礼节美语 Business Etiquette 207讲 American Football (1)

 　　Chris早上在咖啡间跟同事Ben打招呼。

　　Chris: Hey, Ben...did you catch the game last night?

　　Ben: Uh...what game?

　　C: Baltimore defeated¹ Texas by 17 points!

　　B: Um...and what sport are we talking about here?

　　C: Football of course!

　　B: Oh...football. Football is cool. I usually try to catch the World Cup finals.

　　Chris问Ben, Did you catch the game last night? 意思是昨天晚上有没有看比赛，英语里看比赛，看表演在口语里都可以用动词catch, 比如，Let's go catch a movie. 咱们看电影去。Chris说的是美式足球比赛，football，巴尔的摩乌鸦队赢了德克萨斯人队17分。Ben说，足球好看, 每次World Cup finals世界杯决赛我都看，他显然是把soccer和美式足球football混了。Chris说，

　　C: No, I'm talking about American football. The World Cup is soccer.

　　B: Oh, I understand. I can't say I'm a big fan². I'm from China, and football doesn't have a really big following over there.

　　C: So Chinese people prefer soccer or basketball?

　　B: Yes, I think so. But to be perfectly³ honest, I'm not really a sports nut.

　　When I was in high school I played on the school volleyball team. Are you a diehard football fan?

　　Ben说自己不是特别爱看美式足球，I can't say I'm a big fan. 在中国，美式足球没有多少球迷。Football doesn't have a really big following. Following 在这里是名词，指粉丝，追随者，仰慕者。Ben还说，To be perfectly honest 意思是老实说，I'm not a sports nut. 这里的nut, n-u-t, nut是俚语，意思是对某事非常热衷爱好的人，比如history nut, movie nut 还有Ben所说的sports nut。Ben问Chris是不是铁杆美式足球球迷，a diehard football fan. diehard is spelled d-i-e-h-a-r-d, diehard 意思是死忠。Chris回答说，

　　C: Oh, certainly. I wouldn't miss a game for the world. My girlfriend says I have an addiction⁴. And actually, if I had to choose between her and my games...I'd probably pick football.

　　B: It seems Americans are very passionate⁵ about sports. Is this just a part of your culture?

　　C: Oh, yeah! I think the love of sports starts when kids are very young. Americans come from many different backgrounds⁶ so I guess sports are something we can all enjoy together.

　　Chris 承认自己是铁杆球迷，I wouldn't miss a game for the world. 不会因为任何原因错过比赛。not miss something for the world是一种很常见的说法，强调无论如何都不会错过，比如，I wouldn't miss your concert for the world. 我绝不会错过你的音乐会。Chris说，美国人热爱体育，是从小培养的，大家来自不同背景，但是运动却能让彼此走到一起。

1 defeated   

v.击败( defeat的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；挫败；使困惑

参考例句：

• He defeated the champion in three sets. 他三盘击败了冠军。
• After three hours of impassioned debate the motion was defeated. 经过三小时激烈的辩论，这项动议被否决了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fan   

n.风扇，迷，狂热者；v.煽，煽动，刺激

参考例句：

• Are you a football fan?你是足球迷吗？
• Jack is a baseball fan.杰克是个棒球迷。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

5 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

6 backgrounds   

n.（画等的）背景( background的名词复数 )；背景情况；底色；个人背景资料

参考例句：

• feelings of hostility towards people from other backgrounds 对其他不同背景的人的敌视情绪
• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds. 多数少年犯都有贫困且未受教育的背景。 来自《简明英汉词典》