Pronunciation ChallengeWhat Is Fire?

So sorry for the delay! Here is the script:

Intro:
Hi, VoiceTubers! This is Jeff Chiao. It is commonly believed that the use of fire, or any other energy, is the definite difference between us humans and other creatures on the planet. It represents our ability to ward off predators, stay warm, and cook food, and saying fire is the symbol of civilization is no exaggeration.

However, while staring at the glowing flame on a candle or a stovetop, have you ever wondered the most fundamental question of this phenomenon? What is fire exactly? It has no physical, concrete shape that we could touch and feel with, yet we could definitely feel the heat, and it also remains like a teardrop shape. This has to be the most familiar yet mysterious natural phenomenon for any child, and could very well still be something left in their hearts unsolved after they grow up. Me, for example. And for those who’re just like me, go watch today’s video! I’m sure you will not be disappointed. But before that, let’s take a look at our featured sentence first.

Featured Sentence:
“Our species has been gathering around fire for thousands of years, telling stories and asking questions over a flickering flame.”

Okay, let me repeat it one more time, just a little bit slower.

“Our species has been gathering around fire for thousands of years, telling stories and asking questions over a flickering flame.”

With that out of the way, let’s head to the pronunciation tips.

Pronunciation tips:
Our first tip of the day is the connection between two successive words, and we have quite some examples today. The first is “thousands of." We could combine the /s/ sound in thousands with “of”, and pronounce it as, thousanz-of. Noticing that while combined like this, of should be transferred into a weaker /əv/ sound instead of a strong /ɒv/ sound. So it should be: thousanz-of.
The second example is “stories and”. Like the first one, we could combine /s/ with “and,” and pronounce it as storiez-and. Storiez-and. And the third example, “questions over”, follows the same principle, we could combine /s/ with “over,” and pronounce it as questions-over. Questions-over.

Last but not least, there is a word worth mentioning, and that is flickering. The “i” should be a short /ɪ/ sound, and the “er” combined with k, should be a weaker /kər/ sound. Put the stress on the first syllable, and we have /ˈflɪk.ər/. Notice that there is a very brief pause between “fli” and “ker”, so don’t rush. Flickering.

All right, with the tips sorted, let’s get to the vocabulary.

Vocabulary:

species (n.) KK [ˋspiʃiz] IPA /ˈspiː.ʃiːz/
a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other

Most tourists come to the National Park for its diverse collection of different species.

gather (v.) KK [ˋgæðɚ] IPA /ˈɡæð.ɚ/
When people or animals gather, they come together in a group.

The arriving police officers had all the gamblers inside of the illegal casino gather in front of the main gate for interrogation.

flicker (v.) KK [ˋflɪkɚ] IPA /ˈflɪk.ər/
to shine with a light that is sometimes bright and sometimes weak

I am looking for a new laptop as the screen on my old one has been constantly flickering and is driving me crazy.

Outro:

So that wraps up today’s episode!

Fire burning oil lamps used to be the major source of lighting in human history, until the invention and widespread use of electric light bulbs. And such a transition from using burning fuel to electricity has been around for quite some time. For instance, we no longer use wood-burning stoves for cooking—microwaves, electric ovens, air fryers, even natural gas-burning cooktops are being replaced by heat induction ones. We could see this trend in how we move around as well, as countries setting goals for banning internal combustion engines in the near future, and transitioning to electric vehicles. Speaking of electricity, with regards to having less CO2 emissions, almost every region in the world is getting rid of thermal power plants which burn fossil fuels, and seeking alternative power generating solutions. All these trends reveal one interesting yet bizarre truth: with the progress of our society, it seems like we are actually reducing the use of fire itself.

When is the last time you actually see a fire burning in front of you? If you are not living in high latitudes, chances are you don’t need a fireplace in the winter—even if you are, you might not need it in less than a decade with global warming worsening. Fire was once the symbol of the start of our civilization, however, it seems like there is no place for fire in our vision of the future. Maybe, just maybe, one day, like the image of a floppy disk becomes nothing more than “the saving icon which somehow just looks like that” for the younger generation, our offspring may ask us “Grandpa, why the roast button on the electric oven looks like a weird upside-down ghost? ”

This is Jeff Chiao from VoiceTube. Hope y’all have a good one! Until next time, goodbye.

Our species has been gathering around fire for thousands of years, telling stories and asking questions over a flickering flame

Our species has been gathering around fire for thousands of years, telling stories and asking questions over a flickering flame.