【英语趣味课堂】对意大利的看法-Thoughts about Italy

Todd: So Yuri, you’re Italian. What do you think about all the mafia movies? What do real Italian people, people from Italy, think about all the mafia movies that are in American movies?

Yuri: Well we usually watch them and enjoy them very much. They are well done.

 

Todd: Ok, so you’re not offended²? You don’t think that it has a negative image of Italy as just being like crime and gangsters³ and things like that?

 

Yuri: No. It think that there were so many good people that went to the States from Italy. Some “bad apples” also arrived there that make a very good business -- we are not proud of it, but the movies themselves they are fantastic. The Godfather is amazing. Later in Italy we also saw The Sopranos and I could not stop watching it. It was great.

 

Todd: Me too. Me too. So have you actually been to America?

 

Yuri: Yes, I’ve been. I was lucky enough to go to California and to Nevada shortly.

 

Todd: Uh huh. So what was it like being an Italian in America?

 

Yuri: It was funny because when I was at parties or talking to people -- in the beginning I’d just say hello or something, just say I was from Italy. If I didn’t say much they couldn’t realize I was a real Italian and they asked me, “Where are you from?” And I’d say, “From Italy.” And they’d say, “From what part? Jersey⁴?” or something like that. And I’d say, “well, Italy, the country! “

 

Todd: Right.

 

Yuri: And then often they’d ask me what generation of Italian I was. And I’d say, “well, forever, we don’t have generations. You’re Italian and end of story. That’s it.”

 

Todd: Yeah, Italian, Italian. Oh, that’s great. So what do you think about the Italian-American culture in the US. Does it seem very Italian to you or does it seem more American?

 

Yuri: That’s a very interesting question because I met a lot of American-Italians in Europe and they came to me and said, “I’m Italian too!” And I started to talk Italian to them. They couldn’t say a word. And I said, “Hmm. That’s odd¹.” And then they would always carry on praising Italy in Italy for which I was very proud. But then sometimes they would do sometimes some stupid things and they’d say, “I do this because I’m Italian.” And I’d think, “No, you do this because you are yourself!”

 

Todd: Like, can you give an example?

 

Yuri: Oh the way, some like, some of them they were crazy about women. They were going after skirts we say. And they look at me like, “Oh, I’m Italian.” And I’d say, “Not everybody does it.” So it’s a kind of urban legend or something like that.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

offended

 

So, you’re not offended?

 

To make someone feel bad, angry, or upset. Another way to say offended is insulted⁵. Notice the following examples:

 

He was offended by the racist⁶ language they were using.

You have to be careful what you say around her, she gets offended easily. 

bad apples

Some “bad apples” also arrived there that make a very good business.

 

A “bad apple” is a person who is not honest and does bad things. Here are some examples:

 

He was sweet when he was a kid, but he really turned into a bad apple.

Except for a couple of bad apples, there are great kids at this school. 

funny

 

It was funny because when I was at parties they didn’t realize I was a real Italian.

 

Funny is sometimes confused with fun. Funny is “haha”. Fun is when something is enjoyable. For example, comedians⁷ are funny, but playing basketball is fun. Notice the following examples:

 

If you meet my brother you’ll be laughing the whole time. He is really funny.

If you have never been skiing, you should try it. It is so much fun!

That’s odd

 

And I said, “Hmm, that’s odd.”

 

When something is odd, it means that something is not normal. Another way to say odd is “strange” or “unusual”. Study the following examples:

 

It is odd how cold it has been this summer.

How odd that Steven hasn’t come yet. He is usually the first one here.

urban legend

 

So it’s a kind of urban legend or something like that.

 

An urban legend is a mysterious story that many people know and believe, but it is usually not a true story. Here are some examples:

 

The story of the Loch Ness Monster in a lake in Scotland⁸ is an urban legend.

It is interesting how quickly urban legends can spread, even when they aren’t true.

1 odd   

adj.奇特的；临时的；奇数的；n.[pl.]机会

参考例句：

• She looks a bit odd.I wonder what has happened to her.她的神色有些异样，不知出了什么事。
• He's an odd character and no mistake!他的确是个怪人！

2 offended   

v.触怒( offend的过去式和过去分词 )；得罪；冒犯；使反感令人不适

参考例句：

• They'll be offended if you don't go to their wedding. 你若不参加他们的婚礼，他们会生气的。
• She was offended by the vulgarity of their jokes. 他们那些粗俗的笑话使她大为不快。

3 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

4 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

5 insulted   

侮辱，冒犯( insult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I have never been so insulted in my life! 我一生中从未被如此侮辱过！
• These boys insulted a girl by spitting at her. 这几个男孩向一个女孩吐口水侮辱她。

6 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。

7 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

8 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。