禮節(jié)美語(yǔ) EARLY ADOPTERS I
Sara在公司走廊上看到同事Henry.
Sara: Hi Henry, how was your weekend?
Henry: Excellent! I went down to the mall and got myself one of those new minicomputers.
S: You mean the new Orange SuperCom 4? I've seen ads for those on TV! They look really cool.
H: They are pretty cool. It has Wi-Fi, a huge memory and super fast processor. Plus, it's so small it fits in a shirt pocket....look, here it is.
S: Wow...it's so thin! Hey Mark, check out Henry's new toy!
Henry 情緒很好,因?yàn)橹苣┧ベI(mǎi)了一個(gè)最新款的迷你電腦,the new Orange SuperCom4, 有無(wú)線(xiàn)寬帶,大容量存儲(chǔ),超快處理器。而且,體積小到能裝在襯衫口袋里。Sara看了覺(jué)得很酷,叫同事Mark過(guò)來(lái),check out Henry's new toy. 看看Henry的新玩具。Mark說(shuō):
M: Ah....the Orange SuperCom 4, eh? It's all the rage these days.---Must've cost you a pretty penny.
H: Actually it was a tad bit expensive. I signed up for an early waiting list, but because demand was so strong, I did have to shell out a couple extra hundred dollars for it.
M: I saw news reports that people were lining up around the block in front of Orange Computer stores. Some people were even camping out overnight waiting for the store to open!
Mark不用看就知道Sara說(shuō)的是Orange SuperCom4, 因?yàn)?It's all the rage these day. 這是現(xiàn)在最潮的。說(shuō)一件事情是 all the rage 意思是時(shí)下最流行的。比如 Skinny jeans are all the rage. 時(shí)下最流行穿細(xì)腿牛仔褲。Mark猜,It must've cost you a pretty penny. 你一定花了不少錢(qián)。cost a pretty penny 是價(jià)格不菲的意思。Henry 承認(rèn),因?yàn)橛嗁?gòu)的人多,I did have to shell out a couple extra hundred dollars for it. 我確實(shí)不得不多交了幾百美元。to shell out 意思是出錢(qián)。Mark說(shuō),新聞里說(shuō),為了買(mǎi)這款新電腦,不少人在Orange SuperCom電腦專(zhuān)賣(mài)店前大排長(zhǎng)龍,甚至有人 camp out overnight 夜里在商店門(mén)口露宿。Henry說(shuō):
H: I didn't camp out, but I did have to stand in line for about four hours.
S: Is it really worth all the effort? I'm not that devoted to anything. If the wait is longer than 15 minutes, count me out.
M: Some people are "early adopters" of technology. They just have to get their hands on the latest product.
H: Yep, that's me...I got my first computer when I was 14, and from that day onward I was hooked. Every time a major new product comes on the market, I've just got to get it! I'll bet I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on IT products over the years.
Henry說(shuō),自己雖然沒(méi)徹夜露宿,但確實(shí)排了四個(gè)小時(shí)的隊(duì)。Sara表示不解,說(shuō)不管買(mǎi)什么,如果要排十五分鐘以上的隊(duì),count me out. 我就免了。Mark說(shuō),有些人就是科技“潮人”,early adopters of technology. 有什么新產(chǎn)品,他們都得在別人前面用上。They have to get their hands on the latest product. 這里所說(shuō)的 to get their hands on something 意思是得到。Henry承認(rèn)自己就是這種人,14歲有了自己的第一部電腦后,I was hooked. 我就著迷了。這么多年,不知道在科技產(chǎn)品上花了多少錢(qián)。
A: 這些科技發(fā)燒友們可真夠嗆! How do they keep up with all the new gadgets?? New things come out every day!
B: Well, it can certainly be overwhelming, but I can't imagine life without my smartphone! What if I got lost? What if I didn't check my email 18 times a day? What if I didn't stalk 阿信 on weibo??? HE WOULD MISS ME.
A: He definitely would miss you Kat. 現(xiàn)代人生活忙得四腳朝天,要是沒(méi)有科技的幫忙,估計(jì)就瘋了! 不過(guò)正好,說(shuō)到繁忙,咱們來(lái)聽(tīng)聽(tīng)這個(gè)詞兒用美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)!
Donny 在北京學(xué)中文。他的中國(guó)朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)的詞,就會(huì)來(lái)請(qǐng)教他。今天是楊琳要問(wèn)的:忙。
Donny:Hi 楊琳,what's up? I haven't seen you in ages.
YL: 別提了,我最近特別忙,I am really busy! 忙得四腳朝天,怎么說(shuō)...four feet up!
Donny: four feet up? I can imagine. But in English, we don't say that....You can say I'm up to my neck in work.
YL: I'm up to my neck... in work ? 工作太多,堆到和脖子一樣高?被工作壓得喘不過(guò)氣來(lái)。這個(gè)說(shuō)法太形象了! 還有別的嗎?
Donny: There is another expression that also has to do with body parts. It is "I've got my hands full".
YL: I've got my hands full。我明白了,就是說(shuō)兩手都沒(méi)閑著。
Donny: Exactly. Oh, I just thought of another one---"I have a lot on my plate".
YL: I have a lot on my plate? plate, p-l-a-t-e, plate 不是盤(pán)子么?說(shuō)盤(pán)子里有很多東西,那一定是...忙著吃呢吧?
Donny:That's possible! Anyway, when you say you have a lot on your plate, it means you're busy.
YL: 我知道了。哎呀,我快遲到了,快,再教最后一個(gè)。
Donny: Okay, this one will be easier to remember-- I've got a million things to do!
YL: 太夸張了吧! I've got a million things to do! 有一百萬(wàn)件事情等著我去做。
Donny: Right! Now, Yang Lin, tell me what you've learned today!
YL: 今天學(xué)到的還真不少。形容特別忙可以說(shuō),I'm up to my neck in work,工作堆到脖子了;I've got my hands full, 兩手都占著呢;I have a lot on my plate,盤(pán)子里堆得滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)的。哎呀! 我得趕緊走人了,I've got a million things to do!
這次的“美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)”就到這里結(jié)束了。如果你也有不會(huì)說(shuō)的詞,請(qǐng)寫(xiě)信給Donny, 電郵請(qǐng)寄[email protected]
A: 現(xiàn)代人的生活總是這么忙碌,這不是,之前有好幾起年輕人猝死的事件,就是因?yàn)閴毫μ螅ぷ魈哿?
B: Yeah, I heard those reports too. That's a reminder for us, 楊琳! In the interest of our health, we should definitely take it easy with all this serious hosting and take a break to go have some fun!
A: 哈哈,我只好聽(tīng)你的嘍! 好,這次節(jié)目時(shí)間就到這里。同學(xué)們,如果你對(duì)我們的節(jié)目有什么建議,或者想提什么問(wèn)題,請(qǐng)發(fā)電子郵件到[email protected].
B: Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!
A: See you next time!