Tony Talk

 

 

Tony: Hello and welcome to another edition of Tony Talk! This is Tony Provolone and with me today are three very special guests-- three sisters from Ohio: Mary, Clara, Sylvia Johnson. Hi girls!

Girls: Hi!

Tony: It’s good to see yah. Hey, you guys are from Ohio right?

Girls: Yeah.

Tony: Where in Ohio?

Sylvia: Cincinnati.

Tony: Cincinnati, I’ve never been there. What’s it like?

Sylvia: Um, well, we live kind of out in the country and we have a little cabin out there with like 66 acres and there’s a creek¹ there and we usually just walk around through the woods and play at the creek.

Tony: What’s your favorite thing to do while you’re home?

Clara: Four-wheeling.

Tony: Four-wheeling! What’s that?

Clara: It’s like a motorcycle except it has four wheels and it’s much faster. Umm...it’s very fun to ride.

Tony: Can you go through like all kinds of terrain² like through the woods and stuff like that?

Clara: Yes, just about, it depends what type of four wheel you have.

Tony: So you like four-wheeling.

Clara: Umhmm.

Tony: Alright, now how old are you guys?

Clara: I am 12.

Sylvia: And I’m 12.

Mary: And 11.

Tony: 11, 12 and 12. Now you guys live in China, right?

Sylvia, Clara, Mary: Yeah.

Tony: And you go to school here.

Mary: Yes.

Tony: Tell us what is it like to go to school in China? What’s it like?

Sylvia: Well, we go to a local school. We used to go to local school, but now we go to international school. Which one are you asking about?

Tony: Well, tell us the difference. What’s the difference between going to a local school and an international school?

Sylvia: Well, at the local school, we always have to speak in Mandarin³. But at the international school, it’s kind of a free for all. You speak in English during classes and then to our friends we usually speak Mandarin.

Tony: Was it hard to go to local school cause you always had to speak Mandarin all the time?

Clara: Yes mostly.

Tony: Well, how old were you when you first went to local school?

Clara: Um..well..

Mary: We started in first grade.

Clara: Well we started in first grade...

Sylvia: After kindergarten.

Clara: Yes, we got to China and after three days of being there my Dad just threw us into school, so we just, we learned how to cope with being with Chinese people.

Tony: So you just got used to it?

Clara: Yes.

Tony: So after being in local school for a while ,I guess you have a lot of stories. You have a lot of stories I would imagine.

Clara: Yes, a lot.

Tony: Can you tell us a story like when you were going to school?

Clara: Well, my brother would be a good example. Would you mind if I told about him?

Tony: Sure, go ahead. What’s your brother’s name?

Clara: His name is Kirk. Before the, well, the fad⁴ was to bring animals to school, bugs⁶.

Tony: Bugs.

Clara: And they would put ‘em on a string and let them lose all through the, all through the classroom while school was going out.

Tony: What kind of bug⁵? Like a...

Clara: Sometimes wolf spiders which are not poisonous but very very scary.

Tony: Big spiders? Like how big?

Clara: Yes, very big. They sometimes are as big as a man’s hand.

Tony: Uh huh.

Clara: My brother took a grasshopper⁷ to school and let it loose, and it accidentally flew in a girl’s hair and she screamed so loud. The teacher got so mad. My brother had to spend the rest of the day standing⁸ in the corner.

Tony: So he would let animals lose: Did he do this all the time or was this just like ...

Clara: Occasionally.

Mary: After the first time, he probably didn’t do it, you know.

Tony: What’s the worst thing about having another sibling⁹ who goes to the same school?

Mary: Me and Clara used to be in the same class and whenever I had homework and I was trying to deny it, she always said, “Yes, we do have homework.” You know? So I don’t really like that. I like being on my own sometimes.

Tony: Right. Alright, well, we just want to thank you girls for coming here. It was good to talk to you.

Clara: Yeah, you too.

Tony: And we’ll see you next time on Tony Talk and bye bye!

Girls: Bye-bye. Goodbye!CE

 

1 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

2 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

3 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

4 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

5 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

6 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 grasshopper   

n.蚱蜢，蝗虫，蚂蚱

参考例句：

• He thought he had made an end of the little grasshopper.他以为把那个小蚱蜢干掉了。
• The grasshopper could not find anything to eat.蚱蜢找不到任何吃的东西。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。