ESL之旅行 15 Visiting a Museum（打印版）

ESL之旅行 15 Visiting a Museum（在线收听）

15 Visiting a Museum

GLOSSARY

hours of operation – the time when a building is open; the hours whensomething is open* The bank’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to5:30 p.m.

self-guided – without a guide; able to see something by oneself, withoutfollowing another person around* You can do a self-guided tour of the ruins, but it helps to have a detailed map.

flash – the quick, bright light that a camera produces to take a picture when it is dark* The flash was so bright that we all saw white spots after she took the picture.

prohibited – forbidden; not allowed; against the rules* Touching that sculpture is prohibited.

to get rid of – to throw something away; to do something so that one no longerhas something with oneself; to separate oneself from something* I need to get rid of these old clothes that are too small for me.

exhibit – a group of things related to one topic that are put in a museum oranother place for people to look at* This month, the National Geographic Museum has an interesting exhibit aboutMount Everest.

open to the public – available for anyone to visit; not limited to a small group ofpeople* The White House is open to the public, but you have to get a special ticket toenter.

wing – one part of a large building that goes in a different direction than the restof the building* The hospital is building a new wing for cancer patients.

under construction – being built; not yet finished* The library has been under construction for almost two years!

gallery – a room or a building for showing art, especially in a museum* Gabriella thought that the Asian art gallery was more interesting than themodern art gallery.

sculpture – a solid object of art that is made by shaping clay, metal, stone, orwood* Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture is his statue of David.

painting – a painted picture; a picture made with oil- or water-based colors,usually painted onto a piece of white fabric known as a “canvas”

* Leonardo DaVinci’s “Mona Lisa” is a very well known painting.

artifact – something that was made by humans in the past and is interestingtoday for historical or cultural reasons* Many of the gold artifacts of the Incas were taken by Spanish explorers.

admission charge – the cost of entering a museum, zoo, park, or a similar place* The zoo’s admission charge for adults is $7, but if you’re a student, it’s only $5.

senior – a person who is more than 65 years old* At this restaurant, seniors get a 20% discount before 6 p.m.

picture ID – a piece of identification with a photograph of the person, such as adriver’s license * If you don’t have picture ID, the airline won’t let you fly.

stub – the small part of a ticket that one keeps, while the larger part is given to aperson when one enters the building* If you leave the park, keep your ticket stub with you, so that you can show it atthe entrance when you want to return.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. What isn’t prohibited at the museum?

a) Self-guided tours.

b) Flash photography.

c) Food and drink.

2. What isn’t open to the public?

a) The exhibits in the east wing.

b) The sculpture and painting galleries.

c) The artifacts on the right.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

flashThe word “flash,” in this podcast, means the quick, bright light that a cameraproduces to take a picture when it is dark: “When you use a flash to take apicture of someone wearing glasses, sometimes the reflected light makes itdifficult to see the person’s face.” A “flash” can also be any other quick, brightlight that comes and goes quickly: “Did you see that flash of lightning?” Sometimes a “flash” is a feeling that one gets very suddenly: “In a flash of anger,he hit the child.” On a news program, a “flash,” or “newsflash” is a small amountof information about something that’s happening at the moment: “CNN just had anewsflash about the hurricanes in Florida.” The phrase “in a flash” means very quickly: “I can get that information for you in a flash!”

wingIn this podcast, the word “wing” means one part of a large building that goes in adifferent direction than the rest of the building: “The university’s engineeringdepartment is building a new wing for chemical engineering.” On a bird or insect,a “wing” is an arm-like body part that helps the animal fly: “A hummingbird moves its wings very quickly.” On an airplane, a “wing” is one of the long arm-like parts on the sides that help it fly: “When I flew to Denver, my seat was next to the wing,so I couldn’t see the mountains.” As a verb, “to wing it” means to do somethingwithout planning first, or to be spontaneous: “We didn’t have time to reserve ahotel room, so we’re just going to wing it and hope that we can find a place tostay once we’re there.”

CULTURE NOTEThe Smithsonian Institution was “established” (created) in the early 1800s, whena British man named James Smithson left his “estate” (all the money andproperty that he owned) to the United States to create a Smithsonian Institutionthat would increase and spread knowledge among all people.

