The Telephone: Past, Present and Future 电话的过去、现在和未来
The telephone has come a long way since its early days
电话自问世迄今已有长足的进步
March 2
Imagine using smoke signals, carrier pigeons or riders on horseback to send an important message. Although those methods may sound strange, years ago people used them to communicate. Today, all a person has to do is pick up a telephone.
The telephone was born in the 19th century. By the 1840s, telegraphs were the main form of long-distance communication. But these machines were very slow. After years of work, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. This happened on March 7, 1876, and three days later Bell made the world's first phone call. He sent his voice into the next room using copper wire and sound waves. His assistant heard a simple message: "Watson, come here; I want you." Communication changed forever.
A high price
Initially, telephone service was very expensive. In 1927 a three-minute call from New York to London cost US$75! That would be equal to spending US$895 on the same phone call today!

    不妨想像一下利用烽烟、信鸽或驿马站人员来传送重要讯息的情景！虽然上述方式如今听起来蛮奇怪的，但多年前人们的确是透过这些方式来通讯。到如今，大家只要拿起电话就可以相互沟通了（译注：本句all a person has to do is pick up中，美式英语的all…to do is後面一般都省略to，并接原形动词）。
    电话诞生於十九世纪。一八四０年代时，长途通讯往往透过电报这种主要形式，只不过，当时电报机的操作速度很慢。经过多年的辛勤研究，亚历山大?葛拉汉?贝尔发明的电话在一八七六年三月七日获得专利，而三天之後贝尔拨打了史上第一通电话。他利用铜线和声波，将自己的声音传送到隔壁房间，而他助理听到的简单讯息是：「华生，过来，我有事要找你。」从此通讯方式永远改变了。
所费不赀
    起初，电话服务收费十分昂贵，在一九二七年从纽约市打电话到伦敦，短短三分钟竟然要价七十五美元！这相当於如今花费八百九十五美元来打这通电话。

carrier pigeon (n) 信鸽
communicate (v) 通讯；传达
At the beginning of school, Mrs. Smith tried to communicate her goals to all of her students' parents.
telegraph (n) 电报
In World War I, soldiers sent messages back to their families using telegraphs.
communication (n) 通讯；传达
Communication was lost between the airplane and the airport during the storm.
patent (n) 专利权；专利
copper (n) 铜
The famous chef used a large copper pot to boil the noodles.

Teaching Topic: Year and Century 教學主題： 紀年與世紀
AD——Anno Domini西元
BC——Before Christ西元前
AD通常会放在年份的前面，BC要放在年份的后面
如果要来表示是第几世纪我们要用序数，前面要用定冠词，如the 21st century

---Welcome to the Chat Room! I’m Ken. We’re happy to have Doris here for a chat today. Hi, Doris!
---Well, hi, Ken! Hi, everyone! It’s good to be back in the Chat Room again.
---Doris, let’s chat about dates today. We read in the lesson, the telephone was born in the 19th century. By the 1840s, telegraphs were the main form of long-distance communication. It seems like we’re going back in time from the 19th century to the 1840s.
---Well, you need to be careful, Ken, the 1840s are in the 19th century.
---The 1840s are in the 19th century? But one is 18, the other is 19?
---We need to understand how years are numbered in our calendar. If we go back to the first 100 years, from AD 0 to AD 99, we would be in the first century. After we entered AD 100, we’d be in the second century. So AD 100 to AD 199 would be the second century.
---Oh, I get it. So now we’re in the year 2009, we’re in the 21st century?
---Right.
---And what does AD stand for?
---Well, AD is the abbreviation for the Latin term Anno Domini, which means in the year of our Lord, so AD actually marks the birth of Jesus.
---What about the time before Jesus was born?
---Well, we would use BC, which stands for Before Christ.
---I see.今年是2009年，讲得明确一点的就是AD 2009，AD表示Anno Domini这是个拉丁文的字表示西元，而西元前要用BC，也就是Before Christ，AD通常会放在年份的前面，BC要放在年份的后面，另外如果要来表示是第几世纪我们要用序数，前面要用定冠词，所以并不是21 century而是the 21st century
---Well, let’s now take a break. Studio Classroom will be right back.

communicate (v) 通訊；傳達
不及物动词；沟通，通话；与某人沟通用with
We didn't speak their dialect so we communicated with the locals by using our hands.
我们不会说他们的方言所以我们和当地人用手来沟通。
With-cell-phones we can communicate with people anytime, anywhere.
利用行动电话我们可以和别人随时随地的通话。

communication (n) 通訊；傳達
Through out the last decade the Internet has become an important tool of communication.
过去十年来网际网路已经成为通讯的重要工具。
Communication between Ted and his father has been very difficult lately.
Ted和爸爸之间的沟通最近变得非常的困难。
Jack needs to improve his communication skills.
Jack需要改进他沟通的技巧。

patent (n) 專利權；專利
This new drug is protected by a patent.
这个新药有专利的保护。
申请专利用file/apply
After developing new technology, the company filed for a patent.
发明了这项新的科技之后这家公司申请了专利。

March 3
Telephones today and beyond
As technology improved, so did the telephone, making it more affordable and efficient. Today, fiber optics and radio waves allow phone calls to be sent and received digitally. These developments paved the way for the modern cellular phone.
Cellular phones have improved greatly since they first hit the market. In 1984 a cellular phone weighed nearly one kg and cost the buyer US$3,995. Today most phones fit into a pocket and weigh less than half a kg. They are less expensive too, often costing under US$100. These revolutionary phones allow users to do far more than make a phone call. Many function as cameras, media players and computers, complete with access to the web. And if that isn't enough, telephone calls can even be made over a computer using VoIP services like Skype.
The future of the telephone is anyone's guess. Before you know it, people will have a new and better way to communicate.

