美语咖啡屋 Lesson 23: DC Politics & Culture

Y: 各位听众好！ 我是杨晨！ 欢迎您到美语咖啡屋。

J: Hello, I'm Jody. Welcome to American Cafe! Yang Chen, that is a great outfit¹! You certainly have an eye for fashion. Hey, speaking of fashion have you ever thought about how fashion is connected to politics and society.

Y: 时装和政治的关系？我从来没想过。

J: I never thought about it until I spoke² to a woman named Tina. She's lived in Washington, D.C. for many years and she studied fashion.

Y: Tina在华盛顿住了多少年？

J: Let's hear Tina as she answers the question, "How long have you lived in Washington, D.C.?"

Tina: Seven administrations.

Y: Interesting! 她没有说她在华盛顿住了多少年，而是说Seven administrations就是七届政府的意思。哇，她可真是个见过世面的人啊。

J: Oh, I bet she has. And with her background in fashion, Tina has a really interesting view of D.C. that involves the connection between politics, society and fashion.

Y: 说起fashion来，这当然是我最喜欢谈论的题目之一。不过政治和时装真的有那么大关系吗？

J: Oh, let's hear from Tina as she compares the Democrats³ and the Clinton administration who she feels are more hip⁴, more liberal, with the more conservative Republican Party.

Y: Jody, 你刚才说的hip， 你能给听众解释一下这个好吗？

J: Oh, sure. Hip is spelled H-I-P. If a person if "hip" they are in sync or in step with fashion.

Y: 就是很时髦的意思。

J: 对了！Exactly! Here's Tina.

实录1 Tina: I'd say, since the Clinton administration it has become much more hip because the Clinton's brought in a much younger, hipper⁵, much more liberal crowd which is much open and less conservative clothing.

Y: 如果我没理解错的话， 她的意思是说，不同政党的政府能够影响人们的行为举止和穿着打扮， 是吗？

J: You got it. The pulse P-U-L-S-E of the city changes overnight.

Y: Pulse在这里是节奏的意思。

J: Talking about the former President Clinton, another difference is that he often had free concerts on the Mall where he brought in bands from all over the world.

Y: 没错，在克林顿执政的时候，在白宫附近的大草坪上经常有免费音乐会，而且那些乐队来自世界各地。

J: Again, here's Tina.

实录2 Tina: You can feel the pulse It just changes overnight. Down to the inauguration⁶ Bill Clinton brought in bands from all over the world like Los Lobos and Santana. And these were free concerts on The Mall. Whereas, during the Reagan Administration they banned the Beach Boys. I mean, it's this complete flip⁷ flop⁸ in culture.

Y: 你得解释一下Flip Flop这个说法。

J: Flip flop is spelled F-L-I-P, F-L-O-P. And flip flop means to change from one thing quickly to the exact opposite.

Y: Flip flop就是突然转变或截然不同的意思。

J: There's also a flip flop in what restaurants are popular. Tina explains that Democrats usually prefer fun and trendy restaurants which is a flip flop from the more expensive, what she calls the "expense account" restaurants that Republicans prefer.

实录3 Tina: The restaurants that people go to are more fun. They are less like the expense account restaurants. That's more of a Republican thing to do. Whereas the Democrats tend to bring in people who are working on human rights and the environment. You're not going to take them to a steak house if you're working with PETA. So, there's a direct reflection on not only the clothes but on restaurants and business.

Y: Tina 这个人好玩儿 。不过你得先解释一下PETA是什么意思，要不别人以为你不带他们去吃牛排是因为你小气呢。

J: I'm not cheap. I just don't eat meat very often. But PETA stands for People for the Ethical⁹ Treatment of Animals.

Y: 噢，是个动物保护组织。

J: Exactly. So, I don't think they eat a lot of steak. I'm sure of that. But you know Bush is from Texas and Texas produces a huge amount of beef.

Y: 对，这下我知道今年大选我要投谁的票了，我最不喜欢吃牛肉，所以...

J: Hey, what a minute! You're not supposed to say that on the air! You know better than that.

Y: 那好吧，那我等会儿悄悄告诉你好了。各位听众，我们下次节目再见。

J: Thanks for joining us on American Cafe!

1 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 hipper   

hip（（衣服、音乐等方面）时髦的，赶时髦的）的比较级形式

参考例句：

• So were the two pocket battleships and the big cruisers Admiral Hipper, Seydlitz and Derfflinger. 和这两艘袖珍战列舰一样的还有重巡洋舰希佩海军上将号，赛德利兹号以及德尔福林格号。 来自互联网

6 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

7 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

8 flop   

n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下

参考例句：

• The fish gave a flop and landed back in the water.鱼扑通一声又跳回水里。
• The marketing campaign was a flop.The product didn't sell.市场宣传彻底失败，产品卖不出去。

9 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。