A new cinema experience

中山路动感地带旗舰店上周五与双语周刊俱乐部携手举办英语沙龙. 在放映效果一流的动感剧场里, 《狙击电话亭》给会员带来别样的惊险刺激, 稍后的英语沙龙讨论也相当热烈. 看看我们的沙龙主持人Philip Hand是如何评价这两次俱乐部活动的. 如果您对俱乐部活动有什么好的建议, 赶快发邮件或打电话告诉我们吧. 也许您将会成为双语周刊答谢晚宴(12月10日)的座上客呢! 我们双语周刊的所有编辑热切期待着您的参与.



On Friday November 25, the Common Talk English Salon moved for the first time to its new film watching venue, the M-Zone shop on Zhongshan Road. The nice people at M-Zone have been good enough to put their equipment at our disposal, so we have a rather snazzy hi-tech environment in which to watch our movies, and crystal clear sound and picture quality to match.

The movies are projected from the DVD player onto a screen in the M-zone theater on the second floor. Super-modern silver and orange décor give the place a bit of a spaceship feel, and there must be enough room to seat 50 or more people, so we look forward to even bigger crowds in future.

Unlike the previous arrangement at the Kaiming Cinema, we are able to choose our own films in the new venue, giving us more choice and control over the English we learn. For our first evening, Jack chose an appropriately phone-themed thriller from 2003, Joel Schumacher's Phone Booth. After a brief introduction we plunged straight into the film, with English sound and subtitles. I have to admit, I was a little concerned that some of the American slang would be rather difficult for our members to understand, but I needn't have worried. A quick review after the film ended showed that not much had got past the eagle-eyed viewers.

Because we started at the slightly earlier time of 7 o'clock (don't be late!) we had time after the film for some discussion and analysis. There was heated debate on what exactly Phone Booth was trying to tell us, and some telling comments from some of our members on the acting. Despite some relatively bloody and violent scenes, only one member didn't enjoy the movie; but we have plans to vary the genres of film in future. Romances, comedies, adventure movies, dramas, we'll watch them all. Anyone with any suggestions for films should let Jack or me know, and we'll try to bring you something interesting every fortnight.

English Salon takes to the streets?
By Philip Hand
Photos by Yao Fan



金秋送爽, 双语周刊英语俱乐部11月20日的环岛游着实感受了一抹浓浓的秋意. 乘坐环岛旅游观光巴士, 会员们欣览了鹭岛独特的自然人文景观, 确实是"城在海上, 海在城中"!

Members of the Common Talk English Salon enjoyed a rare excursion on November 20, as we were whisked around the island aboard a double-decker sightseeing bus. Both younger and older generations joined the usual Salon crowd for a rather windy introduction to the sights along the popular Island Ring Road. The tour ran from the People's Convention Hall past the Ferry Terminal and Xiamen University up to the International Exhibition & Conference Center in Qianpu, and round over the elegant Zhongzhai Bay Bridge to the airport.

The bright weather was a boon, as we saw some of Xiamen's prettiest scenery at its best. Palm trees, blue seas and golden sands reminded even the most jaded urbanite (Jack) of what a truly lovely city we live in. Unfortunately, the strong wind made it a little difficult to talk, but many members spent the time listening to the mellifluous commentary broadcast on the bus DVD system. It may have been a little heavy on the facts and figures -did we really need to know precisely how wide the road is? -but it did provide a good basic introduction to some of Xiamen's attractions for foreign visitors.

One of the surprises was the sheer number of artworks littering the shoreline. The curiously well-endowed marathon sculptures are a perennial favorite, but there are also a variety of other abstract and figurative works brightening up the coast. Another eye-opener was the pace of development in Houpu and beyond. Tony had not been round this way for a year, and was stunned. "I just hope they can develop this area sustainably and responsibly," was his comment.

The trip was a pleasure for all, and even though I nearly committed the fatal error of being roped into singing "The Wheels on the Bus", we look forward to the next time we get a chance to take our English out of the Salon and onto the highways.

Vocabulary
excursion 远足
boon 恩赐
urbanite 都市人
jaded 厌世的
double-decker 双层
mellifluous 甜蜜的