2011年ESL之餐饮娱乐 05 Using a Video-Sharing Website-英语课

时间：2018-12-26 作者：英语课 分类：2011年ESL之餐饮娱乐

英语课

05 Using a Video-Sharing Website

GLOSSARY

overnight sensation – something that becomes very popular among manypeople very quickly, without anyone having been aware of it previously

* Every time we introduce a new product, we hope it becomes an overnightsensation.

to upload – to move a file from a single computer to the Internet or a network ofcomputers where it can be accessed by many different users

* To make a photo calendar, first you need to upload your favorite photographs tothis website.

view – one instance of someone visiting a particular website, seeing a particularimage, or watching a particular video

* This video has been getting about 10,000 views each day.

to go viral – for something to become very popular online and be shared withmany people by being sent electronically via email and social networking sites

* Advertising agencies dream of producing ads that can go viral.

amateur – not professional; without polished skills for doing something; doingsomething as a hobby or just for fun, but not as one’s career

* During the day, Drake is a dentist, but in the evenings he’s an amateur DJ forthe local radio station.

production value – the quality of a video or movie, often referring to thesharpness of the image, the clarity of the sound, and the sophistication of theediting and special effects

* If we’re going to improve the production value of these videos, we’ll need toinvest in some better video cameras.

channel – station; one group of programs that are created or gathered by asingle person or company and shared via television, the radio, or the Internet

* They’re planning to get a satellite dish so they can watch hundreds of TVchannels.

subscriber – someone who has signed up and/or paid to receive copies ofsomething, especially of a newspaper or magazine

* How many subscribers does this magazine have?

username – the short word or phrase used to identify a particular user for anonline account or discussion forum

* Do you create a different username for each of your online accounts, or do youtry to use a single username for everything?

favorite – a website or video that one likes and has put on a special list to makeit easier to find again in the future and recommend to other people

* If you save websites in your favorites folder, you can just click on them whenyou want to visit them again, without needing to retype the URL.

to share – to send or give something to another person so that he or she willbecome aware of it and enjoy it as one continues to enjoy it oneself

* If you win the lottery, will you share the money with me?

word of mouth – the process of sharing information by telling other people aboutsomething orally, not in writing

* The new restaurant is surprisingly popular, considering that it doesn’t pay forany advertising and instead relies only on word of mouth.

popular – being liked and admired by many people

* Which will be the most popular TV shows this spring?

comment – remark; something that is written to express one’s opinion aboutsomething, especially online

* How often do you leave comments on blogs?

flagged – marked as something that has broken the rules or is questionable orunusual in some way

* If any of the payment transactions are flagged as being suspicious, make surethe money is received before you mail out the order.

the next big thing – the next trend or fad; the next thing that will becomeextremely popular and well-known among many people

* They’ve invested all their money in hydrothermal power, hoping it will becomethe next big thing.

upcoming – happening in the near future; anticipated

* Are you ready for the upcoming conference?

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Melissa think will happen with her video?

a) It will become infected with a virus.

b) It will become extremely popular.

c) It will be flagged.

2. Why doesn’t Frank think Melissa’s video will be successful?

a) Because the production didn’t cost very much.

b) Because the quality of the production isn’t very good.

c) Because she didn’t pick a very good username.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

view

The word “view,” in this podcast, means one instance of someone visiting aparticular website, seeing a particular image, or watching a particular video:

“Some of the most popular videos have more than one million views.” A “view”

can also be one’s opinion: “What’s your view on the new legislation?” The word“view” can also refer to what one is able to see: “Would we need to pay more fora room with a view of the ocean?” The formal phrase “in view of (something)”

means considering something, especially when explaining one’s reasons fordoing something: “In view of the problems in the housing market, the governmentis creating programs to help people pay their mortgage.” Finally, the phrase “witha view to (something)” means with a plan to do something in the future: “He’sstudying biochemistry with a view to applying to medical schools next year.”

to be flagged

In this podcast, the phrase “to be flagged” means to be marked as somethingthat has broken the rules or is questionable or unusual in some way: “His travelplans were flagged as suspicious and potentially terrorism-related.” The phrase“to flag (someone) down” means to move one’s hands in the air to make a carstop: “When their car broke down on the freeway, they had to pull over and try toflag down someone who could help them.” The phrase “flag-waving” refers tovery strong, extreme feelings of patriotism or a love for one’s country: “Do youthink she really believes in all that flag-waving, or is she just doing it to win theelection?” Finally, the verb “to flag” can also mean to lose strength and becometired: “After the 12th mile of the marathon, Chenalise really started to flag.”

