VOA美语咖啡屋 Lesson 40:Kramer’s Cafe

 

VOA美语咖啡屋 Lesson 40:Kramer’s Cafe

Y: 各位听众好, 我是杨晨，欢迎您到美语咖啡屋。

J: Hello everyone, my name is Jody ! And welcome to American Cafe! American Cafe is a place where you can improve your spoken English by meeting people who actually live and work in the United States. You're going to learn a lot more than English. I promise.

Y: 没错, 我们这个节目非常丰富多采。您在这里不但可以学到地道的美国英语，还可以认识很多的美国人。

J: For today, Yang Chen and I spent our Sunday visiting a famous Washington D.C. hangout that's been a success here since 1976. It's called Kramer's Books & Afterwards Cafe.

Y: 对，在今天的节目中，我们要带您到一个非常有意思的地方。这里是华盛顿当地的居民非常喜欢的一个hangout, 等一下我们要解释这个词。

J: It's a combination¹ of a cafe, a bookstore, a restaurant and a bar.

Y: 这个地方是1976年开业的。它不仅是一个书店，还是一个咖啡馆和餐厅。

J: Great! Let's introduce Mark who has been working at Kramer's for 20 years.

实录1: Mark: It was ... in 1976 when they opened it, it was a unique idea combining a restaurant, bar with a bookstore.

Y: 我想在这里我们用hangout来形容Kramer's是再合适不过了。我们俩在这里真的是渡过了一个很愉快的下午，又买书，又吃，非常非常的放松。这也就是人们到咖啡馆的目的吧。

J: Exactly. And that's exactly what a customer named Peter explained why people come to Kramer's and why it's such a popular destination.

实录2: Peter: It's a great meeting place. It's a very diverse² bookstore. And it's just a good place to come. Um, this bookstore has been here a long time, I don't know what long is, maybe 20 years or so. It's always been successful. It's always been lively. It's in a very lively part of town, probably the most cosmopolitan³ part of Washington.

Y: 这个Peter有点儿英国口音。不过他已经在Washington住了三十多年, 我们可以说他是地道的Washington 人。

J: I think 30 years makes you a resident⁴ of the District.

Y: 对， 如果Jody你要是到北京住三十年，我也可以说你是地地道道的北京人。

J: 好，谢谢您。

Y: 我们没有问Peter是做什么的，不过我觉得听他说话好象是一位教授。你看他用的这些词都很好。他用了一个“Cosmopolitan."

J: I really like that word. "Cosmopolitan." You're hip⁵. You're with it. Modern. Urban.

Y: "Cosmopolitan" 这个词有世界性的，见过世面的这些意思。 我们可以说在中国，北京了，上海了，这些城市都非常cosmopolitan.

J: I think D.C., Washington D.C. the nation's capitol, is a very cosmopolitan city. You know, Mark mentioned a good word that I would like to go back to for a minute.

实录3: Mark: Location, Location, location. Dupont Circle is a pedestrian⁶ neighborhood. There are people walking on the streets from early in morning 'til the middle of the night. And we're the kind of place where you stop in and browse⁷ for books, stop in and have a cocktail⁸. It's just an easy, fun place to go.

Y: 我觉得Mark很有生意头脑。他说Kramer's为什么这么成功，首先是它的地区。这一带叫Dupont Circle，是华盛顿非常繁华的一个地区，有很多年轻人住在这里。

J: It's not only the young people who make it successful. It's that diversity of the clientele. Where all different types of people come in ... professors or diplomats⁹, famous authors. Everybody stops in Kramer's. It's kind of a joke. When someone says what are three things important for the success of a business. The answer is "Location, location, location."

Y: 一定要说三次。

J: So I thought we would include that. It's kind of a funny expression in English.

Y: 对，如果你选对了地方的话，即使你不会经营，它可能也会财源滚滚。

J: Right, right. So both Mark, who is the employee and Peter, who is the frequent customer of the bookstore, - both of them talked about the importance of having a diverse and cosmopolitan clientele for success.

Y: Peter是位顾客，那我们就从一个顾客的角度来听听为什么Kramer's这么受欢迎。

实录4: Peter: Where you locate a bookstore is really absolutely critical. There is a cosmopolitan crowd around this area. If you stuck this in the middle of the country it would be a total failure.

Y: Jody, 时间过得好快，五分钟马上就要到了。

J: I know. It went so fast.

Y: 我知道。用五分钟来谈论咖啡文化到底对美国人意味着什么显然是不够的。

J: Really five minutes is not enough time. So, I think everyone should join us again for another program of American Cafe.

Y: 那么希望下次节目和您再见。

J: Come on Yang Chen, let's go hang out over a cup of coffee!

1 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

2 diverse   

adj.不同的；相异的；多种多样的；形形色色的

参考例句：

• Spain is a composite of diverse traditions and people.西班牙是一个汇集了多种传统和民族的国家。
• Society is now much more diverse than ever before.当今社会较之以往任何时候都要丰富多彩得多。

3 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

4 resident   

a.居住的，居留的；住校的，住院的

参考例句：

• I've been resident in this place for five years. 我已经在这个地方住了五年。
• They engaged a resident tutor. 他们聘用了一名住家的家庭教师。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 pedestrian   

n.行人，步行者；adj.徒步的，呆板的，通俗的

参考例句：

• The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
• The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。

7 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

8 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》