【英语趣味课堂】相亲-Blind Date

Doron: I'm a bit schizophrenic when it comes to dates actually cause ... I'll either do something really boring and cheesy like pizza and a movie.

Melissa: That's not boring.

 

Doron: Really?

 

Melissa: Yeah.

 

Doron: Well, it's traditional then. I'll say traditional.

 

Melissa: It could be fun but if you're already at the point where the girl's like in your house ordering pizza and a movie that's ...

 

Doron: Well, I was talking about eating out and going to the cinema. You already got the guy back to your house. Very forward.

 

Melissa: Well, pizza and a movie sounds like pizza delivery¹ and video rentals², so I see what you mean. I could always go out for a pizza.

 

Doron: I like doing that but then on the other hand, I also like to do something totally strange and different, like when I was living in Berlin in Germany a couple of years ago, I met a girl I liked and I invited her out for a date, and she surprised me by saying yes, so I had to find something to do and I was bored of movies and pizza so we went to a restaurant near my apartment, but the restaurant was really, really cool because it was totally, totally black. There were no lights.

 

Melissa: Wow!

 

Doron: You just go in there and order from a menu in the foyer and then you get taken to a table by a blind waiter and you can't see anything.

 

Melissa: No way!

 

Doron: I think they're quite famous. There's two or three around the world. One in New York I think, and also in London and it was the craziest experience because you just have to talk, and I think that's really cool because you don't look at the person. You don't care if they're cute or whatever. You just really get to know them.

 

Melissa: That's cool. Were there lot's of people there?

 

Doron: It was packed. You had to make a reservation³. It was really, really packed.

 

Melissa: How could you find your way to the restroom?

 

Doron: You had to ask. You had to ring a little bell and then a blind waiter would come and take you.

 

Melissa: What do you mean a blind waiter?

 

Doron: All of the waiters and the waitresses, and the waiting staff, they were all blind or partially⁴ sighted.

 

Melissa: Oh, really.

 

Doron: Not the chefs⁵. I think the chefs could see.

 

Melissa: Oh, OK.

 

Doron: But the staff there, they were partially sighted.

 

Melissa: Oh, that's interesting.

 

Doron: So they learned⁶ the room really well because they could see and they were your guides. It was a really interesting date, just ...

 

Melissa: It's interesting just from the view point of experiencing what it would be like to be blind because I think people don't get to experience that enough.

 

Doron: Exactly, and to know that maybe when you see someone blind in the street, you think, ah, poor guy, poor girl, but then all of a sudden⁷, they're the ones that know their way around and you rely⁸ on them.

 

Melissa: Yeah, that's really cool.

 

 重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

schizophrenic

 

I'm a bit schizophrenic when it comes to dates.

 

When a specific⁹ situation causes us to act different than usual we say we are schizophrenic. It's an idiomatic¹⁰ expression.  Note the following:

 

I am schizophrenic about my appearance¹¹.

He became schizophrenic from watching too much news.

No way!

 

Melissa: No way!

 

When we are very surprised by something we say 'no way'!  Note the following:

 

You got a new car. No way!

You finished already. No way.

partially

 

They were all blind or partially-sighted.

 

Here, the word 'partially' means¹² a little.  Note the following:

 

I think you are only partially right.

I partially agree with you.

view point

 

It's interesting from their view point.

 

A view point is an opinion.  Note the following:

 

The public view point is often different than the authorities¹³'.

I don't agree with that view point.

rely on

 

You rely on them.

 

A person we can rely on is someone we  trust to help us if we need it.  Note the following:

 

We rely on our grandmother for a lot of help.

A good friend is someone you can rely on in a time of need.

1 delivery   

n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• He was employed at the local grocery store as a delivery boy.他受雇于当地杂货店当送货员。

2 rentals   

n.租费，租金额( rental的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some large hotels, the income derived from this source actually exceeds income from room rentals. 有些大旅馆中，这方面的盈利实际上要超过出租客房的盈利。 来自辞典例句
• Clerk: Well, Canadian Gifts is on the lower level. It's across from Prime Time Video Rentals. 噢，礼品店在楼下，在黄金时刻录像出租屋的对面。 来自口语例句

3 reservation   

n.保留条件，限制条件；预订座位

参考例句：

• The instruction should be carried out without any reservation.应当不折不扣地执行这个指示。
• I accept your statement without reservation.我完全相信你的话。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 chefs   

n.厨师长( chef的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• one of the country's premier chefs 国家名厨之一
• He is one of the top chefs in Britain. 他是英国最好的厨师之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 sudden   

n.突然，忽然；adj.突然的，意外的，快速的

参考例句：

• All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
• The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。

8 rely   

vi.依赖，依靠；信赖，信任

参考例句：

• I rely upon you to finish the work on time.我相信你会准时完成这项工作的。
• You should rely on your own efforts.你应该靠自己的努力。

9 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

10 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

11 appearance   

n.出现，露面；容貌

参考例句：

• In appearance, he was a little like his father.他看起来有点像他的父亲。
• She was a young woman of good appearance.她是一位年轻貌美的女子。

12 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。

13 authorities   

n.当局，权力，权威；权威( authority的名词复数 )；权力；学术权威；[复数]当权者

参考例句：

• They interceded with the authorities on behalf of the detainees. 他们为被拘留者向当局求情。
• At his instigation we conceal the fact from the authorities. 我们受他的怂恿向当局隐瞒了事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》