The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School-空中英語教室
2025/06/03 16:11
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The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
在校用手機的利與弊(上)
在校用手機的利與弊(上)
空中英語教室 20250602
(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
Hello, friends.
My name is Anne Marie, and today is a great day to learn something new.
So let’s do that together.
I’m David, and this is Studio Classroom.
We have our What’s Your Appeal opinion article for you today,
where you will need to decide your opinion about a topic.
Now, we have a question to start off with, don’t we?
We sure do!
Our question is:
Should teen cell phone use be restricted?
What do you think, Dave?
Oh, I think it should be controlled in some way, because
cell phone use—well, that’s a really big topic.
Today’s teenagers are like the first teenagers in history to deal with this problem—
or deal with this question.
So I think there needs to be some level of parental or teacher control over cell phone use.
That’s a really good point. If you think that cell phone use should be restricted for teenagers,
who should be doing the restricting? Parents? Teachers?
That is something we’re going to be talking about in our article today.
Let’s get started and hear the first part of our conversation:
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
Should students have access to their cell phones in school?
Cindy and Mark run into each other while out on a walk.
Cindy: Hi Mark, how are you? How’s your family? Isn’t your son Tim in high school now?
Mark: He is. He’s the same age as your daughter, Penny. I hope she’s enjoying her freshman year of high school.
Cindy: Tim is.
Hi everyone, welcome to Language Lab. I’m Jack.
我們先來看「freshman」這個字。它在文章中是當形容詞使用，是指學校的新生。
來看例句：
This year’s freshman class has international students from four continents, which is wonderful for our school.
今年的新生班有來自四大洲的國際學生，這對我們學校來說是件好事。
freshman如果當名詞，則是指大一或是高一的學生。
比如：
As a freshman in high school, Dale had been very shy. But as a senior, he confidently ran for class president.
戴爾在高一時非常害羞，但到了高三就自信滿滿地競選班長。
或者是：
My daughter is a freshman at the University of Chicago, where she takes all her classes in English.
我女兒是芝加哥大學的大一學生，她在那裡修的都是英文課程。
All right, friends.
Let’s look at this first question in this section of our lesson:
Should students have access to cell phones in school?
So we’re looking at a very specific part of teenage cell phone use.
That’s why we’re talking about this phrase: have access to.
If you have access to something, it means that you’re able to use it or able to get it.
That’s right.
For example, students might have access to the library after school.
Now here, we’re specifically talking about having access to cell phones.
So the idea is: be able to use them,
be able to have them on their person while they are studying.
Now, there’s something else in this sentence that we want to look at as well.
Let’s just define what a cell phone is.
Kind of funny to define it this way,
but a cell phone is a small electronic device that’s used for communication.
When I first got a cell phone, it literally only made phone calls.
But now, people use the word cell phone to refer to smartphones a lot of the time.
That’s right. And a lot of times, we don’t even say “cell phones” anymore—
we just call them phones.
We just call them phones, yeah.
Most phones are smartphones these days.
I remember my first cell phone could be turned on its side so that you could type on the keyboard.
Oh, that was such fancy technology.
That was very exciting, yeah!
My first cell phone was just the regular little Nokia.
A lot of our viewers probably are familiar with that—
it’s a very simple Nokia. No keyboard.
So when you needed to send a message, you had to use the little keypad,
which had three letters on each number.
You had to click the number until you got to the letter you wanted,
and then go to the next one.
And it took forever to send a text message!
That took a long time.
What was your first cell phone, friends?
That’s something you could talk about in English.
Well, it’s time to meet our two characters in our lesson today:
We have Cindy and Mark.
And we see here that they run into each other while out on a walk.
Now, what does it mean to “run into” somebody?
You run full speed and you just bump right into them?
Oh, I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. No, no, no!
That’s another kind of “running into.”
When we use “run into” in a sentence like this,
we just mean that two people have met unexpectedly.
You weren’t planning to meet this person—maybe in the grocery store,
in the café, or at school—you just ran into them.