CULTURE NOTE

The Digital Millennium Copyright “Act” (law) became law in 1998. It “amended”

(changed) existing laws to “extend” (make something bigger or further-reaching)“copyright protections” (laws that do not allow people to copy other people’screative work) to “digital media” (electronic files).

At the same time, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act “limited” (put a maximumon) the “liability” (someone’s risk; how much someone can be held responsiblefor something) of people who provide online services when their users “post”

(upload) copyrighted materials but do not have permission to do so. Forexample, it limits the liability of a site like YouTube when users post videos thatthey do not “hold” (have; own) the copyright to.

Some people say that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act “goes too far” (takessomething to an extreme) in protecting the rights of copyright holders. If acopyright holder believes his or her work is being used without permission on awebsite, he or she can send a takedown “notice” (official letter) to the websiteowner, demanding that the material be “taken down” (removed or deleted) fromthe website. As long as the website owner “complies” (agrees with; does what isasked) with the takedown request, he or she cannot be “held liable” (punished)for the “disallowed” (not allowed) use of the materials. However, many of thetakedown requests “have no basis” (are not based on anything) and the materialsare actually “fair use” (legally allowed usage) of the copyrighted material.

Nevertheless, because the website owner does not want to be punished, thematerials are usually taken down anyway.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 683: Using aVideo-Sharing Website.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 683. I’m your host, Dr.

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

Our website, you know, it’s eslpod.com. Go there, you know what to do.

This episode is called “Using a Video-Sharing Website.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Melissa: You’re looking at the next overnight sensation. I’m uploading my videoright now, and by this time tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s had over100,000 views. It’s going to go viral.

Frank: You and your amateur videos. Who is going to watch something withsuch low production value?

Melissa: You’d be surprised. I have my own channel on YouGube, with over5,000 subscribers.

Frank: Are you sure that’s not because your username is AngelinaJolie?

Melissa: No, it’s because people enjoy my videos, mark them as their favorites,and share them with their friends. Word of mouth – that’s why I’m so popular.

Frank: But what about the comments on your videos? How many of those arepositive and how many are negative?

Melissa: I don’t read the comments. I assume they’re all positive, and my videoshave never been flagged.

Frank: All right, so is this another video of you dancing with your cat?

Melissa: No, my cat and I are dancing and singing. That’s why we’re both goingto be the next big thing.

Frank: Right, I’ll get in line right now to buy tickets to your upcoming Vegasshow.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Melissa saying to Frank, “You’re looking at the nextovernight sensation.” “Overnight” (one word) means from today till tomorrow, in24 hours. If a company says we’ll deliver that to you overnight that means it willbe there the next day. “Overnight,” however, can also mean very quickly,suddenly. This is the meaning that Melissa has in mind when she says “the nextovernight sensation.” A “sensation” here means something that is very popular;something that has become very popular very quickly is called an “overnightsensation.” Melissa says, “I’m uploading my video right now.” “To upload”

(upload – one word) means to move a file from a computer – a computer’s harddrive – up to another computer on the Internet or on a network of computers.

Melissa says that by this time tomorrow, in 24 hours, “I wouldn’t be surprised ifit’s had over 100,000 views.” She’s saying that she expects that her video will, in24 hours, have 100,000 views. A “view,” when we’re talking about a videowebsite, means that something has been watched by 100,000 people or 100,000times. Maybe one person watches it 100,000 times; I’m not sure exactly howthat works. But, 100,000 views usually means that 100,000 people have seenthe video. “It’s going to go viral,” Melissa says. The expression “to go viral”

(viral) means something becomes very popular on the Internet very quickly. Likea virus causes illness – sickness to spread quickly from one person to another,“viral” means something moves very quickly on the Internet; it becomes popularvery quickly.

Frank says, “You and your amateur videos.” “Amateur” is the opposite of“professional,” something done by someone who isn’t getting any money for ittypically. Also, it means not very good, not very sophisticated. That’s the ideathat Frank is saying; he’s saying that you are making another amateur video.

“Who’s going to watch something with such low production value?” “Productionvalue” is the quality of the video or the quality of the movie. It could be thesound, it could be the way it looks, the special effects. All of these are part of theproduction value. “Production” comes from the word “produce,” meaning tomake. “Value,” here, is how good or bad it is. It’s a term you hear a lot in LosAngeles when people talk about movies and films: “production value.”

