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A Night at the Drive-In 汽車電影院之夜(上)
空中英語教室 20250611
(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 a really fun article for you today, friends.
We’re talking about A Night at the Drive-In!
We’ll talk about what a drive-in is in a minute,
but maybe you can guess from the question I’m about to ask:
How often do you go see a movie?
I used to go see movies more often—probably just when I was single.
Now, it’s maybe a few times a year, mostly when there’s something that’s really good in theaters that I know,
“Oh, that’s going to be worth the money.” Then I’ll go see a movie.
That’s a good point. I usually only go see a movie once, maybe twice a year as well.
What about you, friends? That’s something good for you to talk about in English!
Let’s get started with the first part of our lesson and find out what a drive-in is.
A Night at the Drive-In
Come for the movie and make some memories.
Imagine watching a movie from your car, with a gigantic screen in front of you and stars shining above.
This is American nostalgia—the drive-in theater.
Before streaming, multi-screen movie theaters, or the internet,
drive-ins were the places where families, friends, and couples gathered
to watch movies on warm summer nights.
Drive-In 是一個常見的美式複合詞，通常作為名詞或形容詞使用，源自美國文化中的汽車與戶外娛樂結合的概念。以下是完整解釋，並修正文法後的英文說明：
✅ 正確用法與定義：
Drive-In (n./adj.)：指的是人們不需要下車，就能享受服務的場所。這類場所通常包括：
Drive-in theater（免下車電影院）：人們開著車進場，停在特定位置，在車內觀看戶外大螢幕播放的電影。
Drive-in restaurant（免下車餐廳）：顧客在車內點餐並用餐，有時會有服務員把食物送到車旁。
Drive-in bank（免下車銀行）：可以在車內完成提款、存款等銀行服務。
We went to a drive-in theater last weekend and watched a movie under the stars. 我們上週末去了免下車電影院，在星空下看了一場電影。
✅ 相關片語與詞彙：
詞彙 詞性 解釋
drive-in n./adj. 免下車（的）場所／服務
drive-through / drive-thru n./adj. 免下車（的）得來速餐廳、服務窗口
walk-in n./adj. 無需預約即可直接進入的服務
pop-up adj. 快閃的、臨時設置的（店／活動）
✅ 中文補充說明（繁體）：
Drive-In是一種具有代表性的美國文化現象，特別在1950至1960年代達到高峰。
它代表著一種自由、靈活與休閒的生活方式，讓人們能在自己的車內享受娛樂或服務。
Hi, I’m Jack。 今天的 Usage Tip 要來看 drive-in 等由動詞加解析詞複合而成的名詞或形容詞。
像是：
drive-in：免下車電影院或餐廳
drop-off：下車
take-out：外帶食物
pop-up：彈出式視窗
walk-in：直接走入的、無需預約的（診所、店面等）
這類字詞透過兩個不同詞性的結合，
不僅能生動地反映出事物的動作與功能性，
還強調了「直接」或「便利性」。
來看個例句：
The walk-in closet is huge enough to fit a full-length mirror and a seating area.
這個步入式衣帽間非常大，足以容納一面全身鏡和一個休息區。
Alright, thank you so much, Jack!
Well, we see drive-in here—what does it mean?
So, a drive-in is a place where people watch movies from their cars.
Very, very interesting. This was a cultural phenomenon in the United States years ago.
We’re going to learn all about it today.
Here’s how you could use drive-in in a sentence:
We watched a movie at the drive-in last night.
How does our article continue? Well, it starts with an invitation,
where our writer says: Come for a movie and make some memories.
That’s the deck of our article.
The first line is:
Imagine watching a movie from your car, with a gigantic screen in front of you and stars shining above.
What a wonderful image!
Gigantic is a great word for you to know, friends.
Gigantic means very large.
For example, you might see a gigantic statue.
Have you ever gone to a movie and seen it on a gigantic screen?
Yes, actually! Whenever a director named Christopher Nolan makes a movie,
I often go and see his movies in IMAX.
