2014年ESL之日常生活 07 Breaking Bad Habits

 

Breaking Bad Habits 

Counselor¹: Welcome everybody. You’ve all joined this support group because you have some bad habits that you’d like to break. Would anyone like to introduce themselves and tell us about their bad habit? 

Stu: Uh yeah, I’m Stu and my wife signed me up for this support group because she says I have some really bad habits. One of my worst is my nail biting. You can see that they’re pretty ragged². 

Counselor: Thank you, Stu. Is there anyone else...? 

Stu: Oh yeah, I also smack³ my gum. That drives my wife crazy, so I try not to do it in her presence. 

Counselor: Well, thanks for sharing, Stu. If we could move on to... 

Stu: I also tend to tap my fingers and crack my joints⁴, which my wife says is really annoying, though her hair twirling is pretty annoying to me. 

Counselor: Stu? Let’s let a few other people... 

Stu: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention what my wife says is my most annoying bad habit. 

Counselor: What is that? 

Stu: I tend to interrupt people in conversation. 

Counselor: Really? I hadn’t noticed. 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

2 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

3 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

4 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。