Melissa says, “You’d be surprised.” That expression “you’d be surprised” meansyou will be surprised at the quality of my video. She says, “I have my ownchannel on YouGube, with over 5,000 subscribers.” A “channel” here is a groupof things that are related to each other; it typically refers to something on the radio or the television that is created and can be found in the same place everytime. On video-sharing sites, this one is called “YouGube,” similar I think toYouTube, you can have your own channel. So, you can put all of your videos inone place and people can find them easily. They can also “subscribe” to yourchannel, meaning every time you put a new video on your channel they get anemail telling you hey, there’s a new video on this person’s channel. A“subscriber” is someone who has signed up or paid to receive copies ofsomething such as a newspaper, a magazine, or in this case emails on theInternet. Notice when pronounced quickly, the word “Internet” often loses that “t”

in the middle when we say it quickly: “Inernet” instead of “Internet.”

Anyway, Frank says, “Are you sure that’s not because your username isAngelinaJolie?” A “username” (one word) is a name that you select for an emailaccount or when you register or subscribe to something on the Internet. It’s aname that you can pick that doesn’t necessarily have to be your name. One ofmy usernames is ESLPod; that’s not my name, but I can use it as my username.

That’s my username on Twitter; you can follow me on Twitter if you want to.

Frank says Melissa has a username of AngelinaJolie, who you may know is afamous, beautiful actress who lives with another actor, some guy by the name ofBrad…Brad…what is it? Brad Pitt, yeah, Brad Pitt. Who ever heard of him?

Anyway, AngelinaJolie is the username Melissa uses, and of course peoplewould subscribe to her channel thinking that she was the real Angelina Jolie.

Melissa says, however, “No,” that isn’t true. She has 5,000 subscribers shesays, “because people enjoy my videos, mark them as their favorites, and sharethem with their friends.” On many websites you can indicate which things on thesite are your favorite things, and that’s what Melissa is referring to. People alsoshare her videos; they send an email perhaps with a “link” (the website address)so the person can then look at that video, or they put on their Facebook page orperhaps they put it on their Twitter feed by tweeting it. Melissa says, “Word ofmouth – that’s why I’m so popular.” “Word of mouth” is an expression thatmeans that one person tells another person and then they tell their friend andthen that friend tells someone else, and pretty soon you’re very popular becauseeveryone has been telling everyone else. Normally we use this expression tocompare it to another way of getting people to come to your website or go to yourstore, which would be a commercial on the television for example, or in thenewspaper. But, “word of mouth” is advertising that takes place when oneperson tells another. It doesn’t cost you any money; it’s the best kind ofadvertising. Melissa says, “that’s why I’m so popular (that’s why everyone likesme).”

Frank says, “But what about the comments on your videos?” A “comment” issomething that you write to express your opinion, especially on a website. Frankasks, “How many of those (comments) are positive and how many are negative?”

Melissa says, “I don’t read the comments. I assume they’re all positive, and myvideos have never been flagged.” She thinks everyone loves her videos, but shedoesn’t read their comments with their actual opinions. She says her videoshave never been flagged. “To be flagged” (flagged) means to indicate thatsomething on the Internet has either broken a rule for the website or is somehowunusual in some way. So if you go to YouTube and you put up a video of atelevision program that is illegal, someone could flag your video. They couldindicate to the owner of the website that you are doing something wrong.

Frank says, “All right, so is this another video of you dancing with your cat?”

That’s Melissa’s video, her dancing with her cat. Melissa says, “No, my cat and Iare dancing and singing. That’s why we’re both going to be the next big thing.”

“The next big thing” is the next thing that will be very popular and well knownamong many people. It’s the next, we might call it, “trend,” or “fad” (fad),something that’s popular for a while, but only briefly – only for a short time, andthen it’s not so popular.

Melissa says she thinks she and her cat will be the next big thing. Frank says,“Right,” but he says it in a way that really means wrong. He says the word “right”

meaning I don’t believe you. So sometimes the meaning of the word can be theopposite depending on how the person says it. He says, “I’ll get in line (I’ll startwaiting) right now to buy tickets to your upcoming Vegas show.” “Upcoming”

(one word) means happening in the near future, something that will be happeningsoon. “Vegas” refers to the city of Las Vegas in Nevada, about five hours by careast of Los Angeles. It’s where you can go and see a lot of famous singers, theyhave shows – they have performances that you go and watch. Frank, of course,is making a joke.

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