Exactly! So maybe you run into an old teacher while you’re at the mall,
or you run into your classmate in a place you weren’t expecting to see them.
That’s what we mean when we use the phrase run into.
Now, we also see another word in this sentence we want to take a look at—
and it is the word while.
We’re just talking about that time that something else is also happening.
For example:
You might listen to music while you’re doing the dishes after dinner.
Exactly. Well, let’s see this conversation that goes on between Cindy and Mark.
Cindy says:
Hi Mark, how are you? How’s your family? Isn’t your son Tim in high school now?
Mark says:
Yes, he is. He’s the same age as your daughter, Penny.
I hope she’s enjoying her freshman year of high school.
Now that word freshman you just saw in your Language Lab.
In the United States, freshman usually means ninth grade.
But it can mean the first year of high school.
So sometimes there’s a little bit of confusion here,
because the first year of high school where we live generally starts in tenth grade.
Yeah, really?
In Pennsylvania, the first year actually is still ninth grade.
Yes, in Ohio as well.
Okay, okay. Yeah, that’s right—because it’s different in different places.
That took some time for me to adjust to, actually.
That’s right!
So she is starting her first year of high school—or her freshman year of high school.
Well, we’re going to see how this conversation continues in just a moment.
Let’s take a look:
The Pros and Cons of Cell Phones in School
Cindy: She is, but we’re a little frustrated by her school’s cell phone policy.
Students have to lock up their phones as soon as they get to school,
and they don’t get them back until after school.
Mark: I think that’s great. I wish Tim’s school would restrict cell phone use.
Cindy: Why do you say that?
Mark: Phones can be so distracting.
Kids might be checking social media or texting during class
and not paying attention to the teacher.
Cindy: Well, teachers should set some ground rules.
Kids shouldn’t be able to use phones for things like that in class.
今天的 Usage Tip 要來看連接詞 as soon as。
它的意思是「一⋯⋯就⋯⋯」，是用來引導副詞子句，
說明一件事情發生後，主要子句所敘述的事隨後就會發生。
As soon as 子句可以放在主要子句之前或之後。
所以課文這一句：
Students have to lock up their phones as soon as they get to school.
也可以寫為：
As soon as students get to school, they have to lock up their phones.
此外，表達類似意思的重述連接詞還有 the moment 和 the instant。
來看例句：
As soon as she lay down on the bed, she fell asleep.
她一躺到床上就睡著了。
All right, friends,
Well, we found out that Cindy’s daughter is a little frustrated.
Now this word frustrated is really useful.
I like to use this to describe feelings sometimes—
when you don’t exactly feel angry,
but it’s a little more than just feeling annoyed.
This is when you feel upset or annoyed
because you run into some kind of difficulty.
Right. I often see this with children, for example.
Maybe the child felt frustrated
when the block tower they were trying to build kept falling over.
They feel a little bit annoyed
because they’ve run into some type of difficulty.
Now what is Cindy’s daughter frustrated about, Dave?
Well, Cindy’s daughter is frustrated by her school’s cell phone policy.
In this policy, students have to lock up their phones as soon as they get to school,
and they don’t get them back until after school.
They have to lock up their phones.
If you lock something up, it means that you secure it by locking or fastening it.
You might be putting it into a container.
That’s right. Maybe you have someone who locks up their jewelry—
like their earrings or their rings—in a small box before going to bed.
Exactly. So I get the idea here—
that what’s happening is as soon as the students get to school,
the teacher takes the cell phones
and maybe puts them in some kind of a box or something.
That’s right. I think this probably happens in some places now.
Mark is not frustrated by this at all. He says:
I think that’s great. I wish Tim’s school would restrict cell phone use.
Ah, restrict—this is another great word we can take a look at, friends.
If something is restricted, it means that it’s limited or that it’s being controlled.
That’s right. So for example:
In this school, the school restricts cell phone use in class.
Or some companies might restrict employees from eating at their desks.
Exactly. So this word restrict has the idea that there is some type of rule being enforced.
So Mark wants there to be more restrictions—that’s the noun—
regarding cell phones in school.
