Webster's Web: A Sticky Situation-空中英語教室
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Webster’s Web: A Sticky Situation 韋伯斯特的網(上)
空中英語教室 20250429
(使用CapCut 自動字幕功能)
只要修正英文文法，保留原文，同時將簡體中文修改為繁體中文
Hi friends, welcome back!
My name is John,
and today is a great day to learn something new.
So, let’s do that together. My name is Anne Marie,
and this is Studio Classroom. Friends, we’re so happy
you’re here for our
language lesson!
Today we’re talking about the word
“play”—how it’s used in many different ways
in the English language.
But Anne Marie, I’ve got a serious question for you.
Are you ready?
Yes!
Talk about it with us, friends.
What dangerous situations
have you faced?
Dangerous situations?
John, I think that I am pretty
blessed to say that I don’t really experience many
dangerous situations
very often.
How about you?
Well,
the most dangerous situations I’ve been in
involved being in cars.
One time in the U.S., our car hit a poor deer.
We could have all died, but thank God we were safe.
Wow,
that does sound pretty dangerous.
Well,
friends, we’re not just talking about danger today.
We are, as John said, talking about the word “play”
in an article called
“Webster’s Web.”
Let’s get right into our first conversation for today:
Webster’s Web: A Sticky Situation
Webster the spider was busy mending his web.
“I’m so hungry,” he thought. “If I don’t get this web mended soon,
I’ll starve.”
“Hey,
what’s this?” he wondered as he spied a fly buzzing overhead.
“Hello, little fly,”
he grinned. “Come a little closer—
we can play together in my web.”
“But I don’t know you,” the little fly said,
“and I always play it safe.
I never talk to strangers.”
Hi everyone, welcome to Language Lab. I’m Jack.
首先來看overhead這個字。
在這裡是當副詞，意思是在頭頂上或在空中，
譬如：
The forest was always dark because the branches stretched overhead and kept the sunshine out.
森林裡總是漆黑一片，因為樹枝伸展到上方擋住了陽光。
overhead也可以當名詞，是指天花板。
譬如：
I keep hearing a knocking sound, but I can’t tell if it is from overhead or not.
我一直聽到敲擊聲，但不確定是不是來自天花板。
overhead也還可以當形容詞，其中一個意思是指公司的日常開支。
譬如：
Rising overhead costs, combined with a decline in customer demand, forced the small business to shut down.
公司營運成本上升，加上顧客需求的下降，使得小企業被迫關閉。
All right friends,
the name of our article today is “Webster’s Web.”
Webster is a spider, and he’s tricky!
Let’s read a little bit about him together.
All right, well,
we read that this is a spider sticky situation,
and this is a great phrase for you to know, friends!
If something is a sticky situation,
it means that it involves a lot of problems,
or it could even be
slightly embarrassing for someone involved.
You could say:
“When my project fell apart,
I was in a sticky situation.
I didn’t know whether to tell my teacher
and get a new date, or
just keep going.”
Okay, now we have a story here, friends. Are you ready?
Webster the Spider was busy mending his web.
First, we need to talk about that word: mending.
“Mending” is a great word. It basically means “fixing,”
but it implies that you’re repairing something—so
something was broken,
and you’re fixing it or repairing it.
I usually use the word “mend”
when I’m talking about
sewing a piece of clothing.
For example,
if my shirt has a hole in it,
I will mend it with a needle and thread.
So we see here: this spider was mending his web,
and he is having thoughts of hunger.
Oh! He says, “I’m so hungry,” he thought.
“If I don’t get this web mended soon,
I’ll starve.”
“Starving” is really bad—it’s pretty serious!
That’s right.
So if someone is starving, this means to suffer or even die
because you’re so hungry.
Now, a lot of times when we say “I’m starving” in English,
we don’t mean that we are literally starving.
We’re not going to die from hunger—
we just mean that we are really, really hungry.
And this is something that we do commonly say.
