时间:2019-01-01 作者:英语课 分类:英语博客 A cup of English


英语课

   This title is the kind that gets attention, isn't it? I first heard about these two characters a few days ago. My three boys play an on-line game called Minecraft. It's actually quite fabulous 1. It is an unending arena 2, where you can discover and create different worlds made out of blocks. My sons' favorites are the survival worlds, where you have to find raw materials* such as wood, edible 3 plants, animals, tools, and fire. In order to survive and prosper 4, you must build yourself a house, and be in it by nightfall*. The reason is that zombies, or 'creepers', come out at night and attack you if you are not safely hidden in your house. Every day, I hear of their new discoveries such as exotic animals, or useful tools of some kind, diamonds, gold, enemies, friends, and even lava 5. It is hugely popular and globally played and loved. I can see why. If you have a look at Minecraft, you will see that it is a perfect combination of computer game, interaction, creativity, and adventure. My boys tell me all the time how educational it is, "Mum, you have to read a little, and even type!" And, you know, compared to a lot of the mindless, destructive video games out there, Minecraft is superior because a player not only has to be creative and curious, but he can add his own personal touch in a world of his choice. As with many on-line games, you have the ability to chat with other players. Mind you, you have to be careful what you say. If you accidentally offend a person who has created the world that you are in, you get banned. There are rules. Two people who know these rules very well, are Xephos and Honeydew. They are gurus of the Minecraft world. Infact, they have made their knowledge and practice of this game into profit. They have a website with up-to-date* video blogs of their Minecraft activity and discoveries. They are two, young English gentlemen, who are friends, and devoted 6 gamers. They give regular commentaries while they game together in the same world in Minecraft. They have, what we call in England, 'the gift of the gab 7', which means an ability to talk and entertain. They are funny, expressive 8, and energetic, and other gamers, like my boys, love to follow their progress and listen to their advice. They battle evil characters, build detailed 9 and unusual homes, and even search other people's homes and 'borrow' items that they find. The accumulation of riches is an important theme in Minecraft, and Xephos and Honeydew are expert miners who manage to collect all kinds of precious metals and gems 11* from the ground. I have come to terms with the fact that* my boys are addicted 12 to this game, as are millions of others. And, thanks to Xephos and Honeydew, they will be encouraged to continue for a long time.


  Related vocabulary and expressions: raw materials, nightfall, up-to-date, gems.
  1. Raw materials are materials that are obtained from nature, and have not yet been processed. Some examples of raw materials are: rock, wood, metals that have come straight from the mine, and unrefined oil and gases that are collected from the earth.
  2. We must find shelter before nightfall. As soon as it gets dark, who knows what dangers will appear in this forest.
  3. If you want to download from iTunes, you should get an up-to-date version of it first. You can get an update on the website.
  4. Look at the gems in the Queen's crown. They are so beautiful. There must be ten different kinds.
  Gems or gem 10 can also be used as a compliment for a thing or a person using the word 'of':
  Ex: He's a gem of a person. He'll do anything to help.
  Ex: We bought a gem of an antique car; there is no other like it.
  Ex: I've just finished reading a gem of a novel. It's probably the best I've read in ten years.

adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的
  • We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
  • This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台
  • She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
  • He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。
n.食品,食物;adj.可食用的
  • Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
  • This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得,那种吃不得。
v.成功,兴隆,昌盛;使成功,使昌隆,繁荣
  • With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管,公司开始兴旺起来。
  • It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。
n.熔岩,火山岩
  • The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
  • His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
v.空谈,唠叨,瞎扯;n.饶舌,多嘴,爱说话
  • The young man had got the gift of gab.那个年轻小贩能说会道。
  • She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
n.宝石,珠宝;受爱戴的人 [同]jewel
  • The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
  • The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。
growth; economy; management; and customer satisfaction 增长
  • a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
  • The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。
adj.沉溺于....的,对...上瘾的
  • He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
  • She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。
学英语单词
a forxa galicia
a niche in the temple of fame
abstinence of war
acme thread gauge
ad hockeries
air burst
alpi
amyl valerate
arm turn
b.n.f.jet test
Beatenberg
bobbin box
braver
bronze vessel
Cidocetine
clicking sound
cocked body
color coding
counter chaim
counter ring
cross-promotions
crystallization power
cylinder temperature
Delphinium cheilanthum
diabetes insipiduss
die entrance angle
dried full cream milk
drooker
electric pressure ga(u)ge
emergency trip header
encinal
equivalent principle
erament
exanthema leprosum
family amygdalaceaes
fed-ex
fedrilate
furacilin
Gama, I.
genus Paralithodes
gerald rudolph fords
gingivitis marginalis suppurative
glaucogenin
glavered
hack lever
hanwells
horizontal mixer
hydraudic chuck
imprison
inert diluent gas
infliction of body
kernel grammar
Laburnum alpinum
lamarckisms
larrousse
light casting
lycopodiaceae
magazine compact edition
Magnolia liliiflora
matrotroph
Medwin Pt.
metallurgy of ferrous metals
methyldihydromorphine
multiplex paralyses
Newcombe
Nuhaka
Palaecanthocephala
parameter tags
pendulum generator
percentage reduction of area
pitch selector
platynaspidius babai
premonitorily
pseudosematic color
Punnett square method
radix anterior nervorum spinalium
royl
sayall
shortest distance
Simkara
spearer
starch up
steam cured concrete
strollingly
sulfonated soybean oil
sympolar
tail-in
Taraxacum perplexans
tcheky
temperature indicator
the northwest
Timken Test
topological Abelian group
two-path circuit
unionization
untutoredly
vesicular exanthema of swine
water pheasant
wheat berries
wide angle aerial camera
wubbing
Zacharias