Today there are 19 Smithsonian Museums that are free and open to the public,meaning that anyone can go there and there are no admission charges. Some ofthe most famous Smithsonian Museums are the National Museum of NaturalHistory, the National Museum of American History, the National Air and SpaceMuseum, and many art galleries. But there are “lesser known” (less famous; less well-known) museums that you may not have heard of.

One is the “National Postal Museum,” which explains the history of the U.S.

“Postal Service,” or the organization that delivers the mail. The museum alsohas a large “collection” (group of objects) of U.S. stamps.

Another Smithsonian Museum is the National Portrait Gallery. A “portrait” is apainting of a person, and this museum is full of portraits of famous people inAmerican history.

The newest Smithsonian Museum is the National Museum of the AmericanIndian, which has exhibits about “indigenous” (native) cultures of North andSouth America. Similarly, the Anacostia Community Museum has exhibits aboutthe history and culture of “African American” communities, or black people wholive in the U.S.

Finally, the National Zoological Park is also part of the Smithsonian Institute. It is a “zoo” (park with animals) that has more than 400 “species” (types) of animals that people can see. It also has many educational programs for visitors to learnmore about the animals.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 298: Visiting aMuseum.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 298. I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com. You can download a LearningGuide for this episode that contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, samplesentences, additional definitions not found on the podcast, cultural notes, and acomplete transcript.

This episode is called “Visiting a Museum,” and we’re going to follow Rudy as hegoes to a museum, asks some questions of the guard that is working there. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

I wanted to visit the National Museum, but when I arrived, it was closed.

Rudy: Can you tell me the hours of operation for the Museum?

Guard: It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It’s closedon Sunday. Rudy: Thanks. I’ll be back tomorrow.

---------The next day, I arrived at the Museum at 10 a.m. and the same guard was there. Rudy: Hello, again. Can you tell me if the Museum has any tours? Guard: The Museum has a self-guided tour. You can get information at theticket window.

Rudy: Oh, thanks. Do you know if I can use my flash to take photos in theMuseum?

Guard: You can take pictures, but flash photography is prohibited. Food anddrinks are prohibited, too.

Rudy: Oh, I guess I need to get rid of this bottle of juice before I go in. Do youknow if all of the exhibits are open to the public today?

Guard: The east wing is under construction, but the rest of the galleries areopen. The sculpture and painting galleries are to your left, and the artifacts areto your right. Rudy: Thanks a lot. How much is the admission charge?

Guard: It’s $10.00 for adults, $3.00 for children, and $5.00 for seniors andstudents with picture ID. The people at the ticket window can help you with that.

Rudy: Thanks. Just one more question.

Guard: Yes?

Rudy: If I leave after I pay, can I come back in?

Guard: Yes. You just have to show your stub. Anything else?

Rudy: Oh, no. Thanks a lot. Sorry to have bothered you. Guard: No trouble at all.

[end of story]

Our dialogue, in this episode, covers some basic vocabulary you would need ifyou were going to visit a museum. Here in Los Angeles, we have a couple ofgood museums. We have the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; we also havetwo museums called “Getty”: the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. Of course,there are also great museums in New York and in Washington, D.C., in Boston –several cities have very nice museums.

This episode begins with Rudy saying that he “wanted to visit the NationalMuseum.” That's not a real museum; here in the U.S., the national museum is the Smithsonian Museum, and that's what we would call it, in Washington, D.C. Actually, there are several museums there.

Rudy goes to the museum, but when he gets there (when he arrives) it is closed. So, he asks the "guard," or the security guard (the person who is like a policeofficer who is protecting the museum), Rudy asks the guard, “Can you tell me thehours of operation for the Museum?” The expression “hours of operation” means the time that the building is open to the public; we call them the “hours ofoperation.” For example, a bank's hours of operation are usually Monday through Friday, 9:00 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon.

The guard says that the museum is “open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sunday.” This would be somewhat unusual;museums are normally open on Sunday. Some museums are open seven days a week; other museums are closed one day.

Rudy says, “I’ll be back tomorrow.” So, he goes back the next day and sees thesame guard there, and says to the guard, “Can you tell me if the Museum has any tours?” (where they take you around and explain different parts of themuseum). The guard says, “The Museum has a self-guided tour.” A “self-guided tour” is when you don't have a “guide” (a person who goes with you and explains things). They usually give you either a piece of paper that explains things, or, now, youcan get audio receivers. They are kind of like iPods that you walk around with,and when you come in front of a piece of art you will hear an explanation throughyour headphones. The guard says that “You can get information (about the selfguided tours) at the ticket window.”

