跟读练习: An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump - 通过视频学习英语口语
选择练习模式
每种模式都会打开全屏练习室。
43 句
如果句子过短或过长，请点击 Edit 进行调整。
1
This is one of the greatest paintings created by a British artist.
2
It is an experiment on a bird in the air pump, painted by Joseph Wright, known as Wright of Derby, and exhibited first in 1768.
3
And this is a painting I've written about in my book, A History of Britain in 21 Paintings.
4
Now this is an image of dramatic contrasts, science and religion, reason and theatrics,
5
light and dark, life and death and what is being displayed is a demonstration of the air pump experiment.
6
It's a pretty horrific scene, a small bird has been placed in a chamber
7
and the air is gradually being removed and as the bird convulses and struggles the figures around react in different ways.
8
Some can barely look, some like the boy on the left are gripped, some couldn't care less like the two lovers infatuated with each other.
9
Now Wright was born in Derby and so perhaps it's no surprise he was fascinated by science.
10
This was a place where the Midlands enlightenment boomed.
11
Wright lived just five minutes away from the Derby Silk Mill, often said to be the world's first factory,
12
and despite being an artist his birthplace today is marked by an amillary sphere, a scientific instrument.
13
Now part of the drama of this painting comes from the striking visual contrast.
14
The highlights are bright, the shadows inky black, the silhouettes sharp, every wrinkle is visible, every hair shimmers.
15
Echoing the techniques of Caravaggio, this is known as the English candlelight technique, using a single main light source,
16
the obscured candle on the table, plus the silvery moon if that counts.
17
And light and dark were apt metaphors for the principles of the Enlightenment, in which the pursuit of knowledge illuminates the darkness of ignorance.
18
But while this painting was created in the time of the Enlightenment, a time of reason and scientific advancement, Wright was also painting as a new movement emerged,
19
one which celebrated wild emotion and the darker side of human nature.
20
It was known as the Gothic.
21
Just four years before this painting was first exhibited, the first Gothic novel was published.
22
It was Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in 1764 did, write, read The Castle of Otranto,
23
I wonder, as he was mapping out this masterpiece.
24
It has all the Gothic spooky traits, eerie moonlight, a flickering candle, themes of life and death,
25
children terrified, this wizened philosopher who would look at home in a crumbling turret surrounded by dusty books.
26
But why does this image still attract and fascinate and horrify people today?
27
Well, perhaps it's because the work is timeless.
28
Forget the bird for a moment and replace it with something from today's world, perhaps a modern moral dilemma like the use of AI or cloning.
29
Some of us might turn away from some of those things in horror, unable to look.
30
Some, like the father here, might take a more practical stance saying there's a lot we can learn from AI, we must embrace it.
31
Some, like the enraptured couple, they couldn't care less, they're getting on with their own lives.
32
Some of us are the young boy pushing for more.
33
Go on he says, push the button, see what happens when you make a clone.
34
And so perhaps this is why this painting still speaks to us.
35
Though this is an 18th century scene, it is at its core a commentary on mankind's relationship with the new frontiers of science.
36
Look at how the philosopher figure gestures to us, the viewer.
37
We are not passive observers in these conversations on reality and science and life and death but active participants.
38
He is gesturing directly to us to make the decision about what will happen to the bird itself
39
and so Wright forces us to confront a truth more surprising, more uncomfortable, more intimate than any other, our own moral standing.
40
If you'd like to learn more about the painting then do
41
pick up a copy of my book A History of Britain in 21 Paintings.
42
And if you're in Derby do visit the Art Gallery to see this amazing exhibition about Rite of Derby's work and life.
43
It runs until the 1st of November.
同频道
FOR YOU
推荐视频
C12
68 句
Monet's Water Lilies: Great Art Explained
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
171 句
Shadowing British English | 1984 by George Orwell – Part 1 | RP Pronunciation Practice
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
137 句
The Bonfire of the Vanities | Italian History | Extra History
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1552 句
The Professor Who Taught People How To Think (1962)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
63 句
William Buckley: the Wild White Man
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
150 句
The only good nuclear accident
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
326 句
The Art of Sfumato: An In-Depth Oil Painting Masterclass
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C168 句
The Death of Socrates: How To Read A Painting
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
62 句
A mind-blowing explanation of symmetry | Frank Wilczek for Big Think
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
282 句
The 7 Poems that Haunt Me the Most
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
C12
176 句
Inside a Charming 17th-Century Farmhouse
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
96 句
How can you legally fly a plane designed in 1910?
