not solved yet. Let me try.
B
Don’t solve it!
G
Daan Daan! What’s happening? Ahhh!
G
Mmmmmm. Ow! Tom, what’s happened to you? You’ve turned into
Tigger.
B
You also turned into Eeyore.
G
Haaa? No noooo. What’s happening to me? No, I don’t want to be a
donkey!
B
I’ve told you not to solve the cube. Now let’s finish the program before I
let you know how to turn back into human.
G
Okay. What are we going to learn today?
B
Question tags.
G
We can’t change back into human beings, can we?
B
That’s a good example. But don’t be so pessimistic.
G
Tom, you are a good swimmer, aren’t you?
B
That’s also a very good example. In the first one, we say something
negative first, as in ‘we can’t’, and then add a positive question tag ‘can
we?’. In the second example, we say something positive first, as in, ‘you
are’. Then we add a negative question tag ‘aren’t you?’
G
So if the verb is just a verb-to-be, such as ‘is, am, are, was, were’, then
you simply put that at the end to make the question tag. If the sentence
has a modal verb, such as ‘can, could, should, may, will’, then you should
make use of that model verb to create the question tag.
B
That’s right. Now let’s go to the advanced level. What should be the
question tag of this one: You went to Simon’s party.
G
You went to Simon’s party, didn’t you?
B
Correct. ‘Did’ has to be used here because the sentence is in the past
tense. How about this one: You won’t pay for Mary’s rent.
G
You won’t pay for Mary’s rent, will you?
B
Excellent.
G
But why do we have to use question tags after all?
B
If we are 70% sure what we are saying, but still want to see whether
something is really the case, then we can use question tags to achieve
this.
G
Please turn me back into human now. You are so smart, aren’t you?
B
You should be 100% sure I’m smart. Alright, alright. Tell the magic cube
that you love English. That will do the trick.
G
You can’t force anyone to love anything. Though, I really love English.
English, I love you.
G
Oh, I’ve turned into my real self. So that’s the English cube, isn’t it?
B
I suppose so.
G
Can I borrow it for a moment?
B
You want to play practical jokes with your friends, don’t you? Thanks for
watching English Cube. Bye.