【英语趣味课堂】一个美好的约会-A Good Date

Doron: What's your idea of a good date? Where would you want to be taken on a date?

Melissa: My idea of a good date is something that consists of doing a lot of different things. Just a full interesting night, so I think there doesn't have to be any certain place but maybe a few places, so I like nature. I think a nice date would be maybe to go out hiking or bicycle riding or something like that and then, after a good day of working out, maybe going out to dinner, or to a comedy club. I like going to see comedians¹.

 

Doron: I guess that's a good way to find out if you fit well with the guy you are dating, cause if you are laughing at the same things you probably have the same sense of humor and you're gonna get on well together.

 

Melissa: Yeah. It could be awkward² too. A lot of American comedy clubs often tell dirty jokes and things like that so it could get awkward. Sometimes the comedians pick on people in the crowd, so they might embarrass me or do something like that, but even just going out to dinner and then going out afterward³ to the oceanside or something like that.

 

Doron: Nice. Very romantic.

 

Melissa: Yeah.

 

Doron: What about a bad date? What would be a bad date for you? What could a guy do to really turn you off?

 

Melissa: I really ... well, he could make some kind of bigot comment or racist⁴ comment, or something like that: prejudice comment, and I would be really turned off but I think his whole attitude towards other people is really important to me, so the way he treats people around me, the waitresses, the waiters, the staff. Sometimes I've been around guys who treat the staff at a restaurant really bad.

 

Doron: I don't like that.

 

Melissa: I don't like that at all, so that could be a turn off.

 

Doron: Have you ever worked in a restaurant or a cafe?

 

Melissa: Yes, I have. I started working part-time when I was fifteen at a sandwich shop, and we made hoagies and other kinds of sandwiches.

 

Doron: You made what?

 

Melissa: Hoagies.

 

Doron: What's a hoagie?

 

Melissa: It's like a sub-sandwich. It's a kind of long sandwich and it's really good. You can choose what kind of slice meat of cheese you want on it ... vegetables.

 

Doron: I'm getting hungry now. OK, so you worked in a sandwich shop.

 

Melissa: Yeah. And I worked in a pizza shop. I worked in lots of different part-time jobs but, I was never a waiter or waitress who would go up to a table. It was always called line serving, so you would be behind a counter taking orders and making food.

 

Doron: But you dealt with customers?

 

Melissa: I did. I did.

 

Doron: I find that people ... I ask because I find that people who dealt with customers in the service industry, they're generally more polite and more tolerant⁵ of waiting staff when they go and eat.

 

Melissa: Definitely. But I think from the perspective of a girl searching for a decent⁶ guy, it's really important how he treats other people, not just me, and not just servers and things like that, but also his mother and his sisters and things like that. I think that's a big indicator⁷ so ...

 

Doron: Respect for other people.

 

Melissa: I like to date a guy who's respectful of other people definitely.

 

 Doron: What's your idea of a good date? Where would you want to be taken on a date?

Melissa: My idea of a good date is something that consists of doing a lot of different things. Just a full interesting night, so I think there doesn't have to be any certain place but maybe a few places, so I like nature. I think a nice date would be maybe to go out hiking or bicycle riding or something like that and then, after a good day of working out, maybe going out to dinner, or to a comedy club. I like going to see comedians.

 

Doron: I guess that's a good way to find out if you fit well with the guy you are dating, cause if you are laughing at the same things you probably have the same sense of humor and you're gonna get on well together.

 

Melissa: Yeah. It could be awkward too. A lot of American comedy clubs often tell dirty jokes and things like that so it could get awkward. Sometimes the comedians pick on people in the crowd, so they might embarrass me or do something like that, but even just going out to dinner and then going out afterward to the oceanside or something like that.

 

Doron: Nice. Very romantic.

 

Melissa: Yeah.

 

Doron: What about a bad date? What would be a bad date for you? What could a guy do to really turn you off?

 

Melissa: I really ... well, he could make some kind of bigot comment or racist comment, or something like that: prejudice comment, and I would be really turned off but I think his whole attitude towards other people is really important to me, so the way he treats people around me, the waitresses, the waiters, the staff. Sometimes I've been around guys who treat the staff at a restaurant really bad.

 

Doron: I don't like that.

 

Melissa: I don't like that at all, so that could be a turn off.

 

Doron: Have you ever worked in a restaurant or a cafe?

 

Melissa: Yes, I have. I started working part-time when I was fifteen at a sandwich shop, and we made hoagies and other kinds of sandwiches.

 

Doron: You made what?

 

Melissa: Hoagies.

 

Doron: What's a hoagie?

 

Melissa: It's like a sub-sandwich. It's a kind of long sandwich and it's really good. You can choose what kind of slice meat of cheese you want on it ... vegetables.

 

Doron: I'm getting hungry now. OK, so you worked in a sandwich shop.

 

Melissa: Yeah. And I worked in a pizza shop. I worked in lots of different part-time jobs but, I was never a waiter or waitress who would go up to a table. It was always called line serving, so you would be behind a counter taking orders and making food.

 

Doron: But you dealt with customers?

 

Melissa: I did. I did.

 

Doron: I find that people ... I ask because I find that people who dealt with customers in the service industry, they're generally more polite and more tolerant of waiting staff when they go and eat.

 

Melissa: Definitely. But I think from the perspective of a girl searching for a decent guy, it's really important how he treats other people, not just me, and not just servers and things like that, but also his mother and his sisters and things like that. I think that's a big indicator so ...

 

Doron: Respect for other people.

 

Melissa: I like to date a guy who's respectful of other people definitely.

 

 重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

sense of humor

 

We have the same sense of humor.

 

Someone with a great sense humor likes to joke and laugh: Note the following:

 

He has a great sense of humor.

He is so boring. He has no sense of humor at all.

turn off

 

What could a guy do to really turn you off?

 

When something or someone turns us off, it means we form a negative impression.  Note the following:

 

Talking with food in your mouth is a big turn off.

She was turned off by his poor choice in clothes.

dealt with

 

People who deal with customers in the service industry are generally more polite.

 

To deal with someone or something means we tolerate a negative situation or contact.  Note the following:

 

Waiters often have to deal with rude people.

I do not want a job where I have to deal with custumers.

tolerant of

 

They're generally more tolerant of waiting staff.

 

A tolerant person does not get angry with behaviour or opinions that are different from his or her own.  Note the following:

 

Our boss is very tolerant of our inexperience.

He is tolerant of people from all different backgrounds.

respectful of

 

I like to date a guy who's respectful of other people.

 

Someone who is respectful is polite to others.  Note the following:

 

He is very respectful of his elders.

The winning team should be respectful of the losers.

1 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

2 awkward   

adj.笨拙的，尴尬的，使用不便的，难处理的

参考例句：

• John is so shy and awkward that everyone notices him.约翰如此害羞狼狈，以至于大家都注意到了他。
• I was the only man among the guests and felt rather awkward.作为客人中的唯一男性，我有些窘迫。

3 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 tolerant   

adj.容忍的，有耐力的

参考例句：

• She's tolerant toward those impudent colleagues.她对那些无礼的同事采取容忍的态度。
• A tolerant person usually has breadth of mind.有宽容精神的人通常胸襟开阔。

6 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

7 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。