IMAX—you may have seen that in theaters—is a style of film that looks best
when it is projected onto a gigantic screen.
A gigantic screen!
How about you, friends? Have you ever gone to see a movie in IMAX?
What do we read on here?
This is American nostalgia.
We’ve been talking a lot about nostalgia the last few months, friends.
This is a very common topic on social media and in conversation.
Nostalgia is the idea that you feel good memories,
but a little bit sad when you think about things from the past.
It’s the idea of missing something.
That’s right. It’s often a feeling that’s kind of mixed with a little bit of sadness.
But we see here that this is American nostalgia, right?
It’s the drive-in theater.
Now, before streaming, multi-screen movie theaters, or the internet,
drive-ins were the places that families, friends, and couples would gather
to watch movies on warm summer nights.
So we’re talking about something that existed and was very popular
before streaming services like Netflix, multi-screen movie theaters, or the internet.
Multi-screen is just a word meaning “having multiple screens.”
Now, this word multi—if you have that in front of something,
it just means that there is a lot of that thing.
That’s right. For example, you might go to a multi-screen theater—
maybe there are screens in the front and the sides where you are watching that movie.
How else could we use this word multi?
I’ve seen it on cereal boxes before: multi-grain—there are multiple grains in that cereal.
What are some other things?
I’m so glad you said the cereal thing!
I was searching my brain for more examples of multi.
But I know one word you’ve definitely seen is the word multiply.
Right—if you multiply something, it means that you’re adding it kind of like two times,
two times two—you’re multiplying.
We’re adding something very quickly.
That’s right.
Now, we see here in this sentence that people are watching movies on warm summer nights.
I get the idea that drive-ins were best with good weather.
Well, absolutely—because you’re outside!
I went to a drive-in theater when I was in high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania—
kind of a country area, lots of space.
So there was space to put drive-in theaters, and it was a cool autumn night,
but actually quite pleasant.
If it was too cold, then it would just be miserable.
Yeah, that is very true.
We’re going to continue learning about this in just a moment, friends.
Let’s continue right now!
A Night at the Drive-In
When Richard Hollingshead of New Jersey received a patent for the drive-in theater in 1933,
he successfully combined two of America’s passions: cars and movies.
It was a big hit, with six hundred people in attendance on opening night.
In a largely rural America that thrived on car culture, drive-ins became iconic.
At their peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s, over 4,000 drive-ins operated across the U.S.,
with the trend spreading to Canada and Australia.
我們來看形容詞 rural，意思是「鄉村的」、「農村的」。例如：
The architect’s rural upbringing inspired him to design cities with public gardens for growing food.
這位建築師的農村成長背景啟發他在設計城市時注入公共花園、種植糧食的理念。
The address on the package was a rural one, and the driver had a hard time finding the house.
包裹上的地址是在鄉村，司機很難找到那間房子。
再看一句：
The rural setting of the film made it quite different from other action movies, which usually show cities being attacked.
這部電影的鄉村背景使它與其他動作片截然不同，後者通常都呈現城市遭到襲擊。
Okay, thank you so much, Jack!
We have a very interesting word that we haven’t taken a look at too often here on Studio Classroom before—
it’s the word patent.
We read:
When Richard Hollingshead of New Jersey received a patent for the drive-in theater in 1933, he successfully combined two of America’s passions: cars and movies.
Let’s talk about what this word patent means.
That’s right. Now, if you have a patent for something, it means that you have a legal right to an invention.
So when you invent something new, you can get a patent, and that means you own the rights to that thing.
Nobody else can invent or sell that thing now because you already have the rights.
Patents typically only last for about 100 years, depending on what it is.
But you could use this word like this:
He got a patent for his new design of phone case.
Maybe someone designed a new kind of cell phone or smartphone case,
and then they patented that design so that only their company can make it.
Okay, so we see another word here—and that is the word passion or passions.
This is talking about a strong interest in something or a hobby.
So we see here that these are America’s passions—these are America’s hobbies.