And then Cindy says:
Why do you say that?
Well, Mark goes on to explain. He says:
Phones can be so distracting.
Okay, distracting—distracting is a really good word, yes.
This is when you take attention away from something.
That’s right. For example:
The child was very distracted by the cat while she was trying to do her homework.
That’s right. Distracted is another form of this word.
Loud noises can sometimes be distracting to me.
Okay, so phones can be so distracting. Why?
Kids might be checking social media or texting during class
and not paying attention to the teacher.
I try! But Cindy says:
Well, teachers should set some ground rules.
Maybe it’s not the phone’s fault. The teacher should just set some ground rules.
This is a really good word.
Ground rules are not rules that only apply when you’re on the ground—no!
They’re basic rules for behavior or actions.
Exactly. So a lot of teachers have their own ground rules for their class.
It might not be a rule for the entire school,
but it’s some kind of standard that they set while they’re teaching.
Here’s an example:
The teacher set ground rules for group projects.
Maybe you could do all different kinds of things with your group projects,
but there are some basic guidelines that the teacher has set.
And for Cindy, the ground rules should be that
kids shouldn’t be able to use phones for things like that in class.
Things like what?
Well, things like social media or texting during class.
So maybe the idea is that they could be using phones for other things.
That’s the idea we’re going to explore in just a moment,
right after today’s Info Cloud.
Hello, friends! Welcome to Info Cloud.
Hey Rex, you know—
Mary looked very calm and happy at our dinner last weekend.
Did something good happen to her?
She found a new job.
She was under a lot of financial pressure,
but this new job with a decent salary gave her peace of mind.
That’s great to hear. I was a little worried about her.
Why don’t we talk about the expression peace of mind? What does it really mean?
It refers to a state of mental and emotional calmness,
where you feel free from worry and stress.
The phrase literally means your mind or thoughts are at peace.
So it’s like saying nothing is bothering you.
If you have a secure job and a stable home,
we might say you have peace of mind
because you don’t have to worry about your basic needs
and you are not surrounded by problems or conflicts.
The expression reminds us about the importance
of feeling secure and calm, even when things aren’t going well.
So next time you’re feeling stressed,
think about what you can do to achieve peace of mind.
peace of mind 心靈的平靜
peace of mind 心靈的平靜
現代人的生活相當忙碌，壓力也非常大，非常需要 peace of mind（心靈的平靜）。
Peace of mind 指的是一種精神和情感上的平靜狀態，讓你感到沒有煩惱和壓力。
Having a secure job and a stable home can give you peace of mind.
擁有一份穩定的工作和一個安定的家，可以給你心靈的平靜，因為你不必擔心基本需求。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud。我們下次雲端見！
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
Mark:
But how can you control that?
Teachers can’t police that sort of thing when they’re busy teaching.
Cindy:
Teachers can tell students to put away phones unless they need to use them for something specific.
They can be helpful—kids can look up information, use educational apps, and even take notes on them.
Mark:
Again, teachers have enough to manage in a class without monitoring student cell phone use.
接下來來看 specific 這個形容詞，它的意思是「具體的」或「特定的」。
來看例句：
I’m worried because Mom called and said come home right away without giving me any specific reason.
媽媽打電話說馬上回家，卻沒有告訴我具體原因，我很擔心。
The couple wants to get married next year, but they haven’t chosen a specific date or location yet.
這對情侶希望明年結婚，但還沒決定具體的日期或地點。
如果我們在 specific 字尾加 s，就會變成複數名詞 specifics，意思是具體內容或是細節。
來看例句：
Let’s start planning the specifics of the party, such as how many desserts to serve, how to arrange the tables, and which DJ to hire.
我們開始來規劃派對的細節吧，像是需要提供多少甜點、如何安排桌子，以及聘請哪位 DJ。
David:
Okay, thank you so much, Jack.
Well, we have a really, really interesting word here in this first sentence from Mark.
Because oftentimes when we see the word police, we think about people—
but here it’s actually used as a verb.