That’s right. So, friends, we read:
“Hey, what’s this?” he wondered,
as he spied a fly buzzing overhead.
You learned all about “overhead” in your Language Lab!
But what does he say? Well,
he’s very excited to see this fly,
because as you know, friends—
spiders eat flies.
And the spider says,
“Hello, little fly,” he grinned.
“Come a little closer—
we can play together in my web.”
Now here we see that word “play” for the first time, friends.
And here it does mean just what you think it does—
it means to have fun together.
Ooh, okay,
this spider is creepy!
And the little fly notices it. He says:
“But I don’t know you,” the little fly said.
“And I always play it safe.
I never talk to strangers.”
“Play it safe” is the first of our idioms today
that uses the word “play.”
To play it safe means to do the careful or cautious thing,
and to avoid some potential danger.
So, for example:
“I played it safe and left early
so I could beat the traffic.”
Maybe I could still get there on time if I
didn’t leave early,
but I wanted to do the careful thing,
so I played it safe.
You know, when I was younger and I didn’t have kids,
I didn’t play it safe as much.
But now that I’m a dad,
I find that I play it safe a lot more than I used to.
That happens once you become a parent.
All right, friends,
well, we are going to continue on
with our conversation between Webster and this little fly.
Let’s find out what happens next right now.
Webster’s Web
The spider played along.
"Oh, good for you!
Talking to strangers can be dangerous.
In fact," Webster explained, "it’s like playing with fire.
But I wouldn’t hurt a fly."
"You do seem friendly," admitted the fly.
"But I shouldn’t be playing around with spider webs—
I might get stuck."
"That’s silly," Webster said, playing it cool.
"Look at me! I can run and bounce and jump—
you don’t see me getting stuck, do you?
It’s fun and very safe," the spider winked.
接下來看bounce這個動詞，意思是「彈跳」。
來看例句：
The airplane’s landing was rough, and the passengers bounced in their seats, which made everyone very nervous.
這架飛機降落時很不平穩，乘客們在座位上很顛簸，讓每個人都很緊張。
也可以當名詞，意思是「彈力」或是「彈性」。
比如：
I need to buy a new basketball, because this one has no bounce left, even though I’ve filled it with air.
我需要買一個新籃球，因為儘管充了氣，這個還是沒有彈力了。
bounce的形容詞是bouncy，意思是「有彈性的」。
bouncy castle就是指「充氣城堡」，
譬如：
Billy begged his parents to let him play in the big bouncy castle that was set up in front of the mall.
Billy 央求爸媽讓他去商場前的大型充氣城堡裡玩。
All right, what does Webster, this tricky spider, say?
Well, we read:
The spider played along.
"Good for you!
Talking to strangers can be dangerous.
In fact," Webster explains,
"it’s like playing with fire."
Now, when you play along with something,
what does that mean?
Okay—so this builds off
what the fly said in the previous section.
He says that he plays it safe
and never talks to strangers.
So the spider
is playing along—that means that he is agreeing
with the fly.
He’s agreeing to do
or accept what the other person says
or what the other person wants.
So even though the
spider doesn’t agree with the fly,
he’s kind of pretending to.
So it kind of implies you’re not
really part of the planning,
but you just play along, you go along with it.
You could say:
“When my friends decided to practice basketball every day,
I just decided to play along,
and became better at basketball.”
All right, so the spider says:
"Good for you.
Talking to strangers can be dangerous.
In fact, it’s like playing with fire."
What does it mean to play with fire?
Playing with fire means doing something that’s risky
or dangerous.
You don’t want to play with actual fire, right?
Your clothes will get burned.
So you could use this in a sentence, friends:
“You’re playing with fire if you cheat on the test.”
That means there might be some serious
consequences or danger
even for you
if you do that.
But we see another phrase here—
the spider says:
"I wouldn’t hurt a fly."
Now, we use this phrase commonly in English
to talk about people who are very gentle
or who would never hurt anybody.
That’s right—and of course,
this spider is actually talking to a fly,
so it’s a joke.