That’s right—cars and Hollywood.
Two things that, in some ways, you could argue really got their start in America.
Henry Ford with the car, and Hollywood became the biggest name in movies back
when moving pictures were really starting to become mainstream.
But in the next line here, we see:
It was a big hit with 600 people in attendance on opening night.
Wow!
Yeah, that’s a lot of people!
If something is a big hit, it means that it was very popular or very successful.
That’s right. For example:
The new stage show was a big hit—lots of people were there on opening night.
And I’m really impressed that so many people were in attendance on opening night for the opening of the drive-in.
That was before they were able to advertise things online, right?
But in attendance just means present at an event.
Exactly.
And this doesn’t necessarily mean something like a movie or an opening night—
you could also be in attendance at a meeting.
Now, to be in attendance means to presently be there.
To take attendance means that you are counting who is there and who is not.
If you’re a student, maybe your teacher takes attendance before class every day.
That’s why I’m sure all of you are probably familiar with that—
where your teacher has a list of names and says,
“Say here… say here…”
They’re taking attendance to see who’s skipping class.
Now we see here in the next part of our lesson:
In a largely rural America that thrived on car culture, drive-ins became iconic.
Now, you said earlier that the place you grew up was quite rural?
Yes, Lancaster is in southeast Pennsylvania, and there are a lot of farms—
which means there’s a lot of space.
It also means that unless you have a horse, a car is your next best way to get around,
because things tend to be far from one another.
That’s very similar to how I grew up as well.
I grew up in Ohio, and there are a few drive-ins there as well—because there’s a lot of space.
But we read on here:
At their peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s, over 4,000 drive-ins operated across the U.S.,
with the trend spreading to Canada and Australia,
which are also places that are very rural and have lots of open space.
I don’t imagine you’d be able to build a drive-in theater here on the island—
there’s just not enough space.
Maybe Taichung?
Maybe Taichung—that’s a good point.
All right, friends!
We have more to learn in just a moment, right after today’s Info Cloud!
Hello, friends! Welcome to Info Cloud.
I saw a very touching scene at a restaurant last night.
An old man gave his wife a huge bouquet of red roses.
I think the couple might be in their 70s.
Wow—they sure are keeping the flame alive!
I hope I can do that when I’m old.
I’m sure you can.
And that is a great expression: keeping the flame alive.
Let’s explain what it means to our friends.
Keeping the flame alive means to work hard to sustain a relationship,
a hobby, or a project that is important and meaningful to you.
Keeping the flame alive is positive.
It implies you are keeping something valuable and important vibrant and exciting.
If you want a fire or flame to keep burning,
you need to give it a steady supply of fuel.
The phrase compares valuable things in our lives to that fire
and suggests that they need to be actively maintained and cared for.
So for example, in a long-term relationship,
couples might do special things for each other to maintain romance and passion.
Or someone might practice really hard to improve their skills in a hobby they love,
like playing a musical instrument.
So friends, we hope you keep the flame alive by continuing to practice and improve your English.
keep the flame alive 維持熱情 在人生中，我們難免會經歷挫折，這個時候就需要 keep the flame alive——維持熱情。
Keeping the flame alive 經常被用來形容努力維持一段關係，或是一件相當重要或有意義的事情。
Keeping the flame alive 也代表讓某件事情保持活力和興奮感。
The old man is keeping the flame alive with his wife.
那位老先生努力地與太太維持熱情的關係。
Keeping the flame alive 也可以形容在你熱愛的事情上努力，例如學習英文，或是苦練一項樂器。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud，我們下次雲端見！
A Night at the Drive-In Drive-ins offered flexibility and freedom.
Hollingshead’s first ad proclaimed,
“The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”
Kids played at the drive-in’s playgrounds before the movies began,
and then snuggled up in the backseat to sleep while parents watched.
Teenagers loved loading up their cars with friends for fun, affordable nights out.
The casual atmosphere allowed for talking, laughing, and making memories.