Mark says:
How can you control that? Teachers can’t police that sort of thing when they’re busy teaching.
Anne Marie:
That’s right. For example, when we use it as a noun:
The police arrived quickly to help with the situation.
You could also say:
The parents crowded around the birthday cake to police the children as they each got their serving.
Exactly. So the idea here is that you’re enforcing some type of rule or enforcing a standard.
So the point that Mark is making here is that teachers should be busy teaching.
They don’t need to be busy policing or making sure students are following cell phone standards.
David:
Now Cindy says that teachers can just tell students to put away phones
unless they need to use them for something specific.
I guess that’s something class-related.
But this word put away is very good.
If you put something away, it means that you place it in its proper location.
Exactly. So maybe when you get home from work or school,
you put away the things in your bag. You put them in their proper locations.
Anne Marie:
Are you good at putting away your things when you’re done with them?
David:
Well, no. I’ve realized that my wife often has to remind me to close cabinet doors and put things away—
although I’ve gotten much better.
Anne Marie:
I’m the same way. I’m not good about putting away my own things,
but I have gotten better over the years.
David:
Good. That’s the real goal—you just want to improve over time.
Anne Marie:
Now, Cindy also goes on to say that phones can be helpful.
How can they be helpful?
Well, kids can look up information,
use educational apps, and even take notes on them.
All right. We have a couple of things we want to take a look at in this sentence.
The first is this phrase: look up.
Now, this doesn’t mean to quite literally look up.
This means to search for information.
David:
That’s right. For example:
I had to look up the meaning of a word as I was reading a book.
Or: We had to look up the name of that famous actor we couldn’t remember when we were talking about a movie they were in.
A lot of times when we use look up,
we’re talking about searching for information online or in a book.
Those are probably the two most common ways we use this phrase.
Anne Marie:
Now we see here that Cindy is talking about educational apps.
What do we mean when we say educational?
We mean that it’s something related to learning or related to teaching.
I’ve tried a lot of kids’ apps.
A lot of kids enjoy a game called PaGamO,
which is a fun and educational game that can be used to review things like history and math.
Cindy is also suggesting here that students can take notes on their phones.
But Mark says:
Again, teachers have enough to manage in class without monitoring students’ cell phone use.
David:
Now monitoring is another great word we can talk about.
Anne Marie:
That’s right. If you monitor something, it means that you’re watching or checking it very carefully.
This word is very similar to that word we just talked about: policing.
But when you’re monitoring something,
you’re not doing it as seriously as when you’re policing it.
For example:
The teacher is monitoring the students during the test.
She’s just watching them. She’s not specifically looking to keep them from doing a specific behavior.
Fun Fact
Hello fact friends!
I am Detective Ernest Finder, and I have a fun fact for you today.
Did you know that the world’s smallest working cell phone is the size of your little finger?
It’s true! It’s called the Tiny T1,
but it can only work on 2G networks, so it isn’t great—
but it is very small!
And that is today’s fun cell phone fact.
Well, friends,
So far we have looked at Cindy and Mark’s perspective about teenage cell phone use in school.
Now whose opinion do you think you agree with more?
David:
So far, I think I’m a little bit more with Mark on this.
Although I always feel like trying to make rules that totally restrict something completely—
especially when that thing is already being used in a certain way—is often really hard to control.
You need to find some kind of balance—
some kind of middle ground or space between the two options—
in order to help people adjust to the new rules.
I wonder if restricting the Wi-Fi could be a better method,
so that students could still use their phones to take notes
but couldn’t use them to get on social media.
That’s something that I’m thinking about as we go into Day Two of our article tomorrow.
Well, friends, that’s all the time we have for today.
My name is Anne Marie.
And I’m David.
And we’ll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
在校用手機的利與弊(下)
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
在校用手機的利與弊(下)
空中英語教室 20250603
(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
Hello friends,
My name is Anne Marie,
and today is a great day to learn something new.
So let’s do that together. I’m David,
and this is Studio Classroom, friends.
We are on day two of our “What’s Your Opinion?” article.
