书城外语英语PARTY——纯正口语对话室
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第6章 生活篇(2)

[2] How much did you pay for your watch battery?你手表的电池多少钱换的?一般老外们不会问这种问题。他们觉得这属于个人隐私。这里Marco和他的外国朋友关系不错,所以老外并不介意。

电话礼仪要牢记

A: Robin, I was wondering if there are any right or wrong ways to make a phone call? I have been learning English for a long time and still can,t make a correct phone call!

我想知道打电话时有没有什么方法,我学英语很久了,可还是不能正确的打电话!

D: Well, The most important is to always introduce yourself politely. A common mistake that many Chinese people make is to say: “I am …” when in fact you should say “ This is …”.

重要的是别忘了礼貌地介绍自己。中国人常犯的错误就是他们总说I am……实际上我们说This is……

A: Oh, I will have to remember that!

噢。我得记住这个!

D: Another thing that might interest you is, you should never say “ I want to talk to…” or “ Who am I talking to”, these are both considered rude. A better way is to say “ Could I please speak to…” or “May I ask whose speaking?”

另外还有。记住,不要说“我想同……说话”,或是“谁在说话”,好一点的说法是“我可以同……说话吗?”或“请问您是谁啊?”

A: You,re right. That does sound so much more polite!

对,这样听起来礼貌多了。

D: Another thing to remember is that there are different ways of conducting phone calls depending on who you are talking to, i.e. If you are talking to someone about business or work it is always best to be as formal as possible. When you talk to friends however, you can be very informal…

另外还有要注意你在和谁通话。谈工作时要正式一些。和朋友打电话时要随意一些。

A: What do you mean by informal?

怎么叫随意?

D: I mean, instead of answering the phone “Hello, this is…speaking” You can say things like “What,s up, who,s this?” and “Hey what,s going on?”

我是说接电话时不用说“你好,我是……”。你可以说“哪位?”和“嘿,有什么事?”

A: OK, I see.

这样啊。

D: There are some more “rules” that I can give if you are interested.

如果你感兴趣的话,我还可以告诉你更多的规则。

A: Sure! What?

当然!是什么?

D: It is a good idea to ask someone if they are busy before you start \having\ a long conversation. In my opinion it is a good idea to keep phone calls as brief as possible…

长谈之前要问对方忙不忙。不过我觉得电话还是短一些好。

A: [chuckles] Why make your calls short?

[笑声]我知道了,可为什么要短一些呢?

D: Well for one thing, it keeps your phone bills low (laughs) and another is many people are busy, and don,t have time to chat away for a long time.

首先这样可以省话费。另外人们都很忙,没时间聊很久。

A:I think you are right. Speaking of which, I need to go myself, a movie I want to see is coming on TV…I,ll talk to you later.

我想你说得对,说起忙,我得走了,电视上有我喜欢的片子。再聊吧。

D: OK, talk to you later.

好,再见。

Attention Please (特别提醒)

[1]This is…是我们经常犯的错误,受汉语的影响,我们打电话时总说I am….我是……,我们的办法就是养成习惯。

[2]Could I speak to…我可以和……讲话吗?和May I ask who is speaking?我可以问一下您是哪位吗?这是很礼貌的说法。可千万别说成Who am I talking to?或是I want to talk to…这是很不礼貌的说法。

[3]和朋友聊天的时侯,就没必要搞得那么正式了,通常的说法是What,s up,buddy?或What,s going on?最近怎么样?

百元大钞找个零

A: Hello,Modern English,Drew speaking.

你好,洋话连篇,我是Drew。

B: Hello,Drew,it,s Marco again.I have some questions to ask you.

你好,我是Marco。我有几个问题要问你。

A: Yes,go ahead.

说吧。

B: How do you say that when you have a large bill,but you need some change?

当你想破钱时用英语怎么说?

A: Well,that,s easy,we say “Can you break a large bill?”如: If you have a 100 bill,you just say:“Can you break a 100 bill?”

很简单,你就说“你能打开这张大票吗?”比如说,你有一张一百的大票要破,你就说“您能打开一百的吗?”