But you would say:
"Oh, he would never hurt a fly. He is so gentle."
All right, now the fly says:
"You do seem friendly," admitted the fly.
Uh-oh—
the fly is getting convinced by this tricky spider!
"But I shouldn’t be playing around with spider webs."
Now we see this phrase: play around with something,
and it’s very similar to the idea of playing with fire, isn’t it?
Yeah—if you’re playing around with something,
it means you’re treating it or acting in an unserious way,
sometimes even being careless.
Your mom might have told you:
"Don’t play with matches." Right?
You might get burned.
That’s right, and this fly knows
he shouldn’t be playing around with spider webs.
Why?
Because he might get stuck.
Now we see here that Webster says:
"That’s silly,"
and now he is going to play it cool.
That’s our next play phrase, friends!
If you play it cool,
it means that you make an attempt to be calm
and unemotional about something.
Often, you could say:
“The guy tried to play it cool to ask the girl out on a date,
but he was very nervous.
It was hard to play it cool.”
And what does the spider say?
Well, he says:
"Look at me! I can run and bounce and jump.
You don’t see me getting stuck, do you?"
Uh-oh—he’s trying to trick this fly!
He does, and he says:
"It’s fun and very safe."
The spider winked.
Now, winking is different from blinking.
Blinking you do with both eyes.
But winking you just do with one.
You know, some people have a hard time
winking—especially kids.
But there’s an old saying that says:
“The person that winks with their eye
is planning mischief or planning trouble.”
Can this fly trust this spider?
What do you think?
Let’s go to today’s Info Cloud, though,
and learn a little bit more.
Friends, welcome to Info Cloud!
Garrett, let’s talk about a phrase I heard someone say recently:
“Once bitten, twice shy.”
What does that mean?
Hey Rax,
“Once bitten, twice shy”
is an expression that means
after you’ve been hurt or disappointed once,
you’re more cautious or hesitant
the next time you face a similar situation.
So for example,
if someone is hurt in a relationship,
they might be afraid to trust again—
even if the next person seems trustworthy.
Exactly!
If a dog bites you,
you might be shy about meeting and petting
unfamiliar animals in the future.
I suppose that once… and twice…
Just emphasize that it only
takes a single bad experience to make you cautious
for quite a while.
We use the saying for all sorts of situations—
not just bad experiences with animals or
romantic relationships.
It can be used for financial decisions,
trusting someone,
or even trying something new.
Basically, for any situation that can make you more
guarded if things go badly.
Exactly. It’s a natural reaction to protect yourself.
It reminds us that past experiences
often shape our future behavior.
once bitten, twice shy
「一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草繩」 或 「吃一次虧，下次就會特別小心」
once bitten, twice shy
「一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草繩」 或 「吃一次虧，下次就會特別小心」
當我們被一樣東西傷害過，在日後的生活中可能會有一些陰影。
西方人形容這種情形是once bitten, twice shy——被咬了一次，第二次碰到就會遠離。
once bitten, twice shy就是在表達，一個人受過傷害之後，面對類似的情況時，會變得更加謹慎或是猶豫。
例如，如果有人在一段關係中受過傷，即使下一個人看起來值得信賴，他們也會害怕再次付出自己的信任。這樣的情況就是once bitten, twice shy。
這也是一種自我保護的自然反應，提醒我們過去的經歷會影響我們未來的行為。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud，我們下次雲端見！
Webster’s Web
Webster’s Web
"You’re not playing games, are you?
Is it really safe?" asked the shy fly.
"Of course," the spider smiled,
"And see how it sparkles in the light?
Isn’t it beautiful?"
"Yes," the little fly agreed.
"It sparkles like diamonds."
"And the closer you get,
the prettier it becomes," Webster promised.
The little fly flew closer,
playing right into the spider’s hands.
今天的 Usage Tip 是「附加問句」的用法。
來看課文的句子：
"You’re not playing games, are you?"