We are talking all about cell phone use
and how it relates to students in the classroom.
The two different opinions we’re looking at are
Mark’s and Cindy’s.
That’s right. Now,
Mark has very
clear feelings about this.
He does not want there to be any cell phones
in school. But
Cindy has a little bit more flexibility. She feels like, well,
maybe the teacher can find a way to
restrict parts of cell phone use
while allowing them to still use their phones in class for
educational purposes.
Now, friends, this is an article where you need to think
about your opinion
as well. It’s really useful to be able to talk
about your opinion in English.
So as we get into our lesson,
think about what your feelings are on this topic.
Let’s get started!
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
I still think setting clear boundaries would work.
Maybe, maybe not. If you let students have phones in class,
they can cheat.
During tests, they can easily look up answers
or message their friends for help.
So make them keep their
phones in their backpacks during tests.
But honestly, students who want to cheat will find a way.
Hi, I’m Jack。今天的Usage Tip 要介紹從屬連接詞 if。
它所引出的表示條件的副詞子句，在描述某條件成立的時候，主要子句所陳述的結果可能會發生。
如果 if 子句的動詞是現在簡單式，假設未來有可能發生，主要子句則依照發生的可能性高低，使用適當的助動詞。
可能性比較高的時候使用 will，比較低的時候則使用 can、could、may 或 might。
來看例句：
If the typhoon comes, the farmers will suffer great crop loss.
如果颱風來襲，農民將遭受嚴重的農作物損失。
Okay, friends,
Let’s continue learning
about the pros and cons of cell phones in school.
There are some good
points to having cell phones in school. They might be useful.
But there are also some
disadvantages for students using cell phones while in class.
Let’s see what Cindy and Mark have to say.
Cindy comes right out and says:
“I still think setting clear boundaries would work.”
Okay, “setting clear boundaries”
is the idea that you are
establishing limits for behavior.
That’s right. For example,
when I was growing up,
my parents set clear boundaries for when
I am and am not allowed to play video games. Ah!
So a lot of times,
people who are
establishing boundaries are people who are in authority.
They’re setting some kind of rule or standard
for people under them to follow.
Mark’s not so sure, though.
Yes, so Cindy says, “Oh, setting clear boundaries should work.”
But Mark says, “Ugh, maybe not.
If you let students have phones in class,
they can cheat.”
Oh — cheat.
So if someone is cheating,
it means they are acting dishonestly
so that they can gain some type of advantage.
Now, you probably already know this,
but some students do cheat on tests. They find the answers
while they’re taking the test,
or find a way to get a good score on their test
even though they didn’t earn it honestly.
That’s right. For example,
you could say that the teacher
caught the students cheating on the test
and forced them
to retake the entire class.
That would be a terrible
consequence for cheating on an exam.
But how in the world
would students use cell phones to cheat in class?
What we see here — Mark says during tests,
students can easily look up answers or
message their friends for help.
That’s right. Now,
Cindy has a simple solution to this.
She says, “Well,
make them
keep their phones in their backpacks during tests.”
But then she goes on to say,
“But honestly, students who want to cheat
will find a way.”
To be honest, Dave,
I agree with her. Students who want to cheat
will always find a way to cheat on tests.
But we’ll talk about that in just a moment. First,
let’s look at some of the terms in this sentence.
That’s right.
We see the word “honestly” being used kind of as
an adverbial phrase.
If you say the word “honest,” it just means something is truthful.
If something is done honestly, then it’s done in a truthful
way.
Exactly. When someone asks you a question,
you can answer in an honest or dishonest way.
You could answer the question honestly.
So she goes and says that,
as Anne Marie
just said, “students who want to cheat will find a way.”
Find a way — I always like this phrase. You know,
there’s a famous phrase:
“Life finds a way,”
which just means that nature always finds a way to survive.
If you find a way,
it means that you figure out a solution.
Exactly.
Here’s an example of how you could use
“find a way” in a sentence:
“He will find a way to fix the problem.”
All right, so what do you think about this, Dave?
Do you think that students who
really want to cheat will always find a way?
