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今天Michael 和李华二人到了纽约一个公园去看烟火，李华学到了两个新词：
packed 和 hype。
L: 我老天，这个公园可真挤，但愿我们能够找到个地方坐下。
M: Yeah, it's really packed today. I've never seen this many people here.
L: 你是怎么说的？你是说人好多吗？
M: Yes, I said the park is packed. That means it is crowded, there are a lot of people
here.
L: 噢，我懂了，你说的 packed，P-A-C-K-E-D 这个字，就是通常你 说打包的
pack 那个字吧？
M: That's right. Here we say "be packed" to show that a place is full of people, just like
a box packed full of stuff.
L: 我想我懂了，那中国人口很多，我是不是可以说China is packed？
M: No, that's not really right: China has a lot of people, but China is also a very big
place. We usually use packed to describe a small place full of people.
L: 嗯，原来如此，好像在中国春节期间，每班火车都挤的满满的，那我就可以说：
在春节前那个星期the trains are packed，对不对？
M: That's right. Around Spring Festival, the buses are packed as well, right?
L: 那当然了，事实上，中国的公共汽车永远都是挤的满满的，很 难找到个座位，
至少在各个大都市都是这样。
M: So, in China what other kinds of places might be packed with people?
L: Well，我记得我去看[泰坦尼克号]那部电影时，电影院是挤的很 满，好像每个
人都要看哪部电影似的。
M: Ewww. I don't really understand why people liked that movie so much. I thought it
was boring.
L: 管它是啥原因，Michael，反正中国各地的电影院总是很挤就 是了。
M: Hey, the show is starting.
L: 哎，Michael，你觉得今天的烟火如何？
M: Well I guess they were ok, but I was hoping they would be better.
L: 你觉得还可以更好一些？可是我觉得已经很好了。
M: But there was so much hype about this show! Every newspaper said it was going to
be the greatest fireworks display in New York history!
L: 你说太多什么？你说这次烟火怎么了？
M: I said there was a lot of hype, H-Y-P-E. Hype means a lot of excitement or praise
about something that you might hear about before you see it.
L: Oh，所以hype 就是指大家总是把一件事说的比实际情况还要好。对不对？
M: Yeah, that's right. For instance, there was a lot of hype about Titanic, but I don't
think it was as good as the hype said it would be.
L: Hmm，你说the hype about Titanic，因此我们就应该说 there is hype about
something，对不对?
M: That's right. For example, I remember hearing a lot of hype about the Forbidden
City in Beijing, but I didn't think it was very interesting.
L: 你说什么？你居然说北京故宫不好，那可是中国保存历史古迹的 一颗 明珠
哎。
M: I didn't say it wasn't important to Chinese history. I just didn't think it was very fun
to visit, at least not as fun as all the hype said it would be.
L: Michael，谁管你怎么想的呢。哎，你说报上对今天的烟火作了很 多宣传，到
底是怎么说的呢？
M: Well, the newspapers said it was going to be larger and more exciting than anything
ever shown in the city before. But really I think that was just hype. This year wasn't
much different from last year.
L: Michael，要是你总是听人宣传的话，你一定会失望的。
M: I guess you are right.
今天Michael 和李华到纽约一个公园去看烟火，Michael 说这个公园是packed，也
就是十分拥挤的意思。另外Michael 也不是太喜欢这次的烟火表演，因为他说报
纸作了过多的渲染，也就是hype 这个词的含义。 |