句尾的 are you 為附加問句。這種問句是放在陳述句的後面，表示「是嗎？」或「不是嗎？」用來徵求對方的確認。
它的結構是：「be 動詞或助動詞 + 主詞 + 問號」，且要與前面的陳述句的動詞或助動詞一致。而且如果陳述句是肯定的，那麼附加問句就要用否定的。
來看例句：
The performer looks nervous on stage, doesn’t she?
這位表演者在舞台上看起來很緊張，不是嗎？
All right, friends, let’s review really quickly.
We’re learning about Webster the spider, right?
And his name is kind of funny, isn’t it?
It is, because spiders make webs,
and his name is Webster the spider.
You know, there’s a famous Webster’s Dictionary,
where you can learn a lot of English words
and their meanings.
Webster is a name that sort of sounds like a really
smart guy, isn’t it?
If you ever see a character named Webster,
they’re often kind of smart.
So this spider is pretty smart—he’s trying to trick a fly!
And he’s playing along with this fly.
So what does the shy fly ask?
Well, he asks the spider:
"You’re not playing games, are you? Is it really safe?"
Now, we see this sentence
that we already saw in our Usage Tip for today.
We want to take a look at a phrase within this sentence—
the phrase "playing games."
This is to deal with someone in a way that is not honest
or not serious.
So the fly is asking the spider:
Are you being honest with me?
Are you being serious?
Or are you teasing or tricking me?
You could say:
"His friends told him there was free ice cream in the cafeteria,
but they were just playing games with him."
Sometimes someone might also say:
"Don’t play games with me. Be serious!"
And that’s exactly what this shy fly says.
Well, the spider says, "Of course,"
and he’s saying this with a smile on his face, isn’t he?
"And see how it sparkles in the light? Isn’t it beautiful?"
What does that word sparkles mean?
To sparkle means to shine brightly
with small flashes of light.
So it’s not a steady light—it’s a sparkle.
My little daughter’s shoes sparkle—
there’s a lot of glitter all over them.
Now we read here
that the fly agrees with the spider.
This is not good, friends, because
it sounds like the spider is starting to convince the fly
that everything is safe.
What does the fly say?
Oh no—the fly says:
"Yes," the little fly agreed. "It sparkles like diamonds."
Oh no, friends—I’m worried about this little fly!
Webster is trying to trick this fly.
And Webster promises something:
"The closer you get, the prettier it becomes," Webster promised.
And the little fly believed him.
The little fly flew closer,
playing right into the spider’s hands.
Now, this last play phrase that we see in today’s lesson
is an important one, friends:
"To play into someone’s hands."
This means to act in a way
that unintentionally gives someone an advantage.
So when someone is trying to get an advantage over you—
and you let them do it—
you are playing into their hands.
You could say:
"The one general played right into the other general’s hands
when he attacked."
Friends, there’s a term we use in fishing sometimes—
“the play” of something.
When you’ve caught a fish on a line,
we call that the play,
because if you pull too much,
then you’re going to break the line.
But if you can tire out the fish,
it will play into your hands, maybe.
Well, friends,
I wouldn’t want to be this fly.
But maybe this spider will get a lunch—what do you think?
I guess we’ll have to find out next time.
But for now, it’s that time, Anne Marie—
let’s go to today’s Fun Fact!
Hello fact friends!
I am Detective Ernest Finder,
and I have a fun fact for you today.
Did you know the smallest spider in the world is... uncertain?
Scientists disagree which species is the smallest,
but so far,
a little spider called Patu
is the smallest—at only 0.37 millimeters long.
That would be really hard to see!
And that is today’s fun spider fact.
All right, friends,
let’s practice what we’ve learned in English.
Answer this question:
Do you usually play with fire, or do you play it safe? Why?
Okay, in life,
I would say I usually play it safe—I don’t play with fire.
But there is one situation in life where I
always play with fire.
Oh yeah?
And that is when I play board games with my husband!
