国外媒体:时尚度假新方式 交换你我住处

时尚度假新方式 交换你我住处

炎炎夏日就要到了，大家都有度假的计划吧？怎样做到既经济又浪漫呢，交换住处似乎是个明智的选择。

互相交换住处对双方都有利，零支出，却收获了满满的幸福。

Susanne and Clyde Billings are on vacation in Los Angeles, visiting their son and his family.
"We're paying zero, nada." 

Nothing for the use of this two-bedroom condo with a gourmet¹ kitchen and a table big enough for the entire family to gather around.

"Everybody for themselves."

That's because the owners Judy and David are staying at the Billings'home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

"We hope they are on the balcony, enjoying a cocktail² or a Pepsi, and just having a grand old time."

Home exchanges are becoming a popular and economical way to travel. "Exchange. What is that? We switch houses, cars, everything. I haven't done it before but friends of mine have." "Where are you?" In the movie The Holiday, Kate Winslet swapped³ her quaint⁴ English cottage for a Hollywood mansion⁵.

"The word is getting out, especially in this economy, that this is the way to vacation like there's no recession."

Here's how it works: You pay a small fee to join a home exchange site, list your home, then search for places you want to visit.

On HomeExchange.com, there are 27,000 listings in 120 countries, homes in Greece and Ireland, Thailand, and the Canary Islands. The Billings are on their seventh home exchange.

"Maybe the first time we were a little bit apprehensive⁶, second time may be a little bit apprehensive, but after that it's… just a regular thing and we don't worry about it any more."

In fact they are already planning their next trip.

Carla Wohl, ABC News, Los Angeles.

1 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

2 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。

3 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

4 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

5 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

6 apprehensive   

adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的

参考例句：

• She was deeply apprehensive about her future.她对未来感到非常担心。
• He was rather apprehensive of failure.他相当害怕失败。