接下來來看動詞 proclaim，意思是「宣告」或「宣布」。
例如：
The king sent messengers throughout the land to proclaim that everyone was invited to the feast.
國王差派使者到各地昭告所有人都獲邀參加宴會。
The newspaper that proclaimed the results of the election before the actual counting was finished got the headline wrong.
在選票尚未計算完畢前就宣布選舉結果的報紙，把標題搞錯了。
Proclaim 的名詞是 proclamation，意思也相同：
Thousands of people listened to the president’s speech, hoping to hear a proclamation that the war was over.
成千上萬的人聆聽總統的演講，希望能聽到戰爭結束的宣布。
Okay, friends, let’s continue learning more about drive-in culture.
We read here: Drive-ins offered flexibility and freedom.
Now when we’re talking about flexibility here, we’re talking about the ability to change or adapt easily.
That’s right! For example:
Remote jobs offer much more flexibility than in-person work.
That’s right.
Now, we can talk about flexibility in a physical sense as well.
If someone has a lot of flexibility, it means they’re able to move their body more than average.
They’re very flexible.
But what does our lesson say here?
Well, Hollingshead—the guy who patented this wonderful invention—
his first ad for the drive-in proclaimed:
“The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”
Very interesting!
I like that we’ve used the word regardless here.
Regardless of just means no matter what happens.
That’s right! He made this point because, of course, drive-in theaters are outside.
So regardless of how noisy the children are, people can still enjoy the movie.
Another way to use this phrase:
He helps others regardless of the situation, describing a person who is very generous.
Another word we could use in place of regardless is no matter—
No matter how noisy the children are.
So we see here:
Kids played at the drive-in’s playgrounds before the movies began,
and then snuggled up in the backseat to sleep while parents watched.
Snuggled up is a fun phrase for us to talk about.
Yes! It is one of my favorite images.
To be snuggled up somewhere is to be wrapped in warmth and comfort, you know?
I don’t love being cold—I actually like how warm it is here on the island.
However, I still miss those cold winters, because I just love snuggling up in blankets and sweaters.
Do you know what I like to do?
What do you like to do?
I like to turn the AC on really, really high—so that I can still snuggle up even when it’s hot outside!
Oftentimes when we’re talking about snuggling up, we’re talking about using a blanket.
That’s right!
So we’re talking here—we have this image:
the children are snuggled up in the backseat to sleep while the parents are watching the movie.
So our first image is of the family, with the parents watching the movie
and the children snuggled up in the backseat.
Then our next image has to do with teenagers.
They loved loading up their cars with friends for fun, affordable nights out.
So the idea of loading up means that you’re filling something up,
or you’re loading something up with supplies—or in this case, with friends!
That’s right.
Maybe you’re preparing for a long road trip,
so first you have to load up the car with your luggage, with snacks, and with everything you will need for your long trip.
That’s right.
Now, I like that these nights were affordable.
I wonder if you had to pay per person or per car?
I think it was per car, because you just park your car in a little spot, right?
And then you have a small space where you can set up your chairs and all that, and just sit in your car.
You pay per person at a movie theater, of course, because you’re paying per seat.
But from what I remember, at the drive-in that I went to, you just paid per car.
It’s very affordable—you’re renting the space.
Exactly.
So these were affordable nights out.
The casual atmosphere allowed for talking, laughing, and making memories.
Yes, and it really is a good time!
You know—you sit in your car...
We’ll talk about how it works—how you’re able to hear the movie.
Because they don’t just set up speakers and everyone listens from there.
You actually have another way to hear the audio from the movie, and I think we get into that in our next...
...our next, uh—well, tomorrow.
That’s right, friends!
So you’re going to have to come back tomorrow to learn more about drive-ins.
For now, 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 that the first movie ever shown at a drive-in
was about a man who pretended to lose his memory?
It’s true!
It only cost twenty-five cents to see the movie!
That is today’s Fun Fact!
All right, we have a question to end our lesson with today, friends:
Would you like to see a movie at a drive-in theater?