He loves to play board games,
and I really love to take risks—
especially at the end of the game
if I think it’s going to make me win.
Yes, I’ve seen them play board games and this is true!
Well friends,
is there any place in your life where you play with fire?
Hopefully not a dangerous situation
like we’re learning about with this little fly and this spider.
But we’ll have to learn more next time.
That’s all the time we have for today, friends.
My name is Anne Marie.
And my name is John.
We will see you next time right here on Studio Classroom!
Webster’s Web: A Sticky Situation 韋伯斯特的網(下)
Webster’s Web: A Sticky Situation 韋伯斯特的網(下)
空中英語教室 20250430
(使用CapCut 自動字幕功能)
只要修正英文文法，保留原文，同時將簡體中文修改為繁體中文
Hi friends, welcome back.
My name is John, and today is a great day to learn something new.
So let’s do that together. My name is Anne Marie, and this is Studio Classroom.
Friends, I’m glad you’re joining us today in day two of our language lesson: Webster’s Web.
What’s happened so far?
Okay, so we have two characters in this story — there’s a fly, and there is a spider named Webster.
We are using wordplay to tell this story.
That’s right. For example, the fly tells Webster, “I play it safe.”
He’s not going to go close to the spider’s web.
But the spider plays along and tricks the fly. He tries to play it cool and he convinces the fly to come closer to his web.
Oh no! The fly is playing right into the spider’s hands.
How is our story going to continue? Let’s get on with our conversation for today.
Webster’s Web
“Just a bit more,” Webster grinned.
“Once you’re here, you’ll probably find it hard to pull yourself away.
We can be playmates.
We can play music and talk and share stories,” Webster chuckled.
“And after that... well, we’ll just play it by ear.”
“All right,” the fly buzzed as he came closer.
“I’m dying to get a closer look,” he said, landing on the web.
“Dying is right,” laughed Webster, making a play on words.
“You foolish fly!”
Hi, I’m Jack。今天的 Usage Tip 是：
動詞 + 受詞 + 受詞補語 的句型。
來看今天的課文句子：
“Once you’re here, you’ll probably find it hard to pull yourself away.”
在本劇中，it 是虛受詞，真正的受詞是不定詞加動詞。
之所以不直接放在動詞 find / consider / feel / think 的後面，是因為這會造成動詞與受詞補語相隔太遠，使得不易理解。
受詞補語通常是形容詞或名詞，所以會先用虛受詞 it 代替 “to + 動詞”，而 “to + 動詞” 則在受詞補語後面出現。
來看一個例句：
We considered it a challenge to motivate the teenagers to learn.
我們認為激勵青少年學習是一項挑戰。
All right friends, Webster the spider is hungry and he’s trying to catch this fly.
What do we read?
All right, Webster is tricking this fly.
And he says:
“Just a bit more,” Webster grinned.
“Once you’re here, you’ll probably find it hard to pull yourself away.”
Now we saw that sentence already for your usage tip today.
We read on and see:
“We can be playmates.”
Here is a noun that uses the word play — playmates are two people,
such as two children, who play together.
That’s right. He says, “We can play music and talk and share stories.”
I think he’s lying.
And we read here:
Webster chuckled.
So we’ve seen two words here: grinned and then chuckled.
If we use a word that’s not necessarily about talking,
it means that is how the person said it.
So if he grinned, he said something with a smile.
If he chuckled, what does that mean?
Well, it’s kind of like a quiet laugh, or a laugh that is kind of inside of you.
And the way that you would say this sentence in that way,
you might say it like:
“We can play music, can talk, and share stories...”
So it’s kind of said in a laughing way.
And then the noun is a chuckle — that quiet laugh.
So he chuckled, he laughed as he said this.
And after that, well, “We’ll just play it by ear,” Webster says.
So playing something by ear originally is a musical term —
it means to improvise or just make something up.
You’re not reading the music.
But playing a situation by ear means to make things up as a situation unfolds,
or to not pre-plan what you’re going to do exactly.