电话的今日与未来
    随着科技日新月异，电话也同样有所改良，让人更负担得起，而传讯也更有效率。如今，光纤和无线电波使得电话内容得以透过数位化的方式来传输和接收，而这些进展也为现代手机铺路。
    手机自首度问世以来，已有大幅改良。在一九八四年时，一支手机重达将近一公斤，而且买主要花三千九百九十五美元。如今大多数手机均可放进口袋里，重量低於半公斤，而且价格也更便宜了，通常售价低於一百美元。这些完全创新的革命性手机所具有的功能不只是打电话而已，还包括了像是相机、媒体播放器和电脑等功能，而且还能连线上网。假使这样还不够的话，大家甚至还可以利用像Skype（译注：知名网路电话公司，下载其软体即能拨打网路电话）这类的网路电话服务来透过电脑打电话。
    电话未来的样貌，谁都说不准。在不知不觉中，大家可能很快又会拥有崭新、更好的通讯方式了。

digitally (adv) 数位化地
The movie star had his name digitally printed on his pictures for his fans.
fiber optics (n) 光纤
pave the way(idiom) 为…铺路
His research paved the way for developing a cure for cancer.
revolutionary (adj) 革命（性）的
The revolutionary new drug will help cancer patients.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)(n) 网路电话
anyone's guess (idiom) 谁也说不准
Will Tom finally ask Susie to marry him tonight? That's anyone's guess.

Grammar Tip
As technology improved, so did the telephone, making it more affordable and efficient.
句子后面的so did the telephone，其实就是the telephone improved too的意思，改成以“so+助动词+主语的倒装句”
As Mary's skills improved, so did her confidence.
As Sam's vocabulary increased, so did his willingness to speak up in class.
As the patient’s body grew healthier each day, so did her spirits.
As the working environment improved for the employees, so did the company’s business.

Hello, friends. My name is Liz and it’s time for Grammar on the Go. Our article is all about telephones, the past, present and future. And so here I am in Oxford, England, right in front of a lovely row of traditional telephone booths. As most of us have cell phones, we know we don’t really need such phone booths, still, it’s kind of nice to see a bit of history here. Well, let’s go ahead and look at today’s Grammar Tip sentence.As technology improved, so did the telephone.This is a very useful sentence pattern, “as something verbed, so did something else.” We use this sentence pattern when we want to talk about how the change in a certain thing is in relation to the change in another thing. Of course, going back to today’s sentence, we could say,As technology improved, the telephone also improved, too. Nothing wrong with the grammar, except it’s just a little wordy when we say “also improved”. This could be simplified with the phrase “so did”. Let’s have a look at some example sentences. As the patient’s body grew healthier each day, so did her spirits.OrAs the working environment improved for the employees, so did the company’s business.Want more example sentences? You’ll find them in today’s Grammar Tip in your Studio Classroom magazine. That’s it for now. I’m going to go call a friend from one of the phone booths there. Just for the fun of it. This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off from Oxford, England. Bye-bye!

Teaching Topic: A Different Usage of Hit 教學主題：不一樣的Hit
hit：口语的用法，到达，抵达，hit the market：在市场上推出，hit the beach：前往海滩
hit：指命中率，hit the jackpot：中大奖，拿到头奖
hit(n)，a hit：成功而风行一时的事物

---Hello and welcome! We’re happy to have Doris here in the Chat Room today for a chat. Hi, Doris!
---Well, hi, Ken! It’s good to be back. Well, do you have a question for me today?
---Yes, I sure do. Our lesson today says cellular phones have improved greatly since they first hit the market. I don’t understand. How do cell phones hit the market?
---Oh, that’s an informal usage of the verb, to hit, to hit the market simply means to arrive at the market. We also use hit to mean go to a certain place. For example, we decided to hit the beach early.
---So you decided to go to the beach early?
---That’s right. But keep in mind that that’s an informal usage, you can use it with your friends, but don’t say, “Let’s hit the beach!” to an elderly person or someone important.
---OK. That’s good to know.hit有一个口语的用法表示到达，抵达，hit the market表示在市场上推出，hit the beach前往海滩。So does “hit” have any other informal usages?
---Well, if you’re lucky, Ken, you might hit the jackpot in the lottery.
---Hit the jackpot?
---That’s right. It means to win the top prize.
---OK.hit也可以指命中率，hit the jackpot就是中大奖，拿到头奖。Are there any others?
---Well, when a certain cell phone hits the market, it may become a hit.
---A hit? So you’re using it as a noun?
---Yes,a hit refers to something successful or popular. A movie can be a hit, a song can also be a hit if lots of people listen to it.
---hit也可以当名词使用，a hit表示成功而风行一时的事物，像歌曲，电影，戏剧，小说都有可能是一个a hit
---Well, let’s take a break now. But don’t go too far because Studio Classroom will be right back.

digitally (adv) 數位化地
Today most albums are digitally recorded but I still perfer the sound records.
现在的专辑大多数用数位式的录音方法录制的，但是我还是比较喜欢唱片的声音。
These photos are stored digitally in the CD-ROM.
这些相片是以数位的模式储存在光碟片中。

revolutionary (adj) 革命（性）的
The revolutionary drug made curing cancer possible.
这个革命性的药让癌症的治疗成为可能。
The engineers develop a revolutionary car that runs on alternative energy.
工程师发展出一种使用汽油之外其他能源的车子。

anyone's guess (idiom) 誰也說不準
Who the company will hire to be their new CEO is anyone's guess for now.
当目前为止公司会聘请谁成为他们新的执行长还没有人能确定。
Since the boss is still on vacation it's anyone's guess when the employees will get paid.
因为老板还在度假员工们什么时候能够拿到薪水没有人能说得准。