What do you think?
I think that drive-in theaters are perfect for certain kinds of movies.
You don’t really want to see something that’s maybe slow and requires a lot of focus—
maybe something very artsy, or with a complicated plot.
No, no, no!
You want to go to a drive-in to see Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Star Wars!
You know—you want to go see an exciting action movie where you don’t really need to worry too much about the story—just sit back and enjoy it.
Ah, very interesting!
What about you, friends?
Would you like to see a movie at a drive-in theater?
Talk about that in English.
Well, 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!
A Night at the Drive-In 汽車電影院之夜(下) 空中英語教室 20250612
(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 are on Day Two of our article called “A Night at the Drive-In.”
The drive-in theater is a great part of American history, and it brings back a lot of nostalgia for some people.
It does. It was a time when people were reliant on their cars to get around.
They lived in very rural areas, and there weren’t as many options for entertainment.
Furthermore, families could bring their kids no matter how noisy they were.
And teenagers could load their friends into cars and then go enjoy an affordable night out.
That’s right. We are going to learn more about the drive-in, how it worked exactly, and what happened to drive-ins in America in the next part of our article.
So let’s get going with the first reading for today:
A Night at the Drive-In
Unfortunately, drive-ins started closing down in the 1970s for several reasons.
Multi-screen movie theaters offered a more comfortable experience.
Cable TV and VCRs gave people access to movies at home.
And rising land costs made it difficult for drive-ins to stay in business.
嗨，我是 Jack。今天的 Usage Tip 要來看動詞 start 的用法。
Start 後面可以接動名詞或是不定詞，意思都是「開始做某事」。
所以課文這一句：
Unfortunately, drive-ins started closing down in the 1970s for several reasons.
也可以寫為：
Unfortunately, drive-ins started to close down in the 1970s for several reasons.
其他像是 begin、continue、like、love 等等，後面也可以接動名詞或不定詞，語意也是相同的。
來看例句：
As the younger generations are moving out, the population in this area continues declining.
隨著年輕一代的遷出，該地區的人口持續下降。
Well friends, we have some bad news in the first part of this lesson.
Would you like to read it for us, Dave?
I will. Unfortunately, drive-ins started closing down in the 1970s for several reasons.
Okay, so first we have this word “unfortunately.”
This just means “sadly” or “regrettably.”
You could replace this word with either of those two words:
Sadly, they started closing down, or
Regrettably, they started closing down.
Whenever a sentence starts with unfortunately, you know it’s not going to be good news.
For example:
Unfortunately, we missed the bus even though we tried to leave the house early.
Well, we also see this phrase “closing down,” friends.
Closing down means to shut down permanently.
We often say this about businesses.
That’s right. For example:
The store is closing down next month, so they’re throwing a big sale to get rid of all their products.
Ah yes, I’ve seen that happen before.
So this is kind of sad. Drive-ins did start to close down in the 1970s, so this happened quite a long time ago.
Let’s find out why.
Well, one reason is because of multi-screen movie theaters, which offered a more comfortable experience.
And cable TV and VCRs gave people access to movies at home.
Okay. Multi-screen theaters. And we’re talking about “multi-screen.”
We talked about that word multi yesterday.
This means to use or have more than one thing — in this case, a screen.
So what we’re talking about here is a movie theater that could show different movies at the same time in different rooms.
That’s right. So on one hand, you have multi-screen theaters.
And on the other hand, you have people who can watch movies at home much more conveniently, right?
Cable TV, VCRs — which are the devices that play those black tapes —
they gave people access to movies at home.
If you have access to something, it means you have the ability to use or enter something.
Exactly. For example:
Only employees have access to the storage room.
Only people who work at that store can get into the storage room.
They have access to it.
And that is very true. During the 1970s, that became normal life for a lot of Americans.
People had access to other ways of viewing content.
That’s right. Now, combine that with another issue —
which is kind of one of the advantages of drive-in theaters:
they could get large areas of land for pretty cheap and then set up a theater there.