So for example:
“I’m not sure what time we’ll finish, so let’s just play it by ear.”
Let’s see what happens next —
that’s what the spider is saying here to the poor little fly.
After he comes closer and decides to be the spider’s playmate,
the fly doesn’t really know what’s going to happen next, and the spider isn’t telling him.
He says they’re going to “play it by ear.”
And then the fly says:
“All right,” the fly buzzed as he came closer.
“I’m dying to get a closer look.”
Buzz is the sound that a fly makes, right? A bzz.
And if he’s buzzing, it means he’s flying with this buzzing noise.
That’s right. So if you are buzzing,
or if an animal or a fly is buzzing,
it means they are making a low continuous humming sound.
He says, “I’m dying to get a closer look.”
And then he said, landing on the web — so he actually touches the web.
Uh oh! This is a big mistake.
And Webster says, “Dying is right.”
Now, the word dying here in the first sentence —
“If you’re dying to get a closer look,”
it just means you’re really desperate for something, you really want it.
But Webster is taking it in a very literal sense.
He is saying, “Yes — you are going to die.”
“Dying is right,” laughed Webster, making a play on words.
Now what exactly is a play on words, John?
A play on words is something many people love to do.
We call it a pun — pun in English —
or something that has a double meaning.
Just like you said, the fly says, “I’m dying to get a closer look.”
He really wants something.
And the spider says, “Yes, you are dying — but a different kind of dying.”
Uh oh! What’s going to happen?
We’ll have to find out in the next section of our reading.
Let’s do that together right now.
Webster’s Web
Little had the helpless fly realized he had been playing the fool.
He struggled to free himself from the web, but couldn’t.
In a short time, he was all played out.
“You lying spider!” he sobbed.
“Why did you play a trick on me?”
“I’m hungry,” he explained.
“Don’t expect me to play fair.
Spiders never play by the rules — especially when they’re hungry.”
“Won’t you please let me go?” begged the fly.
But the spider only laughed harder.
“Hahahaha! Never!” he cried.
“I always play for keeps.”
我們來看 sob 這個動詞，意思是啜泣。
來看例句：
When my parents sold my childhood home, I started sobbing, realizing I would never be inside that wonderful house again.
當父母賣掉我兒時的老家時，我開始哭泣，因為意識到再也無法進去那棟很棒的房子裡了。
Sob 如果當名詞，是指啜泣聲，譬如：
Mary heard a sob from her daughter’s bedroom, so she opened the door to see how she could comfort her.
Mary 聽到女兒臥室傳來啜泣聲，於是打開房門，想着要如何安慰她。
Sob story 是指悲傷的故事，比如：
Her sob story about her car breaking down did not excuse her four-day absence from work.
她汽車拋錨的悲慘故事，並不能成為她四天曠工的藉口。
All right friends, we begin the next section of our reading with a very interesting English pattern:
Little had the helpless fly realized he had been playing the fool.
If you use this structure — Little had someone done something — it means they had not really done it at all.
So the fly had not really realized or known that he had been playing the fool.
Anne Marie, what does that mean?
Okay, if you play the fool, it means that you are acting in a silly or foolish way.
You’re not acting very smart. The fly didn’t even know that he was doing something stupid.
He was acting foolish. He was playing the fool.
I could say:
I really played the fool when I bought that car without checking out the engine. It barely runs. I played the fool.
All right, so the fly gets stuck in the web.
He struggled to free himself from the web, but he couldn’t.
Oh no! What a foolish little fly.
Yeah, the poor guy is stuck in a spider’s web.
And as we read:
In a short time, he was all played out.
Again, yesterday we talked about how the word play is a fishing term — when you’re trying to fight with a fish until it becomes tired, you’re playing it out.
But to be played out means to be at your limit after expending your effort — so basically, you’re tired out.
For example:
He is totally played out after the busyness of last week.
He’s really tired. He’s very worn out.
In a short time, the fly became all played out from trying to get free from Webster’s web.
