英语口语教程（Oral Workshop）--中级 Lesson 2

 

Lesson 2

 Au Pair Girl

 Text A

 Gretel comes from Austria. She is eighteen years old. She is going to stay with the Clark family for a year. Gretel has come to England because she wants to improve her English. She works¹ as an au pair girl. She helps Mrs Clark in the house and attends English classes regularly in her spare time.

 Gretel hasn' t been in England long and everything is strange to her. She often compares life in London with life in Vienna. Some things are nicer in London; other things are not so nice. For instance², the shops are bigger in London than in Vienna and there is greater variety. But it's more expensive to enjoy yourself in London. It's expensive to have a meal at a restaurant or to go to a theatre.

 Gretel has got used to many things already, but she can't get used to breakfast in England. "You English eat so much in the morning," she often says. "Fruit juice, porridge, bacon and egg, tea, toast and marmalade! How can you face all that food so early in the day?"

 Text B

 Maria had decided³ that as soon as she had finished school she would become an au pair girl in London. Two of her friends had already spent a year with a family in Kensington, and told her they had had an interesting time and had managed to learn a lot of English. She was advised by her Head Teacher to get her parents' consent⁵ and to make all the necessary arrangements prior⁶ to her departure⁷: have enough money for her return fare, know exactly what kind of a family she was going to live with and what they expected of her.

 Shortly after her eighteenth birthday Maria received a letter from Mrs Hutchinson, the wife of an advertising⁸ executive⁹, stating the terms on which she would be employed. The Hutchinsons lived in a house in Chelsea. They had three children; two boys, aged⁴ fourteen and ten, both at boarding schools, the elder at a Public School in the Midlands and the younger at a Preparatory School in Surrey; 

the youngest child was a girl aged eight, and she went to the French Lycee in South Kensington. During term time Maria would have to take the girl to school in the morning and fetch her in the afternoon. She would have to help Mrs Hutchinson in the house - washing up, making the beds, laying the table, dusting the rooms, answering the door, taking telephone messages, shopping and running errands¹⁰. 

She would be guaranteed three evenings a week free and could attend English classes either from eleven till one in the morning or from half past one till four in the afternoon. She would receive 3 a week pocket money. Maria was delighted with the conditions and thought that they were fair. She also liked the look of the family, as Mrs Hutchinson had thoughtfully¹¹ enclosed¹² a photograph with her letter.

 Additional Information

 It was nothing for a girl t.o be sent away to service when she was eleven years old. That meant leaving the family as she had never been parted from for a day in her life before, and going to some place miles away to be treated like a dog. I've got nothing against girls going into good service.

 In my opinion, good service in a properly run big house was a wonderful training for a lot of girls who never would have seen anything different all the days of their lives if they hadn't gone. It was better than working on the land, then, and if it still existed now, I reckon¹³ I'd rather see any of my daughters be a goodhousemaid or a well-trained parlour maid than a dolled-up shop-assistant or a factory worker. 

But folks are too proud to work for other folks, now. even if it's to their own advantage, though as far as I can see you are still working for other folks , whatever you're doing. Big houses didn't want little girls of eleven, even as kitchen maids, so the first few ycars had to be put in somewhere else, before you got even that amount of promotion¹⁴.

 Big houses expected good service, but you got good treatment in return. It . wasn't like that at the sort of place my friends had to go. Mostly they went to the farmers' houses within ten or twenty miles from where they'd been born. These farmers were a jumped Up, proud lot who didn't know how to treat the people who worked for them. They took advantage of the poor people's need to get their girls off their hands to get little slaves for nearly nothing. The conditions were terrible.

1 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

2 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 consent   

n.同意，准许；vi.同意，准许

参考例句：

• I agree with you, but yet I can't consent.我同意你的意见，但是我不能答应。
• My father would not consent to my leaving school.父亲不会答应我辍学。

6 prior   

adj.更重要的，较早的，在先的；adv.居先；n.小修道院院长；大修道院副院长

参考例句：

• The duty to protect my sister is prior to all others.保护我的妹妹是我最重要的责任。
• I took up one-year prior course in German in this college.我在这所大学读了一年的德语预科。

7 departure   

n.离开，起程；背离，违反

参考例句：

• Do you know what lies behind her sudden departure for London?你知道她突然去伦敦的原因吗？
• She took over his work after his departure.他离开以后，她接替了他的工作。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

10 errands   

n.errand的复数；差使( errand的名词复数 )；差事

参考例句：

• He often runs errands for his grandmother. 他经常给他的祖母跑腿儿。
• I have a few errands to do in the town. 我在城里有些差事要办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 thoughtfully   

ad.考虑周到地

参考例句：

• She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. 她若有所思地抚摩着下巴。
• The man pulled thoughtfully at his pipe before commenting on our proposal. 那人若有所思地吸了口烟，然后就我们的建议发表自己的见解。

12 enclosed   

adj.被附上的；（用墙等）围住的；封闭的；与外界隔绝的v.（用墙、篱笆等）把…围起来( enclose的过去式和过去分词 )；把…装入信封；附入；（尤指墙、篱笆等 ）围住

参考例句：

• The yard had been enclosed with iron railings. 院子用铁栅栏围了起来。
• Do not use this substance in an enclosed space. 切勿在不透气的地方使用此物质。

13 reckon   

vt.计算，估计，认为；vi.计（算），判断，依靠

参考例句：

• Don't reckon upon your relatives to help you out of trouble.不要指望你的亲戚会帮助你摆脱困境。
• I reckon that he is rather too old to marry again.我认为他的年龄太大，不太适于再婚。

14 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。