Absolutely.
It’s the same — it’s the same reason why,
back when I was in college and high school,
there was a lot of downloading programs illegally —
you know, like games or movies and stuff like that.
And no matter
how many ways they tried to find
to enforce an end to this — to
piracy or “pirating,” as they called it —
people always found a way.
That’s right.
People who want to do wrong will always find a way.
We’re not done talking about this topic, friends,
so let’s get on
with the next part of our conversation:
The Pros and Cons of Cellphones in School
True, but phones make it easier.
But the real importance of cell phones is communication.
They can be life savers in an emergency.
My daughter can call home if something goes wrong,
and I can contact her at any time.
That’s the problem with our culture.
We think people have to be available to us 24/7.
「24/7」是英文中常用的口語表達，意思是「全天候、隨時隨地」，即 24 小時一天、7 天一週，等同於中文的「全年無休」、「隨時待命」。
「24/7」是英文中常用的口語表達，意思是「全天候、隨時隨地」，即 24 小時一天、7 天一週，等同於中文的「全年無休」、「隨時待命」。
在原文句子中的意思是：
That’s the problem with our culture. We think people have to be available to us 24/7.
這就是我們文化中的問題。我們覺得別人應該隨時隨地都能聯絡得到。
You and I did just fine without being in constant contact with our parents.
You and I did just fine without being in constant contact with our parents.
我們來看 emergency 這個名詞，意思是緊急狀況或突發事件。
例如：
My neighbor keeps large, unopened bottles of water on her balcony in case there is an emergency and her water pipes break.
我的鄰居在陽台上放了一些大瓶未開封的水，以防發生突發狀況，像是家裡水管破裂時可以使用。
或者：
My son gave up his office job to become a firefighter because he wanted to directly help people during emergencies.
我兒子辭去了辦公室的工作，成為一名消防員，因為他希望在緊急情況時能夠立即幫助他人。
Emergency 也可以當作形容詞使用，意思是「緊急的」。
譬如：emergency room 就是指「急診室」。
來看例句：
When Bill fell off the ladder, his wife called an ambulance right away and accompanied him in the ambulance to the emergency room.
Bill 從梯子上摔下來時，他太太立刻打電話叫了救護車，並陪同他一起坐救護車前往急診室。
All right, thank you so much, Jack.
Well, we see here that Mark says, “True,”—he’s agreeing with what Cindy says about students who want to cheat always finding a way.
But he says, phones make it easier—which they do, I guess.
But Cindy tries to bring it back to the core of her argument.
She says, “The real importance of cell phones is communication. They can be lifesavers in an emergency.”
Then she gives an example:
“My daughter can call home if something goes wrong, and I can contact her at any time.”
Okay, now this is really interesting to me because I think back to my own childhood, and when I was away from my parents,
I really didn’t have any way to contact them if I needed them or needed help.
And it didn’t seem to be a problem in most cases.
But if something did go wrong—or when a problem occurred—
I could see how cell phones would be useful.
Yeah, I remember just knowing which friends lived nearby,
so if I needed to run in and use their phone or something, I could do that.
And then also, of course, back then there was always a payphone.
That's true. I know a lot of times when I would go out—away from home, away from my family—
they would help me identify safe adults.
“If you have a problem, make sure you talk to so-and-so’s mom,” or
“Contact this person—go find them and they will help you,” something like that.
Yes. Well, so if something goes wrong—
we’ve been using this phrase, “when something goes wrong,”
that’s just a phrase that means when a problem occurs.
That’s right. And if something goes wrong,
you can now, in these days, call for help.
But we also see that she wants her daughter to be able to call for help at any time.
So this just means whenever it happens—this is a time that isn’t decided ahead of time,
just any time whatsoever. Right.
So a teacher might say:
“I’m going to begin the lecture now. You can ask questions at any time.”
Okay, so Mark says:
“That’s the problem with our culture—we think people have to be available to us 24/7.”
Now, this is something interesting to talk about.
What do you think here, Dave?
Well, I think that it’s always nice when you can contact people.