And he’s not very happy about it, is he, John?
No, he sobs. You learned all about the verb sob in your language lab, right?
Sob is to cry.
So he says:
“You lying spider!” he sobbed. “Why did you play a trick on me?”
I bet you know this one already, but Anne Marie, can we review playing a trick on someone?
Sure! If you play a trick on someone, it means that you’re behaving in a deceptive or teasing way toward others.
Oh, I used to love playing tricks on my siblings.
I would sometimes hide under their bed and grab their legs.
That was playing a mean trick.
That sounds a little scary!
Yeah, it was! Don’t do that — you might get stepped on.
All right friends, well, we read more.
“I’m hungry,” he explained. (This is the spider.)
“Don’t expect me to play fair. Spiders never play by the rules — especially when they’re hungry.”
Okay, there’s the phrase play fair and play by the rules.
Play fair means to follow the rules — you don’t cheat.
Play by the rules is very, very similar. It also means to observe the laws or rules, especially of some kind of game.
Yeah, so for example, you could say to your friend:
“You can’t join the game if you’re not going to play fair.”
It means you need to follow the rules.
Now, we read on.
Here, the spider says he’s not going to play by the rules.
He’s going to be deceptive to the little fly.
And the fly is begging the spider now:
“Won’t you please let me go?”
What does the spider say?
Oh, the spider only laughs harder. We read:
“Never!” he cried. “I always play for keeps.”
I think about certain kids’ games where you might have trading cards or little toys that you spin or play with.
What does play for keeps mean?
Well, when you play for keeps, it means permanently or indefinitely.
So as John said, there are certain kids’ games that, when the children play them, they might play for keeps.
That means that if you win that player’s cards or their toy, they get to keep it.
It’s not just a game — it really happens in real life.
And that’s kind of the idea here as well with Webster and this fly.
He’s saying he’s not really just playing a game.
Things can’t go back to how they were before.
That fly is Webster’s now. He’s going to keep him — and eat him!
Oh friends, well, let’s take a little mental break and go to the Info Cloud right now to learn a little bit more English.
Hello friends, welcome to Info Cloud.
Hey Garrett, have you heard about the new investment scheme that promises to double your money in just one month?
You know what they say — if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So you mean that something that seems unbelievably good is often not true or reliable?
That’s right.
This proverb is a warning to be cautious and skeptical of offers that seem too perfect or unrealistic.
We need to remind ourselves that there are rarely shortcuts to success.
If someone promises you something that seems too easy or too rewarding, you should investigate further.
Many scams rely on people believing in these too-good-to-be-true promises.
So friends, always be careful and do your research before committing to anything that seems overly generous or easy.
It sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
It sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
聽起來好得不像真的，那很可能就不是真的。
這是一句常見的英文諺語，用來提醒人們對過於完美或不切實際的事物要保持懷疑和警覺。
現在網絡上有很多陷阱，你要提醒自己：
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
如果聽起來好得不像真的，可能就是這樣。
It sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
這句話是在提醒我們要謹慎，並懷疑那些看起來過於完美或不切實際的事情。
例如，有一個新的投資計劃承諾在一個月內讓你資金翻倍，
你就可以說：If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
成功很少有捷徑。如果有人承諾一些過於豐厚的回報，你應該要謹慎調查，以免落入陷阱。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud，我們下次雲端見！
Webster’s Web
Webster’s Web
Looking forward to a tasty snack, Webster danced with excitement.
His dancing caused the web to tear, but Webster was jumping around too much to notice.
Suddenly, the web collapsed, taking the surprised spider with it to the ground.
Meanwhile, the fortunate little fly broke free and buzzed off — wounded but wiser.
接下來看形容詞 fortunate，意思是「幸運的」。
來看例句：
He was fortunate to recover fully from his neck injury with the help of excellent medical care.
幸運的是，他在良好的醫療照護下，頸部的傷勢完全康復了。
或是：
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a small town where the neighbors were friendly and the lifestyle peaceful.