But we see that in the 1970s, rising land costs made it difficult for drive-ins to stay in business.
Now this is another good term for you to know, friends: “to stay in business.”
If a restaurant, company, or store stays in business, that means they are able to continue operating and serving customers.
If they go out of business, that is the same thing as closing down.
To go out of business usually means that you’ve run out of money or are no longer able to continue operating.
Yeah. For example:
A lot of restaurants were able to stay in business during the pandemic by doing deliveries.
That’s a good point. And also, a lot of restaurants did go out of business because of COVID. That happened as well.
Did you have a VCR player growing up? Or a DVD player?
I had both. I had a VCR player, which I remember very fondly.
And I continued buying tape cassettes even into the 2010s, actually.
Just because?
Really. Well, I just really like physical media.
Okay. But our family also got a DVD player later on.
Although, for a while, I had a video game system called a PlayStation 2, and that could also play DVDs.
So we just used that as the DVD player.
Okay. So here’s another question:
Where did you keep your VHS collection? Or where do you keep it now?
I don’t have it now, but I used to keep it on a bookshelf. VHS tapes are huge!
Alright, friends, we’ll be right back after our next reading.
A Night at the Drive-In
Today, approximately 320 drive-ins remain open in the U.S., most of which are family-owned and determined to preserve this nearly one-hundred-year-old tradition.
John Vatskay, a third-generation theatre operator, explains that people at drive-ins don’t just recall the movie they saw — they remember the car they drove and the people they were with.
It’s so much more than a movie. It’s a memory.
我們來看 recall 這個動詞，意思是「回想起」或「記得」。來看例句：
I can’t recall that man’s name, but I think it starts with a J.
我想不起那個人的名字，但我想是以 J 開頭的。
或者：
I recall hearing that your mother graduated from the University of Sydney. Is that correct?
我記得聽說你媽媽畢業於雪梨大學，是這樣嗎？
Recall 也有「召回」或「收回」的意思，例如：
The company Kitty Wheels had to recall its bicycles because the wheels were poorly made and kept falling off.
Kitty Wheels 公司不得不召回他們的自行車產品，因為車輪製造品質很差，會不斷地脫落。
Well, friends, we found out that a lot of drive-ins are closing. So, are there any left?
What does our lesson say?
Well, we see that today, approximately 320 drive-ins remain open in the U.S., most of which are family-owned and determined to preserve this nearly 100-year-old tradition.
Alright, let’s take a look at some of the words in this sentence.
First, we see the word determined.
Determined means strongly motivated to achieve something.
That’s right. If you are determined to learn English, you will surely succeed.
That’s right. Now, we also see this word preserve.
If you preserve something, it means you want to keep it as it is — you want to keep it safe or prevent it from changing.
That’s right. For example:
We try to preserve forests for future generations by protecting them.
So these family-owned drive-ins want to preserve this tradition.
They don’t want to close down.
John Vatskay, a third-generation theater operator, explains that people at drive-ins don’t just recall the movie they saw.
Very interesting, yeah.
Now, this word third-generation is a pretty good phrase.
You could have any number in front of that — second-generation, fourth-generation...
A third-generation, in this case, just means the third descendant or version of something.
So maybe his father was a theater operator, and his father’s father was a theater operator.
You could say, He’s a third-generation farmer.
We often use generation when talking about cell phones as well.
I’ve heard people say, Oh, the fifth-generation iPhone, or something like that.
Yeah, we often talk about them in that context.
And I think it’s also interesting to note: these are family-owned businesses.
They’re the kind of businesses meant to preserve something.
They’re not in it for the money, right?
They’re not necessarily making lots of money from this — they might even be losing money.
But the point is to keep the film, to keep these theaters open.
Now, just going back to what he said:
He says that when people go to drive-ins, they don’t just recall or remember the movie they saw.
They remember the car they drove, the people they were with.
It’s so much more than a movie. It’s a memory.
I like this phrase: “so much more than something else.”