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
本课的词汇与口语要点
这节口语课以视频“An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump”为素材。 视频中反复出现的词有：painting, Wright, bird, Derby, perhaps。 这段视频共有 43 个句子、703 个单词可供跟读。 讲话部分时长为 4:16。 说话人语速自然，每分钟约 165 个词，接近日常对话。 只有 76% 的单词属于英语最常用的 3,000 词，词汇难度较高。
视频中的重点词汇
视频中 15 个值得学习的单词，附发音和释义：
| 单词 | 发音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| enlightenment 名词 | /ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/ | 啟發 /启发, 啟迪 /启迪 |
| technique 名词 | /tɛkˈniːk/ | 技術 /技术, 技巧 |
| contrast 名词 | /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/ | 对比度 |
| moral 形容词 | /ˈmoɹəl/ | 道德的 |
| experiment 名词 | /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/ | 實驗 /实验 |
| pump 名词 | /pʌmp/ | 泵, 唧筒 |
| exhibit 动词 | /ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/ | 展覽 /展览 |
| gesture 名词 | /ˈd͡ʒɛs.t͡ʃɚ/ | 手勢 /手势, 姿勢 /姿势 |
| candle 名词 | /ˈkæn.dəl/ | 蠟燭 /蜡烛, 蠟 /蜡 |
| philosopher 名词 | /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/ | 哲學家 /哲学家 |
| clone 名词 | /kloʊn/ | 克隆, 複製 /复制 |
| practical 形容词 | /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ | 使用的, 實用 /实用 |
| sharp 形容词 | /ʃɑɹp/ | 銳利 /锐利, 尖銳 /尖锐 |
| chamber 名词 | /ˈt͡ʃeɪ̯mbɚ/ | 臥室 /卧室, 寢室 /寝室 |
| shadow 名词 | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | йинзы, йинйинзы |
视频中出现的短语动词
| 单词 | 释义 |
|---|---|
| get on with 动词 | 繼續 /继续, 持續 /持续 |
| pick up 动词 | 拾取, 撿 /捡 |
视频中的语法
说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：
| 结构 | 视频中的用法 |
|---|---|
| 被动语态 be + 过去分词 — 强调发生了什么，而不是谁做的 | being displayed · has been placed · being removed |
| 现在完成时 have/has + 过去分词 — 过去发生但与现在仍有关联的事 | I've written · has been placed |
需要注意的发音
说话人用了 6 次缩略和弱读形式，例如 couldn't, I've, they're。请按听到的简短形式来说。
- “th” 音: birthplace /ˈbɝθˌpleɪs/, theatrics /θiˈætɹɪks/
- “sh” 和 “zh” 音: contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, sharp /ʃɑɹp/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, exhibition /ɛksɪˈbɪʃən/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/
- 长单词——注意重音位置: enlightenment /ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, philosopher /fəˈlɑsəfɚ/, exhibition /ɛksɪˈbɪʃən/, commentary /ˈkɑ.mənˌtɛ.ɹi/
中文母语者容易读错的音：
- /v/ — 不要读成 /w/，上齿轻触下唇: visible /ˈvɪzɪb(ə)l/, lover /ˈlʌvɚ/, passive /ˈpæs.ɪv/, observer /əbˈzɝvɚ/, advancement /ædˈvæns.mənt/
- 词尾辅音 — 要读清楚，后面不要加元音: enlightenment /ɪnˈlaɪtənmənt/, technique /tɛkˈniːk/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, pump /pʌmp/
- /r/ 和 /l/ 的区别: moral /ˈmoɹəl/, practical /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/, principle /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/, gradually /ˈɡɹæd͡ʒuəli/, crumble /ˈkɹʌmbəl/
如何用这段视频练习
- 先完整听一遍视频，不要开口，记下不认识的单词。
- 先用 0.75 倍速逐句跟读，熟练之后再回到正常速度。
- 录下自己的声音并与原声对比，特别注意 enlightenment, technique, contrast 这类单词。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。