【英语趣味课堂】去参加夏令营-Going to Join the Summer Camp

 Warren: So Lindsay, we're both teachers and sometimes our students go off to camp over the summer break. Did you ever go to camp when you were younger?

Lindsay: I did go to camp. The camp I went to was called Pilgrim¹ Pines.

 

Warren: What was that like?

 

Lindsay: It was great. It was one week away from my family and each person got to take care of an animal. Some people took care of horses, some people took care of sheep but I got the lucky task of taking care of Xanadoo the llama.

 

Warren: What was that like?

 

Lindsay: Oh, it was awesome². When I was a kid, my favorite animal was a llama so that's why we looked into this camp to begin with and I had to brush it and I had to feed the llama. And it was such a sweet llama that I really fell in love with it and every day I'd wake up and feed the llama and brush it and then in the afternoon I would also come in and visit the llama, Xanadoo was his name. But a couple of times he got mad, I can't remember why actually he was upset but when llamas are mad do you know what they do?

 

Warren: I don't know.

 

Lindsay: They actually spit.

 

Warren: Oh really.

 

Lindsay: Yeah and you have to be, and then if they spit at you that means they're really upset and they can be dangerous. I was only ten at the time so the llama was a lot bigger than me and one time it spit at me and the spit got stuck in my hair and it was this really thick gross³ mucousy spit and that really struck an image in my mind. I can't ever kind of forget that llama spitting at me. Then after I think, for a day, I was afraid of the llama and then my counselor⁴, my camp counselor, who was in charge of all the children, had a talk with me and told me how sometimes llamas get mad just like people get mad and I need to forgive the llama and I did. Then the next day I went and fed the llama and brushed the llama and everything was back to normal but it was a really good experience to learn how to take care of a pet and a good experience to be away from my family for the first time.

 

Warren: So I guess there were other kids at the camp too? Did you guys all eat together?

 

Lindsay: Yeah, we had a mess hall they called it which is basically⁵ a cafeteria. The food was disgusting. I remember losing a lot of weight when I came home and my mom would send me packages of chocolate and cookies and I would eat it all. But yes we all ate together in this gross cafeteria, slop food, like Sloppy⁶ Joe for lunch or just imagine turkey and gravy⁷ for dinner, but the turkey was kind of a blue color. Everything was just a little bit gross but at one time we had a food fight and that was absolutely amazing. This one kid got upset, the other kids threw some mashed⁸ potatoes and the next thing you know turkey is flying, mashed potato is flying and everyone is getting involved and that was really fun, the food fight.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

go off

 

Sometimes our students go off to camp over the summer break.

 

To go off somewhere means to leave for another location. Notice the following:

 

I go off to school in the fall.

H went off to Germany on business.

spit

 

If they spit at you that means they're really upset

 

When we spit, that means we shoot a quick burst of saliva⁹ out of our mouth. Notice the following:

 

Spitting is not polite in my culture.

In Singapore, it's illegal to spit in public.

strike an image

 

That really struck an image in my mind.

 

An image is a picture of something in our mind. Notice the following:

 

The mention of Brazil struck an image of beaches and samba dancers in my mind.

The accident struck a horrible image I will never forget.

back to normal

 

Then the next day I went and fed the llama and brushed the llama and everything was back to normal.

 

When a unusual or unexpected¹⁰ situation returns to normal, we say it is back to normal. Notice the following:

 

The city was back to normal following the earthquake.

It will take decades for the area to return to normal.

the next thing you know

 

Kids threw some mashed potatoes and the next thing you know turkey is flying, mashed potato is flying

 

We use the phrase 'the next thing you know' to describe something that happens unexpectedly¹¹. Notice the following:

 

Someone threw a rock and the next thing you know, everyone was fighting.

The game was really boring and the next thing you know, they scored two goals in two minutes!

1 pilgrim   

n.香客，朝圣者；v.朝圣，参拜圣地，流浪

参考例句：

• They read stories about the Indians and the pilgrim.他们阅读有关印第安人和那些朝圣者的故事。
• But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you.只有一个人爱你那朝圣者的灵魂。

2 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

3 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 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。

6 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

7 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

8 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

9 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

10 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

11 unexpectedly   

adv.未料到地，意外地；竟；居然；骤然

参考例句：

• The volcano unexpectedly blew up early in the morning. 火山一早突然爆发了。
• I had just put the dinner on when Jim walked in unexpectedly. 我刚把晚饭摆上桌，吉姆突然走进来。