But it’s sort of like when they first made something called the telegraph—
it was a special kind of communication device that was used
to send the first message from New York City to London in the UK.
And people were all excited about it. But one scientist—one thinker—said,
“Sure, this is all fine, but what if New York and London have nothing to say to each other?”
Right. We can contact each other at all times, but
it’s not necessarily useful all the time.
And if you think about it,
our 24/7 communication is used to deliver a lot of garbage back and forth.
That is true. Garbage such as what you find on social media or fake news.
And then you get into other issues like work-life balance.
If your teacher or your boss can contact you 24/7,
it’s really hard to find a distinction between work time and home time.
It certainly is.
And he goes on to say that before this time of 24/7 availability,
“You and I,”—speaking to Cindy and himself—
“did just fine without being in constant contact with our parents.”
That’s right.
“Did just fine” has the idea of performing well enough—it was good enough.
For example,
“He was nervous, but he did just fine.”
Now we have one more word that we want to take a look at in this section,
and that is the word constant.
That’s right. Constant means happening all the time.
For example:
“The constant noise made studying very difficult.”
All right, friends,
we have more to talk about in just a moment,
but first let’s go to today’s Info Cloud.
Welcome to Info Cloud, everyone.
How is your day going so far, Rex?
Not great, Garrett—I spilled my coffee
and then knocked over a plant on the way to clean it up.
I seem to be all thumbs today.
“All thumbs”—that’s an interesting way to describe being clumsy and awkward.
We have different names for all the fingers on our hands:
There’s our pointer or index finger,
middle finger,
ring finger, and the little or pinky finger.
And of course—the thumb.
Thumbs are very handy!
But can you imagine if your hand was made up of five thumbs?
It would be hard to do things.
That’s why we refer to someone who does something in an unskilled way as being all thumbs.
Yes. It means you are a little awkward.
A similar expression describes someone as having two left feet.
That expression is usually used for sports or dancing.
Just like someone who is all thumbs might be awkward using their hands,
someone who has two left feet isn’t skilled at moving or dancing.
Again, we have a mental picture of something that would look really strange.
Imagine a person who actually had two left feet, for example—
this helps us understand the meaning of these idioms.
all thumbs(have two left feet) 笨手笨腳
all thumbs(have two left feet) 笨手笨腳
當一個人經常打翻或是打破東西，我們會說那個人笨手笨腳的。西方人會用 all thumbs 來形容他。
Thumb 是「拇指」，是五根手指當中非常重要的一部分。
但是，想像一隻手如果全部都是拇指，那可能就沒辦法靈活做事。
因此，all thumbs 就代表「笨手笨腳、不靈巧」。例如你今天手腳不太靈活，不是碰到這個就是打翻那個，你就可以說：I seem to be all thumbs today.
我今天真是笨手笨腳的。
另一個類似的用語是：have two left feet，意思是「有兩隻左腳」，常用來形容在跳舞或運動時，手腳不協調。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud，我們下次雲端見！
The pros and cons of cellphones in school
The pros and cons of cellphones in school
But the world is a different place now.
We didn’t have school shooters back then.
Well, most places don’t have them now.
What about cyberbullying?
Students might be using their phones to hurt others.
It’s hard for teachers to control that.
Cyberbullying is an issue, but banning phones won’t stop it.
I think teaching responsibility is better.
That is important. Still, a few hours a day without cell phones would do our kids a world of good.
接下來看 responsibility 這個名詞，意思是「責任」。
來看例句：
Amy has been given a new responsibility at work: writing tests and scheduling people to record the listening sections.
Amy 被賦予了新的工作責任，包括編寫考題，並安排人員錄製聽力單元。
Responsibility 的形容詞是 responsible，意思是「負責的、可靠的」。
例如：
While our neighbors were on vacation, we were responsible for feeding their cat and watching over their house.
當我們的鄰居去度假時，我們負責餵他們的貓，並照看他們的房子。
或者：
The most responsible and honest worker in the company is also the humblest, and she seldom complains or criticizes others.
