101 Tainan City English Little Tour Guide Competition

A five-minute script created for a Tainan City English Little Tour Guide Competition—Dream Lake

Presenters:

Director and filming:

A: (Singing) Dream, dream, dream, oh, I love you. Dream, dream, dream, oh I need you. All I have to do is dream, dream, dream.

B: Are you falling in love with someone?

A: Haha, no. Actually, I am falling in love with the beauty of Dream Lake.

B: Really? What is Dream Lake ? Tell me more.

A: My pleasure. Barclay Park has a beautiful lake with a pretty and fancy name, Dream Lake. It has different eye-catching sceneries no matter what season or what time all year around. It is originated from “Dutch Waterway” which was the zigzagged water built by the Dutch for irrigation.

B: The 300-neter stone path beside the waterway is connected all the way to Chongming Elementary School.

A: Haha, it creates the most beautiful school path for students when flowers blossom in spring. How lucky Chongming students are!

B: Truly!!

A: We all know that Zhuxi is the largest natural drainage in Tainan, probably 10 kilometers long. During the Ming- Zheng Dynasty, Zhuxi surrounded the Zhuxi Temple. The bamboo planted nearby made Zhuxi look green under the sunshine. But do you know where the upper reaches of Zhuxi is?

B: The upper reaches of Zhuxi is Dream Lake, the origin of Zhuxi, a natural fountain. But I still don’t know why you are falling in love with Dream Lake!

A: Use your imagination! In summer, Dream Lake is like a mom hugging her babies--those lotus flowers in full blossom and budding lotus flowers with open arms. In the early morning, those graceful and elegant babies, lotus flowers, dance happily and merrily with the breeze under the sun in Mom’s arms.

B: So sweet! Those lotus flowers are so elegant with its uniqueness. Especially, lotus flowers are born in water, grow in water and rise out of water to stand above it unsoiled. How about in fall?

A: In fall, the leaves of the Southern Cypress along the Dream Lake turn red.

B: Wow. It gives an image of maple trees stretching endlessly beyond the park. How poetic and romantic! How about in winter?

A: During the winter, the undecorated branches of the tress make Dream Lake full of dreary thoughts.

B: I know why you are falling in love with Dream Lake now.

A: Not only I am attracted by Dream Lake, carefree mallards, naughty squirrels, active Chinese bulbuls, witty Japanese white-eye are also attracted by Dream Lake.

B: Yeah, I agree. I enjoy watching carefree mallards stroll back and forth leisurely on the surface of Dream Lake and they even invite more mallard friends here to have fun. 

A: You bet. No wonder there are more and more mallards here. Dream Lake is truly an ideal playground for mallards.

B: But why do the naughty squirrels appear here? Can they swim?

A: Haha! Actually, the Southern Cypress, surrounding the Dream Lake serves as a guardian angel. Those naughty squirrels are fond of climbing up and down, flying and jumping back and forth among the Southern Cypress around the Dream Lake.

B: Haha, I see. Now I know why you are falling in love with Dream Lake. She truly has a magic charm. What are you doing now?

A: Whenever I come to Dream Lake, I don’t want to say goodbye to her. So I can only use a camera to take photos for this wonderland. Can you take a photo for me and my girlfriend?

B: Your girlfriend?

A: Yeah, my girlfriend, Dream Lake.

B: Ok, say cheese! 

101 Tainan City English Little Tour Guide Competition

A five-minute script created for a Tainan City English Little Tour Guide Competition—Southern Cypress

Presenters:

Director and filming:

A: Come here and check it out.

B: Wow, this tree is so tall.

A: Yeah, it is a large tree. Its name is Southern Cypress. It can reach 130 feet tall.

B: Wow, it can be taller than 20 Jeremy Lin.

A: That is right. Its trunk is about diameter of 10 feet (10×30.48cm), and its bark is gray-brown to red-brown, with a stringy texture.

B: The Southern Cypress is native to humid climate areas, with the rainfall ranging from 760 mm((millimeter) to 1630 mm annually.

A: Wow, it must be very healthy. Hahah, it drinks a lot of water annually.

B: Although Southern Cypress grows best in warm climates, it doesn’t lack cold tolerance.

A: No wonder we always praise or giving blessings with the sayings, “ Ever-greens survive winter best.” (松柏不凋) and “ May you live long and remain strong like the evergreen pine and fir tree.” (松柏長青)

B: But as I know, Southern Cypress is much more special. It is like a model, performing and showing off her latest and fashionable styles with the change of the four seasons.

A: In spring, the first budding seed on the silver twig is fresh yellow. When it is summer time, she dresses herself up in blackish green, singing with the Dream Lake and dancing with the gentle breeze. When fall comes, she just soaks all her feathery leaves in the colorful Dream Lake, changing from yellow to red gradually.

B: How about winter?

A: When winter falls, she will be just like a maple tree, as red as the burning fire, decorating the waterway and Dream Lake with poetic romance.

B: Wow, wow, wow! Let me share the incredible seeds with you.

A: I am all ears.

B: Do you know how long the seeds remain viable and how are they carried along?

A: You just arouse my curiosity.

B: Haha, the seeds remain viable for less than one year, and are carried along in two ways. Do you want to guess?

A: By water. The seeds float and move on water until flooding declines or the cone is deposited on shore.

B: Yeah, you are right. The second is by wildlife. Do you know which animal helps the seeds?

A: Birds? Ducks? Or…………

A & B: Squirrels.

B: Squirrels eat seeds but often drop some from the cones they harvest. Seeds don’t grow under water and rarely germinate on well drained soils. Seedlings normally become established on soil that is continuously watered, but not flooded, for one to three months.

A: After germination, seedlings must grow quickly, 20-75 cm in their first years, in order to escape floodwaters.

B: Look at them. They are so weird. What are they?

A: They are cypress knees; the main trunks are always surrounded by the cypress knees—woody roots. Can you just imagine when you go scuba diving, you need to bring along your snorkel to help you breathe under the water. That is because the lack of oxygen in the swamp, it is more convenient to breathe fresh air with the cypress knees.

B: How special! But do you know cypress is also called “ Wood eternal”? Because the heartwood is resistant to decay, it can be used for heavy construction, including docks, warehouses, boats and bridges.

A: Wow, but due to the light feathery leaves and its brownish orange color, it can be used as ornamental tree. Haha, Christmas tree!! Shiny, shiny Christmas tree. (singing)

B: But I have a final question for Southern Cypress. Why is its Chinese name, “落羽松” ?

A: See, “落羽松” is a name given by Japanese. When the leaves of Southern Cypress fall in winter, the falling leaves are like feathers dropping from the birds flying in the sky.

B: Haha, I see. No wonder people always say, “Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.”