實(shí)戰(zhàn)口語情景對(duì)話：Expiration Dates 到期日期(1)

Todd: Rachel, I thought we would talk a little bit about items and their shelf life, like how long will you keep something? For example, like a book or clothing, because yesterday I was talking to my students and they were surprised when I admitted that the shirt I was wearing, I had had for over 10 years. Now, they're young and they can't imagine that.

托德：蕾切爾，我想來談?wù)勎锲芳捌浔４嫫?，比如你?huì)保存某樣?xùn)|西多久?舉例來說，比如書或衣服的保存期是多久?昨天我和學(xué)生們聊天，他們對(duì)我身上這件T恤已經(jīng)穿了10多年這件事感到震驚。他們現(xiàn)在很年輕，他們無法想象這種情況。

Rachel: No, that might be a function of being young.

蕾切爾：那可能就是年輕的一種體現(xiàn)。

Todd: Right, exactly.

托德：對(duì)，沒錯(cuò)。

Rachel: Because their clothes of 10 years ago are obviously too small.

蕾切爾：顯然，他們10年前的衣服太小了，已經(jīng)沒法穿了。

Todd: Yeah.

托德：對(duì)。

Rachel: It depends on the clothes.

蕾切爾：這取決于衣服。

Todd: Do you like to keep your clothes a long time?

托德：你會(huì)保留衣服很長時(shí)間嗎?

Rachel: If I really like them, I might.

蕾切爾：如果我非常喜歡那些衣服的話，我可能會(huì)。

Todd: Yeah. How often do you toss out your clothes?

托德：好。你通常多久清理一次衣服?

Rachel: I toss out clothes once or twice a year. I'll go through my wardrobe and throw out things that are too small or have started to look shabby. But there are other things that I just keep year after year after year, probably things people don't see as often like pajamas might last a little longer.

蕾切爾：我一般一年清理一到兩次衣服。我會(huì)檢查我的衣柜，然后把太小或看上去有些破舊的衣服扔掉。不過我也有會(huì)保留很多年的衣服，那就是睡衣，其他人可能認(rèn)為這類衣服通常不會(huì)穿太長時(shí)間。

Todd: Yeah.

托德：對(duì)。

Rachel: Some people advise that if you haven't worn something for six months, you should throw it out, but that seems to me to be not logical, given that there are four seasons and they last a year. If you haven't worn something for a year, maybe you should consider throwing it out. But yeah, definitely, at the start of the season, not in the opposite season. You have to think about the weather.

蕾切爾：有人建議說，如果有的衣服半年還沒有穿壞，那就應(yīng)該扔了，但是對(duì)我來說這種說法不符合邏輯，因?yàn)橐荒暧兴膫€(gè)季節(jié)，所以衣服可以穿一年。如果有衣服一年還沒有穿壞，那應(yīng)該考慮扔掉了。當(dāng)然，要在一個(gè)季節(jié)開始時(shí)扔掉那些衣服，而不是在相反的季節(jié)。要考慮到天氣因素。

Todd: Yeah. What about food? We live in Japan. We're both teachers in Japan. One thing I often wonder about is the sashimi and the sushi, the raw fish. How long can you keep it before you eat it? They say you're supposed to have it that night, but I sometimes eat it the next morning or even for lunch.

托德：好。那食物呢?我們現(xiàn)在生活在日本。我們兩個(gè)人都在日本當(dāng)老師。我經(jīng)常在想的是生魚片和壽司。這些食物在吃之前你能保存多久?他們說應(yīng)該在當(dāng)天晚上吃掉，可是我有時(shí)會(huì)在第二天早上甚至是中午才吃。

Rachel: With fish, as well as other meats, I think it's very easy to tell, because you can tell by the smell whether something's good or not. I actually think that rice is more dangerous.

蕾切爾：我認(rèn)為魚類和其他肉類很好判斷新鮮度，因?yàn)榭梢詮奈兜辣鎰e食物是否新鮮。實(shí)際上我認(rèn)為米飯很危險(xiǎn)。

Todd: Oh really?

托德：哦，真的嗎?

Rachel: Yeah, because it will grow bacteria. Because it's been warm, it will grow bacteria easily at room temperature. The rice is the part you need to be careful about.

蕾切爾：對(duì)，因?yàn)槊罪垥?huì)滋生細(xì)菌。因?yàn)樘鞖夂芘停悦罪埡苋菀自谑覝叵伦躺?xì)菌。米飯是需要留意的部分。

Todd: Oh. Well what about other foods? Like are you somebody who's really strict about the expiration date?

托德：哦。那其他食物呢?你是那種會(huì)嚴(yán)格遵守過期日期的人嗎?

Rachel: I'm not. I think the expiration date on most products errs on the side of safety. And another thing is people confuse the best by date with the expiring date.

蕾切爾：不是。我認(rèn)為大多數(shù)產(chǎn)品上的過期日期在安全方面過于保守了。另外，人們會(huì)混淆最佳食用日期和到期日期。

Todd: Right.托德：對(duì)。Rachel: The best by date is just about freshness, flavor. For example with spices ...

蕾切爾：最佳食用日期指的是食品的新鮮度和味道。比如調(diào)料……

Todd: And that's the date they put on the package in the store.

托德：這是商店里包裝袋上標(biāo)注的日期。

Rachel: That's often the date that people go by.

蕾切爾：人們通常會(huì)參照這個(gè)日期。

Todd: Sell by, yeah.

托德：對(duì)，保質(zhì)期。

Rachel: Yeah, sell by and best by. For example spices might have a best by date. After that, they might plump a little, they might lose a little flavor, but they're not dangerous.

蕾切爾：嗯，保質(zhì)期和最佳食用日期。比如，調(diào)料可能會(huì)標(biāo)明最佳食用日期。后面可能還會(huì)標(biāo)注：它們可能會(huì)損失一點(diǎn)兒味道，但不構(gòu)成危險(xiǎn)。

Todd: You can still eat it.

托德：仍然可以食用。

Rachel: You can still use them, yeah.

蕾切爾：對(duì)，還可以食用。