This is the idea that something is more important or more complex than it originally seems.
For example:
Being a teacher is so much more than just a job.
That’s right. So it seems like the people who are still running these drive-ins understand that this is important.
People aren’t just going there to see a movie, are they?
No. In fact, from my own memory of going to the drive-in theater, I remember a little bit about the movie —
but there are so many other details I remember.
I remember what the snack stand looked like.
I remember what I was wearing that day.
Oh wow. Yeah? What kind of snacks did you eat that day?
Oh, they had hot dogs.
Okay.
And popcorn.
Okay.
And kind of classic movie theater fare — or movie theater food —
but it just felt more special.
Sure. What other details do you remember from that day?
I remember that the snack stand was this kind of small, lonely building right at the end of the theater — or the parking lot, basically.
I remember that the weather was crisp and cool, but not cold.
I remember the car I was in — I believe it was a station wagon.
I had taken my dad’s station wagon, which is kind of a boxy sort of car that can fit lots of people.
And we had put the seats down, and there was a drive-in parking lot — gravel, like rocks and stuff like that.
So we kind of pulled in, kind of opened up the back.
I think we may have actually turned the car around...
Oh, so you could watch from the trunk?
We sat in the trunk.
We put a bunch of blankets and stuff in there.
How many years ago was this?
Oh, this had to be over — yeah, over ten years ago.
You really made a memory, just like our article says.
That’s really, really cool.
We have a little bit more to learn, friends, so don’t go anywhere.
We’ll be right back after today’s Info Cloud.
Hello, friends. Welcome to Info Cloud!
My friends David and Tony just visited the United States, and they told me they had a great time driving across the country —
all the way from California to New York.
Ooh, that kind of road trip is as American as apple pie!
A lot of my friends back home used to do that, but I never did.
Because I think it’s too exhausting and time-consuming.
As American as apple pie — that’s an interesting expression.
Why don’t you explain what it means?
Sure. People use “as American as apple pie” to describe things that are very typically American or represent American culture.
So, you can use “as American as apple pie” to describe things like baseball, hot dogs, and Thanksgiving dinner.
Exactly. The expression can describe anything that captures the essence of American culture and traditions.
So friends, if you visit the U.S., make sure you do things that are as American as apple pie so you get the full American experience.
as American as apple pie 如果你有機會到美國旅遊，你應該體驗一下當地的生活，做一些 as American as apple pie 的事情。
As American as apple pie 就是「像蘋果派一樣美式」，這個用語可以形容那些非常典型的美國事物，或是代表美國文化的東西。
Baseball is as American as apple pie.
棒球是美國的傳統運動。
其他像是熱狗、感恩節晚餐，或是橫跨美國的公路旅行，都可以說是 as American as apple pie。
這就是今天的 Info Cloud，我們下次雲端見！
A Night at the Drive-In If you get a chance to go to a drive-in, don’t miss it.
After parking, let the kids play while others set up.
If you have a small car, make the most of your experience by bringing lawn chairs, blankets, and pillows to sit outside.
With a small truck, an air mattress in the truck bed offers a comfortable watching spot.
Grab popcorn and drinks from the snack bar.
At twilight, tune the car radio to the movie’s audio channel and enjoy a night under the stars.
接下來看 mattress 這個名詞，意思是「床墊」。來看例句：
Dr. Walters said that my back problems are probably due to the old mattress I’ve been sleeping on.
Walters 醫生說，我的背部問題可能是一直睡在舊床墊的緣故。
或是：
Do you have everything for our camping trip, including an air mattress for yourself?
我們露營所需的一切你都帶齊了嗎？包括你自己要用的充氣床墊。
再看一個例句：
Blake really wanted a king-size bed and mattress, but his bedroom door was too narrow.
Blake 很想要一張特大雙人床尺寸的床和床墊，但他的臥室門太窄了。
Alright, friends, if you get a chance to go to a drive-in, don’t miss it.
Don’t miss it is a great phrase for you to know.