Rudy says, “Oh, thanks. Do you know if I can use my flash to take photos in theMuseum?” The “flash” is what is on a camera that produces a very bright light; incase it is dark, the light will make a better picture for you. “Flash” has a couple ofdifferent meanings; take a look at our Learning Guide for some additionalexplanations.

The guard says, “You can take pictures, but flash photography is prohibited.” “Prohibited” means not allowed, against the rules. You could also say “forbidden.” So, like in most museums, you can't use a camera with flash; thereare some museums where you can't use a camera at all. The guard says, “Foodand drinks are prohibited, too.” Again, that's pretty typical of a museum.

Rudy says, “Oh, I guess I need to get rid of this bottle of juice.” To “get rid (rid)of” something means to throw it away, to do something so that you no longerhave it with you. Usually it means throwing it away. Rudy says I have “to get ridof this bottle of juice before I go in.” He then asks another question of the guard: “Do you know if all of the exhibits are open to the public today?” An “exhibit” is, in a museum, a group of objects that are similar. Usually museums have different exhibits – different themes, different topics, perhaps even different time periods. Sometimes they havespecial exhibits; these are usually pieces of art from other museums. Rudy asks if “the exhibits are open to the public,” meaning anyone can visit; you don't needany special permission.

The guard says, “The east wing is under construction, but the rest of the galleries are open.” The “wing” of a building is one section or one part of a building. TheWhite House in Washington, D.C., where the president of the United States lives,is divided into an east wing and a west wing. In fact, there was a famous TVshow called The West Wing that refers to that side of the White House – that sideof the building. There are other meanings of this word, “wing,” take a look at ourLearning Guide for some additional explanations.

The guard says, “The east wing is under construction,” meaning they're doingwork on it. It's not finished yet; they're still building or changing it. The guardsays, “the rest of the galleries are open.” The “rest of the galleries” are the otherrooms in the building. A “gallery” is just a name of a large room in a museum. We also use this same word, “gallery,” to talk about a place were you can go andbuy art; these are called “art galleries.” That's different; that's more like a storewhere you can go look at and buy pieces of art. In a museum, a gallery is simply a room of the museum, or a collection of rooms.

The guard continues by saying that “The sculpture and painting galleries are toyour left, and the artifacts are to your right.” “Sculpture” is a solid object of art,usually made from stone such as marble, or metal, possibly wood, or even clay. These are all possible materials for sculpture. Michelangelo’s famous sculptureis of David, in Florence, Italy; that's an example of a piece of sculpture. Noticethat when we are talking about one work of art – one sculpture – we say,typically, “a piece of sculpture.” We use the same for art: “a piece of art.” “Painting” is, of course, when you have colors, either what we would call “oilbased” or “water-based” colors (different kinds of paint) that you put on a piece of(again, typically) white fabric (a white material): we call that a “canvas” (canvas). A painter paints on a “canvas,” that's the white piece of material that they use topaint their painting (their picture). We don't say “a piece of painting,” however;we just say “a painting.” “Artifacts” (artifacts) are things that were made by humans many years ago that were not necessarily meant to be pieces of art, butare now put in museums so that you can look at them, and some people considerthem pieces of art.

Rudy then asks the guard, because Rudy has lots of questions, “How much is the admission charge?” The “admission charge” is how much it costs to get into the museum. You could use that same expression for a park or a zoo, or asimilar place: the “admission charge.” In Los Angeles, the admission charge formost museums is around 10, maybe $15. Some museums, such as the Getty Museum, are free.

The guard tells Rudy how much it costs to get into the museum. He says, “It’s $10.00 for adults, $3.00 for children, and $5.00 for seniors and students withpicture ID.” A “senior” is someone who is, normally, more than 65 years old. “Picture ID” is short for “picture identification,” and this is something like a driver’s license that has your picture on it, and your name. Your passport is also apicture ID. Many schools give their students IDs (little cards with their name andpicture on it) so they can prove that they are a student.

Rudy then finally asks, “If I leave after I pay, can I come back in?” And the Guardsays, “Yes. You just have to show your stub” (stub). Your “stub” is the small partof the ticket that you keep. Usually, when you buy a ticket for a museum or amovie theater, they give you a ticket and they rip it in half, or they give you onepart and they keep the other part. The part that you keep is called the “stub,” the“ticket stub.”

Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.