【英语趣味课堂】闲聊-Small Talk

 Edwin: Hey Buddhi, how ya going?

 

Buddhi: I'm good Edwin, how are you?

 

Edwin: I'm not too bad. Did you do anything last weekend?

 

Buddhi: Yes, I did. I went out with a bunch of friends after a very long time. And, yeah, I had a nice time.

 

Edwin: What did you guys do downtown?

 

Buddhi: First, for lunch we wanted to go out for lunch and then we did some window shopping. None of us had saved up enough for any actual shopping, so it was window shopping, and then we did some karaoke and we went out for some dancing. It was nice. I enjoyed my Saturday.

 

Edwin: Do you love karaoke?

 

Buddhi: I do. I do. I end up losing my voice the next day.

 

Edwin: How as the dancing? Are you a bit of a dance master?

 

Buddhi: I wouldn't say that. Well, I love dancing, so we had a nice time. How about you? How was your weekend?

 

Edwin: My weekend was alright. I just went down to the city and did a bit of shopping.

 

Buddhi: So, did you spend a lot?

 

Edwin: I spent about two hundred dollars.

 

Buddhi: OK.

 

Edwin: Bought some winter clothing, and it's getting a bit cold these days, so yeah.

 

Buddhi: I'm not a very winter person. Do you like winter?

 

Edwin: No, I don't like winter. I'm a very summer person.

 

Buddhi: Oh, really. Well, I don't like when it's too warm. And you like it?

 

Edwin: I prefer to sweat rather than freeze.

 

Buddhi: So do you like sea bathing and like outdoor activities?

 

Edwin: Yeah, I love the sun so, I like a lot of outdoor activities. It's better than being cooped up in a room.

 

Buddhi: In my case, I'm not a very outdoor person. But now summer. Definitely¹ not summer. I'd say my favorite season will be spring.

 

Edwin: Ah, I guess, yeah. Spring is a nice time. Not too hot, not too cold.

 

Buddhi: Yeah, yeah. Especially, I guess because I'm from a tropical² country, and we are used to that kind of weather.

 

Edwin: I see. I guess Australia's summer's not so tropical. It's just a lot of dry.

 

Buddhi: Yeah.

 

Edwin: So, I guess Sri Lanka in Australia is really different?

 

Buddhi: It's quite warm, and throughout the year, it's quite hot, warm and in the hill country, you'll feel that it's like fall. You'll wanna wear, you know, some warm clothes, but it's really nice, you know you feel like having something cold or, being a bit cold, you go to the hill country. If now, you stay in the beach area.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

How ya going?

 

Hey, Buddhi. How ya going?

 

"How ya going" is a common greeting meaning how are you? It is a casual³ expression and is used with friends or informal acquaintances⁴. "Ya" is a shortened⁵ pronunciation of "you".

 

Hi Todd, I haven't seen you for a while. How ya going?

Martha, how ya going? I'd heard you were sick a while back.

window shopping

 

We did some window shopping.

 

"Window shopping" is when you go out and look at things in the shop windows or even inside, but you do not buy them.

 

Today I went window shopping for a new coat, it isn't pay day until next week!

I love window shopping because you can go to the most expensive shops, and it doesn't cost you anything.

dance master

 

Are you a dance master?

 

A "master" of any kind of skill or art is someone who is an expert at that thing.

 

Houdini was a master escape artist.

The most famous master spy is probably the character of James Bond⁶.

lose my voice

 

I end up losing my voice.

 

To lose something means that it is gone and you no longer have it. In this case, it is the ability to speak. We can also lose our physical senses such as sight, hearing and smell.

 

After having her first baby, Sally lost her sense of smell for 3 months.

Janet lost 50% of her hearing after playing bass⁷ in a rock band for 5 years.

cooped up

 

It's better than being cooped up in a room.

 

"Cooped up" is to be kept in a small space or the feeling of being trapped or confined⁸. "Coop" literally⁹ means a cage for keeping in chickens.

 

After being cooped up in the office all day, I like to go for a walk in the fresh air.

We were cooped up in the car for 5 hours getting here.

1 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

2 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

3 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

4 acquaintances   

n.相识的人( acquaintance的名词复数 )；熟人；对…有了解；（与某人）认识

参考例句：

• Claire has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances . 克莱尔交游很广。
• We are the casual acquaintances of a long railway journey. 我们是在火车长途旅行中相识的朋友。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

6 bond   

n.结合，债券，契约，粘合剂，保证人，键，关栈保留；vt.存入关栈，粘着；vi.结合

参考例句：

• This glue makes a good firm bond.这种胶水粘得很结实。
• His word is his bond.他是讲信用的。

7 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

8 confined   

adj. 被限制的,狭窄的,在分娩中的; 动词confine的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The work will not be confined to the Glasgow area. 此项工作不会局限于格拉斯哥地区。
• It is cruel to keep animals in confined spaces. 把动物关在狭小的空间里是残酷的。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。