【英语趣味课堂】小物件-Gadgets

Todd: Phil, you said you're a teacher. Did you study education in college? 

Phil: No, actually, I studied engineering in college. 

Todd: Really. Engineer! 

Phil: Yeah, I was an automotive when I was younger. 

Todd: Automotive, like cars? 

Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

 

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Todd: Oh, cool. Wow. 

Phil: It was really interesting a job really exciting but I kind of came into teaching to try something different and to maybe gain confindence in myself as well. 

Todd: So if you're an engineer then you must like gadgets¹, right? 

Phil: Oh, yeah, I love gadgets. I got many in my room.

Todd: So what kind of gadgets to you have? 

Phil: Well, my favorite has to be my laptop computer of course. I think everyone should have a laptop now because it's complete entertainment. I can watch movies. I can download music from the internet. I can write reports on my students. I can research new games on the internet. I can do anything in the world on my laptop. It's just amazing what you can do. 

Todd: So you talk about downloading things. Like you must have an MP3 player or ipod. 

Phil: I've got an ipod as well, yeah. I love my ipod. Everyday I listen to music. Music is one of my main passions in life and I particularly like rock music and scar² punk as well, so I download bands from all over the world on the internet that maybe ten years ago nobody would have been able to find information about, so I think things like ipod have opened up the world of music to everyone. 

Todd: Right. Right No, I agree. Actually, I have an MP3 player and an ipod and I use them all the time. 

Phil: Yeah, it's amazing. 

Todd: So, you're really into your laptop. You're really into your ipod. Any other gadgets that you really like? 

Phil: I suppose I have to say my digital camera. When I was younger, I was absolutely useless at taking photographs - well I still am absolutely useless at taking photographs. I always manage to miss the main part of the picture or the thing I'm aiming for. Once I get the lighting³ composition completely wrong. So with a digital camera, I can choose the photos I want and I can keep retaking them until I know I got the one I actually want, and then on my computer, back to my laptop again, I can edit⁴ the photos until they look exactly like I want them to, so digital camera is amazing for me. 

Todd: Yeah, I agree, like I use cameras a lot for the website and I couldn't make it without them. 

Phil: Yeah, it's amazing how in the last ten years things have changed so much, like we said with the ipod earlier, I used to have a cassette player when I was younger. 

Todd: Right. 

Phil : It was huge, and it was like taking a brick with me everywhere I went, and not the ipod just fits in my pocket and I don't even know it's there. It's amazing the difference. 

Todd: Yeah, I listen to the podcasts on the way to work and it makes my train commute⁵ so much more enjoyable. 

Phil: Yeah, yeah, I get the news from the BBC, the British website, so I can listen to the news in the morning and find out what's happened back in my home city. It's like keeping in touch with the rest of the world 

Todd : Right, right. OK, thanks a lot Phil. 

Phil: OK, thank you.

1 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

2 scar   

n.伤疤，伤痕，创伤

参考例句：

• This scar is from the bite of a dog.这是狗咬后留下的伤疤。
• The tragedy left a scar on her mind.这个悲剧给她造成精神上的创伤。

3 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 edit   

vt.编辑，校订，主编，编辑，剪辑（影片等）

参考例句：

• You'll have to edit that tape,it's too long.那盘录音带太长，你得把它剪辑一下。
• It is not yet decided who will edit it.由谁校订未决。

5 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。