【英语趣味课堂】她的梦想-Her Dreams

Warren: So Lindsay what about your dreams? What did you want to be when you were ten years old?

Lindsay: When I was ten years old I wasn't very realistic but I knew I wanted to be very powerful so I thought the dream job would be Wonder Woman. She can fly anywhere, she has the powers to do good and to help everyone and she's very bad ass¹, so I wanted to be just like her. Unfortunately it didn't come true as I'm not Wonder Woman right now.

 

Warren: No, I can see that but it seems like you had a good imagination as a kid. But I guess that probably changed as you got older? What about when you were fifteen?

 

Lindsay: When I was fifteen I still wanted to be very powerful and very strong but I had a more realistic idea of what I wanted to be, but I still didn't know a lot about the world so I just wanted to be a very powerful businesswoman. I had no idea what kind of business and I had no idea what that actually meant but I wanted to wear an all black suit and have a briefcase² and go to work in a nice office and drive a nice car and do something that was very powerful but I had no idea really what a powerful businesswoman does.

 

Warren: That seems like a pretty good dream for a fifteen year old, but I guess you probably had a better idea when you were twenty. So what about then?

 

Lindsay: When I was twenty then I still wanted to be powerful and strong. I guess you can see the common theme here but then I had an even more realistic idea of actual real professions so at that time I was quite social, I really enjoyed going to parties and I was living in New York at the time so I thought the perfect job for me would be a public relations specialist. I thought I could be one of those people that plans parties or handles the PR, the publicity³ for celebrities⁴. I had a dream of maybe working for Madonna or working for a famous TV show and handling all their publicity representation⁵.

 

Warren: That's great. It seems like you had a better idea by the time you were twenty. I guess you probably have some dreams now even, so what kind of dreams do you have now?

 

Lindsay: Well then when I was twenty, I was quite egotistical. I just wanted, I only thought about myself and how I could have more money and be more powerful but then something changed when I started traveling and seeing the world where I decided⁶ that I'd rather have a job that does something good for the world and gives back to the community and to the people. So now I'm a teacher and I really enjoy that and the idea of making a difference in people's lives and in the future maybe when I get older, I hope to start an animal shelter so that when animals are left on the street or abandoned they can come to my shelter and I can provide a happy home for them.

 

Warren: Wow, that's a great vision⁷ for the future.

 

Lindsay: Thanks.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

realistic

 

When I was ten years old I wasn't very realistic.

 

When we are realistic, that means we make decisions based on facts and not unlikely⁸ hopes and dreams. Notice the following:

 

I'm trying to be realistic about my chances.

As a manager, he needs to be realistic.

the power to do good

 

She has the powers to do good and to help everyone.

 

When we have the power to do good, that means we have the power to cause positive change. Notice the following:

 

Politicians have the power to do good, but rarely do.

I truly believe the power to do good is in all of us.

common theme

 

I guess you can see the common theme here.

 

Here, a common theme means things that are somehow connected. Notice the following:

 

The stories have a common theme.

Yeah, I can see a common theme.

egotistical

 

When I was twenty, I was quite egotistical.

 

Someone who is egotistical thinks they are better and more important than others. Notice the following:

 

He's an egotistical person.

Stop being so egotistical!

make a difference

 

I really enjoy the idea of making a difference in people's lives

 

The idea of making a difference means to help others reach their goals in life. Notice the following:

 

We all have a teacher who's made a difference in our life.

Making a positive difference in someone's life is good feeling.

1 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

2 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

3 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

4 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

5 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

8 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。