來自世界不同地方的六位學生在美國相遇。他們都是交換學生，到美國大學就讀一個學期，學習英語，了解美國文化，同時修專業課程。英語「日常會話」 (Everyday Conversations)系列圍繞這六位學生在美國的經歷展開。這套材料適於中級或中級以上英語水平的學生使用。
在這個對話中，一個學生 （Akinyi）向另一個學生（Lucía）談到不同的烹飪爐灶及其利弊。
Lucía: Akinyi, do you wanna watch a movie tonight?
Akinyi: I』d love to, but I can’t. I have work to do for my virtual internship.
Lucía: Do you have a new project this week?
Akinyi: I do. I’m working with a company that helps provide access to clean energy.
Lucía: What kind of things do they do?
Akinyi: They create and donate clean cookstoves. I’m helping them with amarketing campaign. They want more people to understand the importance of clean energy, especially clean cookstoves.
Lucía: I guess I don’t really know the difference between a clean cookstove and a … dirty cookstove?
Akinyi: They’re usually called traditional cookstoves, but yeah, they’re definitely dirty. The smoke from them contains hazardous pollutants and causes health problems, especially for the people who use them. Plus, they are a source of black carbon emissions, which contributes to climate change.
Lucía: Lee has talked about black carbon before. I had no idea a simple stove could impact the environment so much. But people need to cook!
Akinyi: Exactly. You can’t tell people not to cook. And some people don’t have the money needed to buy a new stove. That’s the reason this company donates clean cookstoves.
讓我們來學習一些詞語（也可閱讀英文解釋）：A virtual internship：虛擬實習 ，指實習生在遠程而不是親臨工作現場獲得工作體驗的實習方式
Access：（接觸/看到/使用某事或某物的）渠道或可能
Clean energy：清潔能源，即不汙染環境的能源
A clean cookstove：清潔爐灶，即比傳統爐灶燃燒效率更高、煙塵較少也較乾淨的爐灶
A marketing campaign：促銷活動，即通過廣告推銷某一產品或服務
Hazardous pollutants：有害危險的汙染物
Black carbon emissions: 黑碳排放物，即燃料中未得到充分燃燒的成分，可對人體和環境造成危害。
有興趣聽更多英語對話嗎？請瀏覽「英語學習」專題網頁。
American English 網站提供可供英語學生和教師免費使用的多種英語資源。American English Facebook網頁提供每天更新的英語學習資料。
「日常會話」由美國國務院教育與文化事務局英語語言項目處（Office of English Language Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs）資深項目官員海蒂·豪蘭（Heidi Howland）編寫。
Everyday conversations: Tell me about your internship [audio](State Dept./ D.A. Peterson)Six students from around the world meet. What do they have in common? They are all exchange students studying at a U.S. university for a semester. Throughout the semester, they learn more English, learn about U.S. culture, and learn more about their fields of study. This series of Everyday Conversations is about these six students and their experiences during a semester at a university in the U.S. These conversations are for intermediate-level English-language learners or higher.
In this conversation, one student (Akinyi) teaches another (Lucía) about different cooking devices and their positive and negative effects.
Lucía: Akinyi, do you wanna watch a movie tonight?
Akinyi: I』d love to, but I can’t. I have work to do for my virtual internship.
Lucía: Do you have a new project this week?
Akinyi: I do. I’m working with a company that helps provide access to clean energy.
Lucía: What kind of things do they do?
Akinyi: They create and donate clean cookstoves. I’m helping them with amarketing campaign. They want more people to understand the importance of clean energy, especially clean cookstoves.
Lucía: I guess I don’t really know the difference between a clean cookstove and a … dirty cookstove?
Akinyi: They’re usually called traditional cookstoves, but yeah, they’re definitely dirty. The smoke from them contains hazardous pollutants and causes health problems, especially for the people who use them. Plus, they are a source of black carbon emissions, which contributes to climate change.
Lucía: Lee has talked about black carbon before. I had no idea a simple stove could impact the environment so much. But people need to cook!
Akinyi: Exactly. You can’t tell people not to cook. And some people don’t have the money needed to buy a new stove. That’s the reason this company donates clean cookstoves.
Now let’s review the vocabulary.A virtual internship is a work experience program where the intern (participant) works remotely and is not physically present at the job location.
Access is being able to use, see or get something.
Clean energy is energy that does not pollute the environment when used.
A clean cookstove is a stove that burns fuel more efficiently and with less and cleaner smoke compared to traditional stoves.
A marketing campaign is a series of advertisements to promote a product or service.
Hazardous pollutants are pollutants (substances that make land, air, etc., dirty and unsafe) that are bad for people’s health and bad for the environment.
Black carbon emissions: Fine particles sent into the air from fossil fuels and biofuel. Black carbon is the part of the fuel that is not burned completely. Black carbon emissions have a negative effect on humans and the environment.
Ready to learn more English? Our materials can help.
The American English website offers a variety of free resources for learners and teachers of English. The American English Facebook page posts learning materials for English-language learners daily.
Everyday Conversations are developed by the State Department’s Heidi Howland, a senior program officer in the Office of English Language Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.