【英语趣味课堂】异乡人-Ex Pats

Doron: So, we are both expats. We both left our home countries. Are you going to go back, do you think? And live in Jamaica?

Pernais: I will. I will, eventually. I think Jamaica is the only place that I could actually settle down in. It’s the only place that I would really consider home, because so much of who I am is dependent¹ on my culture.

 

Doron: Your roots.

 

Pernais: Yes.

 

Doron: Do you have a lot of family back home?

 

Pernais: I do. I do. Yeah, that’s the biggest part of home for me, my family.

 

Doron: So when you say you will go back, when are you thinking? Like soon or in 20 years when you finish looking around the world?

 

Pernais: That’s it. I want to see the world first, but I need to be home at least once a year to keep that connection with my family and with my culture really.

 

Doron: Hooray for air travel, right? You can always slip back. I’m the opposite, I think the one place I couldn’t settle down now is probably England.

 

Pernais: Really?

 

Doron: I’m the same as you, I think I have to see the world, but I think the world is just too big to ever settle in one place. One of my goals -- I like to set myself targets -- and one of them is to see every country in the world. And I thought I’d been to quite a lot but I counted a few weeks ago. I’ve only been to 30 and there’s at least 6 or 7 times that many, so it’s going to take me awhile.

 

Pernais: Hopefully, you’ll get it all done.

 

Doron: Yeah, I do have family at home of course in England and I miss them and I see them every couple of years but I think I’ve got travel in my genes² ‘cause my mom left home when she was 17, my dad has moved all around the world, my brother now lives in America (he was born there), so I think our family just loves to travel. How about your family, are they all back in Jamaica?

 

Pernais: Not all of them. Actually a lot of my relatives live outside of Jamaica and it’s always good to go home for Christmas because everybody comes back home and it’s just like this really nice family atmosphere.

 

Doron: Where do they all live now?

 

Pernais: Mostly in America and Canada.

 

Doron: Have you been to visit them?

 

Pernais: I’ve visited a few of my cousins in the States in Florida and New York, but I haven’t been to Canada. I’ve been to Quebec but not to visit family.

 

 重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

settle down

 

Jamaica is the only place that I could actually settle down in.

 

When someone speaks of settling down, they are usually referring to getting married, having kids, and living in the same place for many years. Settle down also means to be become calm after a period of high energy. See the examples below:

 

He was wild when he was young, but he has settled down considerably³.

Settle down everyone, I need to make an announcement.

hooray

 

Hooray for air travel, right?

 

Hooray is used to express happiness or a feeling of being thankful. In the example above, “hooray” could be replaced by “Thank God”, as in “Thank God for air travel.” See the following examples:

 

Hooray for vacation! I need a break.

Christmas is tomorrow! Hooray!

in my genes

 

I think I’ve got travel in my genes.

 

Genes, and genetics, refer to physical and personality traits⁵ that are passed from parents to their children. When someone has something “in their genes” it means that the parents and the children are similar. Notice the 2 examples below:

 

Everyone in our family has blue eyes. It’s in my genes.

My physical looks favour the genetic⁴ background of my mother more than my father.

atmosphere

 

It’s a really nice family atmosphere.

 

One meaning of atmosphere is the air all around us. Another meaning is the mood or the feeling of a particular place. A restaurant may have a romantic atmosphere or perhaps an energetic atmosphere. Study the examples below:

 

The food is good but the atmosphere is so old-fashioned⁶.

The atmosphere of that school was like a prison.

The States

 

I’ve visited a few of my cousins in the States.

 

“The States” is a common way to shorten⁷ “The United States of America”. It is also common to just say “The US”. Notice the following examples:

 

I’m from Tennessee in the States.

When I lived in the States, I never rode on a bus or a subway.

1 dependent   

adj.依靠的，依赖的，依赖他人生活者

参考例句：

• He has a mother completely dependent on him.他有一个完全靠他赡养的母亲。
• The country is dependent on foreign aid.这个国家靠外援生存。

2 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 traits   

n.人的个性，显著的特点，特征( trait的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We do not know which behavioural traits are inherited and which acquired. 我们不知道哪些行为特征是遗传的，哪些是后天养成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His generosity is one of his good traits. 慷慨大方是他的好品质之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。

7 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。