B: And what do you call those machines from which you buy cokes and some other snacks?

那么那种卖可乐和零食的机器怎么说呢?

A: You mean a vending machine?

你是说自动售货机吧?

B: What,s a vending machine?

Vending machine是什么?

A: That,s the stuff you just said.

就是刚才你说的东西。

B: My last question could be funny,but I really want to know that.

最后一个问题可能有点滑稽,可我确实很想知道。

A: No problem,just go ahead.

没问题,说吧。

B: How do you say men,s underwear?

男士的内裤用英语怎么说?

A: [chuckles]That,s briefs or boxers.

[笑]那叫briefs或是boxers。

B: What,s the difference?

有什么区别吗?

A: A brief is shorter and tight,while a boxer is like a square,you know the stuff that a boxing man wears.

Brief是指三角裤,boxer是四角裤,就是那种四方型的,你知道拳击运动员穿的那种东西。

B: Oh,I got it. Thank you so much.

哦,我知道了,谢谢你了。

A: You are welcome.Anything else?

不用谢,还有吗?

B:I guess no,Ok,got to go .Byebye,

我想没了,我得走了,再见。

A:Bye.

再见。

Attention Please (特别提醒)

[你可以请外教反复帮你模仿/训练下面的句子/词组的正宗美式发音]

[1]Can you break a bill?你能打开这张钱吗?break在这里可不是打碎的意思。另一种换零钱的方法是Can you make change?还有一个关于break的用法是Give me a break.让我喘口气儿吧。也很常用。当你正专心的想写点什么东西时,别人却不停的打扰你,你就可以说这句话。

[2]vending machine就是我们常说的自动售货机。有些机器只收硬币[coin],有些也收纸币[bill],用英语讲就是Does this machine accept bills?这台机器收纸币吗?

打辆出租学问多

A: Could you tell me something about taking a taxi?

能跟我讲讲打的的事儿吗?

B: No problem.What do you want to know?

没问题。你想知道什么?

A: Everything about taxi.

和出租车有关的一切。

B: Ok.First,you have to hail a taxi.

好吧。首先你得先叫车。

A: What is hail a taxi?

hail a taxi那是什么意思?

B: It means you wave your arm to stop a taxi.

就是你挥舞手臂拦出租。

A: I see.Then?

然后呢?

B: Then you get in the car and the driver will ask you“Where to?”Tell him your destination.

然后你就上车。司机这时会问你去哪。告诉他你的目的地。

A: What if I wanna buy some smokes on the way?

要是我半路上想买烟怎么办?

B: Just tell the driver to pull over.Tell them you wanna buy something and keep the meter running.

告诉司机靠边停车,你想买点东西。打着计价器。

A: Ok.

明白了。

B: If you want the driver to go faster.Just say “Step on it.”

如果你想让司机开快点儿。就说Step on it。

A: What does that mean?

那是什么意思?

B: Step on it means step on the gas.

就是踩油门。

A: Got it.

这样啊!

B: And if you know a shortcut, just tell the driver. Sentences like“Make a left/right turn. Go straight.” are helpful.

如果你知道近路的话就告诉司机。像Make a left/right turn .或Go straight这种句子会有帮助。

A: So what should I say when I get there?

那我到了后该怎么说呢?

B: Just say “Drop me off here” or “Let me out here.”

就说把我放在这儿就好了。

A: Do I have to tip them?

用给他们小费吗?

B: Yes.

用。

A: How much is the tip?

给多少?

B: Usually 10 percent.

通常是车费的百分之十。

Attention Please (特别提醒)

[你可以请外教反复帮你模仿/训练下面句子/词组的正宗美式发音]

[1] taxi在俚语中经常称为cab。To hail a taxi当然也可以叫做to hail a cab。一般都是男士为女士叫车。这时他们会说Let me hail a cab for you。

[2]Keep the meter running. meter大家一定不陌生,它表示度量单位“米”。它还可以表示“仪表”。当然了,要和不同的词搭配使用。如水表是a water meter。在本句话当中,它的意思是计价器。