【英语趣味课堂】四季-Seasons

 Todd: So, Marion, what you do you think of the winter we are having?

 

Marion: The winter at the moment, it's very cold, isn't it, but most of the time it's quite sunny as well. It's dry at least, so I quite like winter days that are sunny like today. I was outside and even though at first it seems quite cold, afterwards¹, with the sun we kind of warmed up very quickly.

 

Todd: Yeah, it was nice today, but winter is not my favorite season. No, I want winter to be over very quickly. But soon spring will be here and spring is good. I like spring, and then summer. I love summer. Summer is my favorite season.

 

Marion: Really? Even when it's really, really hot?

 

Todd: Oh, I love it! Last year, it was really, really hot and everybody, every day would complain, and say it was so hot, but I loved it. The hotter the better. I think it's very relaxing and it calms me down actually. I feel calm and very relaxed in very hot weather.

 

Marion: I quite like hot weather as well, but last summer, the summer you are talking about, I had to go on a very crowded train every morning, so when you have a crowded train, and it's very, very hot, it ends up being² quite disgusting³, piled⁴ in against all these sweaty people, so I didn't like last summer for that reason.

 

Todd: Well, what's your favorite season?

 

Marion: Ah, autumn is my favorite season, cause I think, because every autumn I start at school. It always feels like a new beginning, time of year, for me, more so than January. I feel like September is a good time to change things and a good time to start new things, and also the trees are beautiful and the weather is quite mild⁵ and nice. How about you? What's your favorite season?

 

Todd: Well, it's probably a tie between summer and fall, for what you just said, I agree. The fall has great weather, the trees are beautiful, it's a good time to be outside. It rarely⁶ rains, and I hate the rain and plus, my birthday is in October, and Halloween which is a fun holiday.

 

Marion: Right, that's good.

 

学习内容：

 

quite or most of the time

 

The winter at the moment is very cold, but most of the time, it's quite sunny as well. 

If something happens 'most of the time' it means⁷ that it happens frequently⁸. We use the adverb 'quite' to show a degree of something. 'Quite sunny' is more than 'a little sunny,' but less than 'really sunny.' Notice the following:

 

He gets quite frustrated⁹ when people are late.

Most of the time the traffic is really bad at this time of day.

even though

 

Even though at first it seems quite cold, afterwards, with the sun we kind of warmed up very quickly. 

'Even though' has a similar meaning to 'although.' It is often used¹⁰ to contrast¹¹ two opposing¹² or opposite ideas. Notice the following:

 

Even though he seems a little boring when you first meet him, you will discover that he is actually very funny.

Even thought they were still really expensive, these shoes were a good deal.

favorite

 

Winter is not my favorite season; summer is my favorite season.

Your 'favorite' of something is what you like the best. Notice the following:

 

Blue is her favorite color.

This is my favorite Chinese restaurant.

calms me down

 

The heat is very relaxing and it calms me down. 

If something 'calms you down' it makes you feel more relaxed. Notice the following:

 

When she is like this it is very difficult to calm her down.

Having a beer at the end of a stressful¹³ day calms me down.

disgusting

 

When you have a crowded train and it's very hot, it ends up being quite disgusting. 

Something that is disgusting is not good or comfortable. Disgusting things can make your stomach feel sick. Notice the following:

 

After it rains really hard here there is usually garbage in the streets. It's disgusting.

This is the most disgusting pizza I have ever had in my life.

 

1 afterwards   

adv.然后，后来地

参考例句：

• Afterwards he went abroad.之后他到国外去了。
• We saw the film and afterwards walked home together. 我们看了电影后一起走回了家。

2 being   

n.存在；生存；生命存在，生命，人， 本质；art.在，有，是

参考例句：

• Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗？
• What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么？

3 disgusting   

adj.令人作呕的，可憎恶的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• What a disgusting smell!多么讨厌的气味！
• The mosquito is the disgusting thing.蚊子是讨厌的东西。

4 piled   

有细毛的

参考例句：

• She piled the papers in a heap on her desk, just anyhow. 她把文件在桌上随便搁成一堆。
• The books had been piled on the shelves in a haphazard fashion. 书架上的书堆放得杂乱无序。

5 mild   

adj.温暖的，暖和的，（天气，尤指冬天）；性情温和的

参考例句：

• That coat is too heavy for such a mild day.这样暖和的天气，穿那件大衣太厚了。
• He is mild of manner.他举止温和。

6 rarely   

adv.很少，难得；非常地，非凡地

参考例句：

• Such fish is rarely met with in the north country.这种鱼在北方难得看到。
• He rarely comes here anymore.现在他难得来这儿了。

7 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

8 frequently   

adv.常常，屡次，经常地，频繁地

参考例句：

• Please write to me frequently.请经常给我来信。
• I like that you should call on me frequently.我喜欢你经常来拜访我。

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

11 contrast   

vt.使与…对比，使与…对照；vi. 与…形成对照；n.对比，对照，差异

参考例句：

• In contrast with her sister,she is very tall.与姐姐相比，她个子很高。
• Black hair is a sharp contrast to the white skin.黑发白肤形成鲜明的对照。

12 opposing   

adj.反作用的；反向的；相反的；对立的v.反对

参考例句：

• The two opposing armies faced each other across the battlefield. 敌对两军在战场上严阵对峙。
• She earned a black mark for opposing company policy. 她因反对公司政策而得到考绩不良评语。

13 stressful   

adj.紧张的，压力重的

参考例句：

• My job isn't stressful,and I enjoy the work.我的工作没有压力，我很喜欢这份工作。
• It usually just makes situations more stressful.它通常会使情况更加紧迫。