【英语趣味课堂】亲爱的老爸-Dear Old Dad

 Todd: OK, Keri, I've heard you talk about your father quite a bit. He sounds like a very interesting man. Can you talk a little bit about him?

 

Kerri: Sure. My dad's name is Robert and he's an interesting guy. He's retired¹ now and lives in Oregon and in his free time he's building an airplane (wow!) Yeah!

 

Todd: So can he fly a plane as well?

 

Kerri: Yeah, he has a private pilot's license².

 

Todd: Wow, that must be pretty difficult. He's actually making a plane from scratch.

 

Kerri: Yeah. Well, he used to be an airplane mechanic, so quite awhile ago. But yeah, he's doing all the riveting³, building all the different parts of the plane and assembling it.

 

Todd: Wow! So when do you think he's going to be finished.

 

Kerri: I don't know. I got an e-mail from him recently that said he's just putting the tail section on soon. But I haven't seen a picture of that yet.

 

Todd: Wow. So are you going to go in this plane with your father as soon as it's finished?

 

Kerri: I hope so. He's having someone else test fly it which made me happy when I found out. Although I trust his work cause he's meticulous⁴ but it made me feel good that someone else is going to try it for the first time, but yeah, after it's finished, when he's ready to take up passengers.

 

Todd: Cool. Sounds fun.

 

Kerri: Yeah. I think so.

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

quite a bit

 

I've heard you talk about your father quite a bit.

 

If we do something 'quite a bit' we do it more than some but less than a lot. Notice the following:

 

You look quite a bit like your father.

He spends quite a bit of money on music.

retired

 

My dad's retired now, and he lives in Oregon.

 

When someone is finished working because they are old or because they have enough money then they are 'retired.' This can be used as both a verb and adjective.  Notice the following:

 

He made a lot of money quickly and retired young.

Are your parents retired?

free time

 

In his free time, he's building a plane.

 

Our 'free time' is the time we have to do something that we like.  It is time when we aren't working, going to school or completing obligations. Notice the following:

 

I don't have a lot of free time this week.

She takes photographs in her free time.

test fly

 

My dad's having someone else test fly his plane.

 

When you 'test' something you try it to see how it works.  Before you buy a new car you 'test drive' it.  Notice the following:

 

I want to test fly the plane before I buy it.

Do you want to test drive my new boat?

meticulous

 

I trust his work, because I know he's meticulous.

 

Someone who is 'meticulous' is very precise and careful. Notice the following:

 

Your daughter is a meticulous student.

He works slowly, but he is very meticulous.

 

 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 riveting   

adj.动听的，令人着迷的，完全吸引某人注意力的；n.铆接（法）

参考例句：

• I find snooker riveting though I don't play myself.虽然我自己不打斯诺克，但是我觉得它挺令人着迷。
• To my amazement,I found it riveting.但令我惊讶的是，我发现它的吸引人处。

4 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。