她是公司裡最負責、最誠實的員工，也是最謙虛的人，很少抱怨或批評他人。
Okay, we have a serious topic to talk about in the first part of this section, friends.
We are going to talk about school shooters.
Cindy says, “But the world is a different place now. We didn’t have school shooters back then.”
Now this, of course, refers to people—such as students or outsiders—who attack classrooms with guns.
That’s right. Nowadays, a lot of schools take precautions to prevent and protect students in the event of school shooters.
So in this situation, of course, it would be good for your child to have a phone so they can call for help, take video, or otherwise contact others.
That’s right.
Now Mark doesn’t really go into this point too much.
He just says, “Well, most places don’t have them now,”
which is not entirely true—but whatever.
Then he goes on to talk about a danger that cell phones do produce, and he says, “What about cyberbullying?”
I feel like most people in today’s society have experienced cyberbullying before.
This is bullying that happens online.
That’s right. And cyberbullying can seriously harm students’ mental health.
It’s really hard when you’re young and a student to separate things that are real from things that just happen online.
And we live in a day and age where things that happen online can have real-life consequences.
That’s right.
In fact, Mark goes on to say that students might be using their phones to hurt others on purpose, right?
And it’s hard for teachers to control that.
That’s right.
Cindy says, “Cyberbullying is an issue, but banning phones won’t stop it.”
We have this word banning here, friends.
This is the idea of setting an official rule—you’re officially not allowing something.
That’s right. For example:
The school is considering banning energy drinks.
Maybe the students were getting too excited during class.
It’s probably a good idea if they ban energy drinks—those are really not good for students.
That’s true.
But she goes on to say that banning phones won’t stop the problem.
And she says, “I think that teaching responsibility is better,” which is a good point. This is an interesting point.
You saw that word responsibility in your Language Lab—
the idea that students could have cell phones,
but somebody needs to be responsible for teaching them how to use those phones in a healthy and appropriate way.
I guess the question comes back to: Whose responsibility is that?
That’s right.
Is it the parents’ responsibility or the teacher’s responsibility?
But kind of coming back to the core of the issue, Mark says:
“Yes, that is important. But still, a few hours a day without cell phones would do our kids a world of good.”
This is true as well.
“A world of good” is a great phrase for you to know, friends.
This means a great benefit or a great improvement.
That’s right. For example:
“Taking short breaks every hour or so while studying will do you a world of good and help you focus.”
I think this is a good point—whether we’re talking about students, people in an office, or anyone really.
Setting aside a certain time of day where you don’t use your cell phone at all is really healthy.
This past week, actually, I’ve taken to turning off my phone for three or four hours every evening and only checking it right before I go to bed.
And that has really improved my mental health and the way I feel about my time at home.
That is fantastic. I think I’m gonna try that.
It’s pretty useful.
All right, friends, we’ll be right back after 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 largest working cell phone was made in 2000 in Chicago, Illinois?
It’s true!
It was built for a special event by Samsung and was 1.39 meters long and over 158 kilograms!
Oh, that would be hard to carry to school!
And that is today’s Fun Fact.
All right, friends, we’re going to stop talking about students having cell phones and talk about our own issues with cell phones now.
Has your cell phone ever distracted you and caused a problem?
Of course it has!
You know, like you’re trying to focus on something, and then you get a notification.
And then all of a sudden, you go in to check one thing…
But then you’re there—and ten minutes later, you’re still there—and you’re scrolling, scrolling…
And then you realize: “I’m never gonna get that ten minutes back.”
That’s so true.
Yeah, it’s actually quite frustrating.
I find that something I need to do more is—kind of an awkward example—
but just don’t take your phone into the bathroom.
Nope, that’s true, right?
You don’t need it there. You don’t need it.
Well, there’s our tip for the day, friends:
Don’t take your phone into the bathroom.
This is a great thing for you to talk about, friends:
Has your phone ever been a distraction for you?
Talk about that in English!
That’s all the time we have for today.
My name is Anne Marie.
And I’m David.
And we’ll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom.
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