【英语趣味课堂】下雨天的日常安排-Rainy Routine

Valeria: For example in Argentina if it is raining, it's like you change your schedule a little, right?

Diego: Yeah.

 

Valeria: Because of the rain, because it's not like every day raining. But here you have to do everything under the rain.

 

Diego: Yeah, but at the same time it, everything is made and it's built to kind of you know work with the rain.

 

Valeria: Yeah, for instance, the clothes, right?

 

Diego: Yeah, the clothes and all the facilities, you know everything is made for that.

 

Valeria: It's preparing for having a lot of water.

 

Diego: Yeah, exactly. If you have, I don't know, two or three days in a row that it's raining in Chile, we will have serious problems.

 

Valeria: The same happens in Argentina.

 

Diego: Floods and that would be an issue so for me the weather thing is I like rain, just a little bit.

 

Valeria: Yeah, from time to time it's really nice.

 

Diego: Yeah, exactly.

 

Valeria: And enjoyable.

 

Diego: Yeah.

 

Valeria: But every day? Yes, it's true. The thing is that the weather is changing, right?

 

Diego: Yeah.

 

Valeria: And the infrastructure¹ of my country wasn't prepared for this weather.

 

Diego: That's true.

 

Valeria: So if it rains a couple of days in a row, sometimes the city collapses³.

 

Diego: That's true. A lot of cities in Latin America have the same problem. They're poorly constructed and for that specific thing and we have a lot of problems especially with poor people. So when you talk about the weather I think it's not only your personal thing, sometimes you have to consider a couple of other factors as well.

 

Valeria: And the public transport?

 

Diego: Yeah, I think that's another issue because for us public transportation is just a complete mess.

 

Valeria: There are a lot of public transport in Argentina but the thing is that all the infrastructure is not prepared for a lot of rain so when it happens sometimes the subway should stop for a couple of hours and that is very annoying.

 

Diego: Because it changes the whole schedule, right?

 

Valeria: Yes, definitely.

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

the thing is that

 

The thing is that the weather is changing, right?

 

You can use this phrase when you want to give a reason for your opinion. Notice the following:

 

The thing is that I prefer to watch movies in my house.

The thing is that having someone to do things with keeps you active.

infrastructure

 

The infrastructure of my country wasn't prepared for this weather.

 

In this case, 'infrastructure' refers to the facilities and services that exist in a specific country.  This includes water systems, transportation systems, etc. Notice the following:

 

The local government would like to make some major changes in the infrastructure of our area.

It is always difficult to adjust to the infrastructure of a new city.

collapse²

 

If it rains a couple of days in a row, the city collapses.

 

Something 'collapses' when it falls to pieces. This can be physically⁴, in the sense of a building collapsing⁵, or it refer to a system that can no longer function. Notice the following:

 

Our complete plan just collapsed⁶ after the first step.

That barn looks like it's about to collapse.

poorly constructed

 

The cities are poorly constructed.

 

If something is 'poorly constructed,' it is assembled in a way that is not done well or isn't durable⁷. Notice the following:

 

We didn't worry too much that the building was poorly constructed because it was only temporary.

Most of the houses in this area are poorly constructed.

a complete mess

 

Public transportation is just a complete mess.

 

When transportation is a 'complete mess,' it means that it doesn't function the way that it should. Notice the following:

 

Her car is usually a complete mess.

After the storms, the whole city was a complete mess.

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。