【英语趣味课堂】大众巴士-VW Buses

 Todd: Simon, you said your family had a volkswagen van.

 

Simon: That's right. It was awesome¹.

 

Todd: Wow, that's cool. You know, when I was in high school, I had a Volkswagen van.

 

Simon: Yeah, they're pretty cool aren't they.

 

Todd: Ah, man, I loved my Volkswagen Van.

 

Simon: Well, why?

 

Todd: Well, because I played sports and so I played baseball, basketball, football and all of my teammates would get in my van and I would drive us to and from practice, or to games, and so it was very convenient. I was like the little bus driver for the team.

 

Simon: Yeah, well, you said "bus". Is that, did you call it a van or a bus?

 

Todd: Actually, in California we call it the Volkswagen Bus. Yeah, do you call it the bus or the van?

 

Simon: I think that either was OK, or both were OK. Yeah, my family had the camperized van. (Really!) Which had little, which had a refrigerator and a table and a bed, and a pop-up top to fit, to fit another bed, like a loft².

 

Todd: Wow! Yeah, that's pretty cool.

 

Simon: At least, uh, at least four people quite comfortably in a camper van. Pretty cool.

 

Todd: Yeah, actually, mine didn't have the camper. It had a flat area in back of the van, but not a bed, and it did have a small sink, although I never had water hooked⁴ up to my van, so I never used it. I just used it for school, so.

 

Simon: Yeah, my best friend had a van in high school as well. (Yeah!) and he was really popular there because he could fit a lot of people in.

 

Todd: So my van was all white. What color was yours?

 

Simon: Ah, my parents' van was, was also, was also white. My friend's van had, was black and white and had a skull⁵ on the front. Yeah, so it looked like a a pirate⁶ van, or pirate bus, not a pirate ship, but a pirate van. (Cool!) It was pretty cool, at the time. You know.

 

Todd: Yeah. Yeah. I actually, I have many nice memories of my van and I wish I still had one today.

 

Simon: Yeah, me too!

 

Todd: Yeah! Does your family still have it?

 

Simon: No, they don't. Ah, time to move on, I guess. They thought.

 

Todd: Yeah! I think I sold my van because I didn't think it was cool after awhile. I had it for three years and then I wanted a nice sports car, so I got rid of it. Yeah, I kind of regret it but I guess that's just normal.

 

Simon: Of course, everybody likes their old cars, don't they.

 

学习内容：

 

convenient

 

I would drive all of us to and from practice or games, and so it was very convenient. 

Something that is 'convenient' is easy to use or makes life easier. Notice the following:

 

It would be more convenient if i could stop and get you on my way home from work.

Having one control for all of my electronics⁷ is so much more convenient.

camperized van, camper van

 

My family had the camperized van with a refrigerator, table and bed in it. 

More commonly called a 'camper van,' this is a vehicle that you can drive and live out of. It is like a very small house on wheels. It is usually a little bigger than a normal sized van and may have sides that pop out to make more room inside. Notice the following:

 

We usually sleep in a camper van because I never sleep well in a tent.

He traveled around the country in a camper van the summer after he finished high school.

hooked up

 

My van did have a small sink, although I never had water hooked up to it. 

When used like this, 'hook³ up' has the same meaning as 'connect.' Notice the following:

 

The DJ is hooking⁸ up all the speakers now.

We have to get the electricity hooked up in here tomorrow.

time to move on

 

We don't have the van anymore - time to move on, I guess. 

When it is 'time to move on' it is time to emotionally⁹ recuperate¹⁰ from something and continue with your life. Notice the following:

 

College is over. It's time to move on.

Six months after she broke up with her boyfriend she finally decided¹¹ it was time to move on.

sports car

 

I had the van for three years and then I wanted a sports car, so I got rid of it. 

A 'sports car' is a car that is made to drive fast and create excitement for the driver. Notice the following:

 

His first car after he got a job was a red sports car.

He bought a sports car after his kids went away to school.

regret

 

I kind of regret getting rid of the van, but I guess that's just normal. 

When you 'regret' something you feel bad about doing it. Notice the following:

 

I don't think that taking time to travel is something that you will ever regret.

She says now that she regrets getting married so young.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

3 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

4 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

5 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

6 pirate   

n.海盗，每盗船

参考例句：

• The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
• The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。

7 electronics   

n.电子器件，电子学，电子技术

参考例句：

• About 45000 people worked in electronics in Scotland.苏格兰约有4.5万人在电子行业工作。
• He wants to brush up his knowledge of electronics.他想温习他的电子学知识。

8 hooking   

钩住，吊住，挂住( hook的现在分词 )； 弯成钩形； 钓（鱼）； 打曲线球，踢弧线球

参考例句：

• Gel formation requires hooking various chains together. 凝胶的形成需要把不同的链钩链在一起。
• Companies send him all over the world hooking up these complex systems. 公司派他到世界各地去连接这些复杂的系统。

9 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 recuperate   

v.恢复

参考例句：

• Stay in the hospital for a few more days to recuperate.再住院几天，好好地恢复。
• He went to the country to recuperate.他去乡下养病去了。

11 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。