我很幸運在一個小鎮長大，那裡的鄰居都很友善，生活方式也很平和。
Fortunate 的副詞 fortunately 是指「幸運地」，譬如：
Fortunately, no one was hurt when the branch suddenly fell from the tree in the middle of the park.
當樹枝從公園中央的樹上突然掉下來時，幸運的是沒有人受傷。
All right friends, Webster the spider has tricked a little fly.
The fly is now stuck, he’s played out, he’s tired, and Webster is closing in — about to eat him.
Let’s read here together, okay?
We read: Looking forward to a tasty snack, Webster danced with excitement.
What does it mean if you look forward to something?
You’re excited that it will happen.
Sometimes we use the word anticipate — you’re anticipating something, looking forward to it.
So you’re eagerly anticipating something.
For example: I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
Now, Webster is so excited that he is dancing — but then something happens:
His dancing caused the web to tear.
Now, yesterday we talked about the word mend, and tear is the opposite of mend.
He was mending his web, but now his web is tearing.
He was jumping around too much to notice.
I understand the feeling — sometimes my kids and I dance when we’re really happy!
But here, the spider has broken his own web.
And we read: Suddenly, the web collapsed, taking the surprised spider with it to the ground.
Okay, interesting. Let’s first go over that word collapsed in our lesson today.
So the word collapse means to suddenly fall down or give way.
We can say this about things — buildings, or even people.
If a person collapses, it means that they fall down suddenly and can’t stand up anymore.
If a building collapses, it could be because of an earthquake.
For example: The whole building collapsed in the earthquake.
Yeah, it’s never fun when something you love collapses.
I could say: My science project was to build a bridge, but at the last minute, it collapsed.
So poor Webster — it collapsed, taking the surprised spider with it to the ground.
So the spider’s web fell, and the spider fell with it.
What did the fly do?
Well, the fly got very, very lucky — this foolish fly.
Meanwhile, the fortunate little fly broke free and buzzed off — wounded but wiser.
Now, we see this word wounded here, and that tells us that this fly is maybe hurt.
Yeah, the poor guy — his feet probably hurt.
Wounded means seriously or painfully injured or hurt — but not killed. So he’s still okay.
And then we also use this phrase: [adjective] but wiser,
sometimes like older but wiser,
so you can compare one adjective that might be less positive,
but it gave you a good experience or wisdom.
Yeah, so usually we use this to say that someone has learned something from the experience.
And that reminds me, John, what do you think the moral of this story is?
What can we learn from this story?
Oh wow — well, first of all, if you are a fly, don’t go near a spider’s web!
But I think in general, we learn: Don’t play with fire.
If you know something doesn’t end well, just avoid it.
There are plenty of good things you can do instead.
That’s a really good point — don’t play with fire.
Well friends, now it’s not time to play with fire —
it’s time to play with something fun in today’s Fun Fact!
Hello, fact friends!
I am Detective Ernest Finder, and I have a fun fact for you today.
Did you know that the Goliath bird-eater is the world’s heaviest spider?
Goliath was a huge warrior from old times,
and this spider lives in South America and is up to 13 centimeters long.
Look out, birds!
And that’s today’s fun spider fact.
All right friends, well, it’s always fun when these silly little stories teach us something bigger about life.
We call that the moral of the story.
Anne Marie, what do you think is the moral of this story?
Well, we talked a little bit about not playing with fire,
but I think another good moral would be: Don’t play the fool.
Make sure you are aware of your surroundings, and don’t act in a silly or foolish way when it could get you into trouble.
That’s right. And if you’re like this spider — you’re not playing by the rules, you’re not playing fair —
don’t expect people to trust you.
Well friends, I hope you’ve learned a little bit about that word play.
You’ve seen how great it is to add as part of your vocabulary.
Happy studying, friends!
That’s all the time we have for today.
My name is Anne Marie.
And my name is John.
We’ll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
Bye!
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