This means to make sure that you experience or see something.
For example:
This year’s Independence Day festival will be amazing. Don’t miss it!
That’s right. After parking, let the kids play while others set up.
Okay, now we have a little “how to” for the drive-in here at the end of this article.
So first, you need to let the kids play — probably to get their energy out — while people set up.
Let’s talk about the idea of setting up.
Set up is a really great phrasal verb.
To set something up means to arrange or organize something.
Maybe people set up chairs for an event to make sure everyone has a place to sit.
Step number two:
If you have a small car, make the most of your experience by bringing lawn chairs, blankets, and pillows to sit outside.
So it sounds like it’s very important to bring the right things — one of those things being a lawn chair.
Yeah. Well, if you have a small car — if you don’t have a station wagon like I had when I went to the drive-in theater — then you’ll have to make sure you have a comfortable place where you can sit and see the movie.
If you’re sitting in the back seat of your car, you might not be able to see the movie that clearly because that mirror might be in the way.
That makes sense. So for smaller cars, it might be better to bring lawn chairs that you can set up outside your car and then sit there so you can get a full view of the movie screen.
Now, friends, a lawn chair is a folding chair that’s used outdoors.
The word lawn means the grass in someone’s yard, so the idea here is that this is a chair that can be moved around — it’s very portable — and used outside, especially on the grass.
That’s right. Even if you’re not setting it up on the grass, it’s just the word we use for it.
Because in America, there’s a lot of space — a lot of front lawns that people can sit on.
Now, aside from lawn chairs, we also want to bring blankets and pillows.
Of course, if you’re there on a cool autumn night like I was, this would be very important.
Now, if you have a larger vehicle — maybe a small truck — then an air mattress in the truck bed offers a comfortable watching spot.
I like this idea a lot. That sounds very, very cozy to me — putting an air mattress in the back of a truck.
Grab popcorn and drinks from the snack bar — just like you were talking about.
At twilight, tune the car radio to the movie’s audio channel.
Is this how you hear the audio from the movie?
It is. There’s a special radio station that broadcasts or sends out the signal that contains the audio for the movie.
So you turn on your car radio, and then you’re able to hear — everyone is able to hear — the audio from the movie at the same time.
And of course, we have to wait until twilight, because at a movie theater, right, they just turn off the lights and then you can see the screen.
But at a drive-in theater — well, you’re outside. You can’t turn off the sun.
You have to wait until the time between sunset and darkness. That’s twilight.
Ah, the sky usually looks so beautiful at twilight. I’m imagining the scene now.
I’m sitting there at a drive-in theater at twilight, turning that radio on, and eating some popcorn.
That sounds like a great evening.
It was a great evening.
I think there were soft pretzels as well.
Oh! When’s the last time you had a soft pretzel?
It’s been a while. I love soft pretzels — it sounds delicious.
Well, it says here you can enjoy a night under the stars at the drive-in theater.
Friends, we’ll be right back after we 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 that the inventor of the drive-in movie did it because one of his family members was too big to enjoy the seats in a regular theatre?
It’s true!
And did you know that sometimes drive-in theaters would have ramps so cars could see over each other — just like an indoor theater, but for cars?
And that is today’s Fun Fact!
Alright, friends, here’s a question for us to think about as we end our lesson talking about the drive-in theater:
If you could go to a drive-in theater, who would you go with, and how would you prepare?
Oh boy. Well, at this point, I would certainly take my family.
I would want my children to experience this part of my memory.
And how would I prepare? Well, we do have a vehicle, so we could go.
We would definitely bring lots of snacks.
Maybe my wife could make her famous fried rice —
I feel like I’ve talked about her fried rice several times on the program now.
It is really quite good.
And then we could bring some other snacks — maybe go to the grocery store, get some chips and some cookies.
That sounds like a good drive-in night.
That does sound like a fun night!
Friends, who would you take to the drive-in theater?
What would you prepare?
What kind of snacks would you eat?
That’s something for you to talk about — 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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