生活英语对话 Episode 92: The cost of living

本单元是关于生活费的对话

Tim: So how are you settling¹ in then Khalid?
Khalid: There is going well Tim. You've all been really friendly, footy in the park and cups of teas in the afternoon. I can't believe I get all this for only 75 pounds a week.
Tim: How much?
Khalid: 75 pounds. I know it's less than what you're paying but us students need every discount we can get.
Tim: Oh yeah, I, I knew you'd got a discount, I just didn't realise² how much of one you'd wangled.
Khalid: Did I put my foot in it?
Tim: No, no Khalid but there's, there's an old saying "If you don't ask, you don't get" so maybe it's time for this jobless one to start negotiating³ a bit too.


Vocabulary 字汇

footy (informal) 足球（非正式）
short for 'football'

wangle 巧妙地得到
get something by persuading someone or by doing something clever

put my foot in it (informal) 口无遮拦 （非正式）
say something you didn't mean to say which upsets or embarrasses someone

本单元的语言点是关于 There 和 It 的用法，请看下面的解释和例句

There and It

副词 There
We use there when we introduce an idea, talk about something for the first time or to say that something exists. In episode⁴ 92 of The Flatmates, Tim says:

"there's an old saying"

to introduce what he's about to talk about.

More examples:

There's no time, I'm late as it is, bye!
There might be a new cafe opening up on the High Street.
He didn't like living here. He said there was too much traffic and too much pollution.

There also means⁵ to, at or in a particular place.

I need to get there as soon as possible.
Have you seen that new cafe? Fancy⁶ going there for a coffee?
He wanted to move to the countryside because it was quieter there.


代名词 It
We use it to talk about a specific⁷ place, thing, animal or situation. In episode 92 of The Flatmates, Khalid should have said:

"It's going well" (It's = settling in to the flat)

More examples:

I was late yesterday. It was because my alarm didn't go off. (it = my being late)
I tried that new cafe yesterday. It was really packed. (it = the cafe)
He wants to move to the countryside. It'll be much quieter there. (it = the countryside)

We can also use it to talk about distance, weather and time:
How far is it to your house?
It's hot today.
It was last June when I saw her.

We can use it with adjectives⁸ in a to + infinitive⁹ expression like:
It's great to live and work in New York.
It was fascinating¹⁰ to see these ancient buildings.

We usually begin these expressions with it, we don't usually put it towards the end of the sentence:

'It's bad for you to smoke cigarettes' sounds more natural than 'To smoke cigarettes is bad for you'.
'It was great that he finally got married' sounds more natural than 'That he finally got married was great'.

We can also use it to introduce a for + infinitive expression like:

It's important for you to watch me, if you want to learn the dance steps.
It will be good for her to have a break. She's been working too hard.


Comparing There and It 比较

She grew up in a small village. There were a lot of farms near her house. It was a very peaceful place to live.

He works¹¹ in a huge hospital. It's a very stressful job. There are lots of emergencies he has to deal with there.

1 settling   

沉淀物

参考例句：

• They were behindhand in settling their debts. 他们没有及时还清债务。
• Settling the dispute required great tact and diplomacy. 解决这个争端需要十分老练和娴熟的外交手腕。

2 realise   

v.觉悟；明白；实现；兑现

参考例句：

• Wish you realise your dreams as early as possible!祝愿您早日实现自己的梦想！
• How much did you realise on the house?这所房子你们出售后赚了多少钱？

3 negotiating   

n. 谈判 动词negotiate的现在分词

参考例句：

• They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
• We want to get all the parties back to the negotiating table. 我们想把有关各方拉回到谈判桌上来。

4 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

7 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

8 adjectives   

n.形容词( adjective的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We can form nouns from adjectives. 我们可以用形容词来构成名词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Attributive adjectives precede the noun. 定语形容词位于名词前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 infinitive   

n.不定词；adj.不定词的

参考例句：

• The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable.分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。
• Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive.情态动词通常用不带to的不定式。

10 fascinating   

adj.迷人的，吸引人的，使人神魂颠倒的

参考例句：

• Your ideas are fascinating to me.你的这些主意对我来说是有吸引力的。
• The very style of the book is fascinating.这本书的风格本身就会引人入胜。

11 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。