【英语趣味课堂】爱尔兰经济-The Irish Economy

Todd: Hey, Marion, I was reading in the newspaper the other day that the economy in Ireland is doing really good.

 

Marion: Yeah, it has been doing really well now for quite awhile, for a number of years. We call it the Celtic tiger phenomenon. Yeah.

 

Todd: That's cute. The Celtic tiger in reference¹ to the Asian tiger (yeah) which used to be the growing Asian economies.

 

Marion: Yeah, exactly. So Ireland kind of has that place in Europe at the moment, has had like I say for quite a few years now.

 

Todd: Like what industries are going really well in Ireland. What's making this happen?

 

Marion: Above all, the computer industry. Yeah, I mean, we have lots of computer companies, companies making those computer chips.

 

Todd: Right, right.

 

Marion: I think actually I read somewhere that Ireland is the number one producing country of either those computer chips or some other element of a computer, cause I was very surprised and shocked that my small country could be number one in that arena², so we also have quite a number of people who move to Ireland from other places in Europe so we have a lot of speakers of different languages in Ireland and that has been used to set up call centers so for example, if you buy a mobile³ phone in Italy and something goes wrong with your mobile phone, you ring up a help desk, and say, "Oh, sorry, my phone is broken, you know, can you help me?" and the person who responds to you will probably be sitting in a call center in Ireland.

 

Todd: That's pretty cool.

 

Marion: Yeah, there's so many of them in Ireland. Actually, I've worked for three of them at different stages of my life, so we have ones for computer companies, for mobile phone companies, and what else, for some insurance companies actually, and banks. Yeah.

 

Todd: That's pretty cool. Actually, I read that one of the reasons for the turn around is the good university system, or the education system in Ireland is quite top notch⁴.

 

Marion: Yeah, well, I mean, education has been very important all the way along in Ireland because of the fact that Irish people weren't allowed to have an education under british rule. Then once we got independence, you know, all along people were fighting to have education for their children and children used to be taught in hedge⁵ schools so the teachers were inside of a field basically⁶, teaching⁷ kids and then if the policeman came of something, everybody would scatter⁸, and you know, they didn't have anything, any like resources or anything, so in the minds of Irish people I think education has a a special place, and it is true that the university system is very well thought of and very well recognized throughout the rest of Europe I think.

 

Todd: Ah, well, sounds good. Thanks Marion.

1 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

4 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

5 hedge   

n.树篱；障碍物；vt.用篱笆围；vi.避免直接回答

参考例句：

• The gardener trimmed the hedge.那位园林工人修剪了树篱。
• He squeezed through a gap in the hedge.他从树篱的缺口处挤过去。

6 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。