Anna: Hello from Washington, DC! This city has many monuments and memorials.
Anna: Today I am visiting the ones built in memory of our Presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt.
Anna: I want to learn more about them.
Anna: Hey! Watch out!
Dan: Sorry! I didn't see you.
Anna: You were not looking. You shouldbe more careful.
Dan: I know I should be more careful. But this game is really fun.
Anna: What kind of game?
Dan: You have to find things that aren't really there.
Anna: How can you find things that aren’t really there?
Dan: They're in your phone. See?
Anna: I see. It’s like a scavenger hunt.
Dan: That’s right!
Anna: I don’t have time for games. I want to learn about U.S. presidents.
Dan: Then you should play this game! When you find an American symbol, you win points and a Fun Fact about a U.S. President.
Anna: I have time for this game!
Dan: Here are the symbols that I caught: the Statue of Liberty for 20 points, Uncle Sam for 40 points and the American flag for 60 points.
Anna: What symbol are you looking for now?
Dan: I am looking for the bald eagle. That is 100 points! It should be near the Washington Monument.
Anna: This game is awesome.
Dan: You ought to buy the app right now. It’s called “CatchAmericana.”
Anna: Got it. Catch Americana.
Anna: Thanks! Good luck!
Dan: Good luck to you too!
Anna: This is the Jefferson Memorial. I know that Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence! Now, where is that symbol?
Anna: Here it is! My first one. It’s an American flag! I won 60 points!
Anna: An American flag works well for Thomas Jefferson*. I see lots of American flags on Independence Day!
Anna: Where is my Jefferson Fun Fact?
Voice: In his lifetime, Thomas Jefferson wrote about 19,000 letters!
Anna: I did not know that. Where is the next symbol?
*See an explanation of this sentence in the Learning Strategy section.
Writing 写作
In this lesson, Anna learns about a new video game. What games do you like to play? Write to us to tell us about the video games or other games you like. Send us an email or write in the Comments section.
Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective.
The learning strategy for this lesson isMake Associations. When we think of connections between things we are making associations.
本课的学习技巧是联想。
In this lesson, Anna connects the picture of an American flag in her mind with President Thomas Jefferson. She sees the flag in the game and says,
"I know that Thomas Jefferson signed theDeclaration of Independence! Now, where is that symbol?"
"Here it is! My first one. It’s an American flag! I won 60 points! An American flag works well for Thomas Jefferson. I see lots of American flags on Independence Day!"
在课文中，Anna从美国国旗的图像联想到美国总统托马斯∙杰弗逊。
Anna is making associations between the flags and President Thomas Jefferson. What associations do you make when learning new things in English? Is there something in this lesson that you can associate with the new words?Maybe the association will help you remember them. Write to us in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy.
Americana - n. things produced in the U.S. and thought to be typical of the U.S. or its culture
Americana - 名词，具有代表性的美国事物
bald eagle - n. a very large bird of North America that has a white head and white tail feathers
bald eagle - 名词，白头鹰
build / built -v. to make (something) by putting together parts or materials
build / built - 动词，建造
be careful! - an instruction to take care in a particular situation
be careful! - 小心点！
catch / caught - v. to capture and not allow (a person, animal, or fish) to escape
catch / caught - 动词，捕捉到
Declaration of Independence - n. the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776. It said that the thirteen American colonies would not accept British rule
Declaration of Independence - 名词，独立宣言，1776年7月4日在宾夕法尼亚州费城召开的第二次大陆会议上采纳的一份声明，宣布北美洲十三个英属殖民地不再接受英国统治。
find / found - v. to get or discover something or someone that you are looking for
find / found - 动词，找到
flag - n. a piece of cloth with a special design that is used as a symbol of a nation or group
flag - 名词，旗
Independence Day - n. July 4 celebrated as a legal holiday in the U.S. in honor of the day when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776
Independence Day - 名词，独立日。7月4日是美国的法定节日，纪念1776年独立宣言签署的日子。
memory - n. the power or process of remembering what has been learned
memory - 名词，记忆
in memory of or in someone's memory - made or done to honor someone who has died
in memory of or in someone's memory - 缅怀某人
ought to - modal verb. used to say or suggest that something is the proper, reasonable, or best thing to do. It has the same meaning as should and is used in the same ways, but it is less common and somewhat more formal.
ought to - 情态动词，应该
point - n. a unit that is used to score a game or contest
point - 名词，比赛或竞赛中的得分
scavenger hunt - n. a game in which players try to find specified items within a particular period of time
scavenger hunt - 名词，寻宝游戏
should - v. used to say or suggest that something is the proper, reasonable, or best thing to do
should - 动词，应该
Statue of Liberty - n. A large sculpture given to the United States from the people of France. It is a symbol of freedom and democracy.
Statue of Liberty - 名词，自由女神，法国人民送给美国的一尊巨大雕像，是自由和民主的象征。
symbol - n. an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality
symbol - 名词，象征
Uncle Sam - n. A common symbol of the government of the United States.
Uncle Sam - 名词，美国政府的象征
Watch out! - phrasal verb. to be aware of something dangerous
Watch out! - 短语动词，看着点！
American Presidents (Part One)
美国总统（一）
Portrait of Jefferson by Thomas Sully, 1821
Thomas Jefferson - America’s 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence on America’s birthday - the 4th of July. (The symbol for President Jefferson in the Catch Americana game is an American flag.)
Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website.
Each Let's Learn English lesson has anActivity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice writing ordinal numbers.
For Teachers
教师资源
Lesson Plan - Lesson 25
See theLesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions.
Grammar focus: Modals: should; ought to
Topics: Warnings: Be careful, Watch out; Recommending products, giving advice
Learning Strategy: Cooperate
Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: past tense contractions; Making recommendations using ‘should’
Now it's your turn. What do you think the game in this lesson? Do you play a game like this? Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of this lesson.
Word Book
