【英语趣味课堂】生活的起起伏伏-Life's Ups and Downs

Chris: Hi, Adelina. So, let's talk about ... about life in general. Could you tell me a bit how ... how has been your life, some highlights² up till now?

 

Adelina: Well, I don't know. I can say my life is like a roller coaster so I don't know, I think life is all about learning³ lessons and I completely agree when they say that when you stop learning lessons then you are ready to die. So I don't know, I think I'm learning experiences and lessons every day.

 

Chris: Explain me why you would say you're like a roller coaster, your life is a roller coaster. Like, you travel a lot or you ... I don't know, explain that.

 

Adelina: Yeah, my life is a roller coaster because I hate routine⁴ so because of that I travel a lot and I change job a lot and I change friends a lot. Well, I still keep them but I'm not with them I'm not like a girl that lives in a village and she always hangs out with the same people and everything so that's why maybe my learning experiences are much more in volume than a person that they are like robots that they do every day the same routine and the same things all over again so they will learn less lessons than me for example.

 

Chris: So in a way you're not like a stable person?

 

Adelina: No I'm not. Who wants to be a stable person?

 

Chris: Well, I guess there are different opinions about that.

 

Adelina: Yeah, of course but it's like for me, to do every day the same, to have all the future so planned, it's like a movie you've already seen.

 

Chris: Yeah, that seems more like ... like you said that you're quite spiritual that you have a lot philosophies about that but it could also turn out bad for you.

 

Adelina: Why?

 

Chris: I mean, of course, you're not a stable person, you want to try new things but not everything you try has a happy ending.

 

Adelina: No, but I think if I keep trying I will find my happy ending, but my really happy ending.

 

Chris: I guess that's the real idea behind learning.

 

Adelina: Yeah, and also to get better, to challenge yourself. Like, I don't know, I'm very critic with myself and I think it's good because at the end of the day, it's the only way you can get better.

 

Chris: Yeah, and is there an example, a highlight¹ of, for example when you fail that something and learn that important lesson in life?

 

Adelina: I don't know, I cannot say something specific. but I fail ... when I fail I don't blame anybody else, I blame myself because I trust people or because I put too much faith in something. I don't have the only control of it. That's when I fail, when I trust other people and there are so many people with two faces and they don't turn the way they are selling themselves, you know. So that's when I fail because I trust too much.

 

Chris: Okay, thanks for that.

 

Adelina: Thank you.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

like a roller coaster

 

notesMy life is like a roller coaster.

 

This phrase means there are many high points and low points in life. We have ups and downs. Notice the following:

 

Her career was like a roller coaster.

Success is like a roller coaster. It is slow going up and fast going down.

stable person

 

notesYou're not like a stable person.

 

A stable person does not have much change or drama in their life. Notice the following:

 

Good parents are usually stable people.

Young people find the stable life boring.

lesson in life

 

notesIt's an important lesson in life.

 

A lesson in life is something important that you learn about life. Notice the following:

 

You don't learn the lessons in life in school, but rather in the real world.

He is young, so he has many lessons in life still to come.

two faces / two-faced

 

notesThere are so many people with two faces.

 

A two-faced person acts one way in someone's presence⁵, but another way then they are not around. Notice the following:

 

My boss is so two-faced. He says nice things to our face but then writes bad reports about us.

You cannot trust her. She is two-faced.

sell yourself

 

notesThey are not how they are selling themselves, you know.

 

When you sell yourself, you present yourself to others so they have a high impression of you. Notice the following:

 

You always have to sell yourself on the first date.

He did a bad job of selling the company in his presentation.

1 highlight   

n.加亮区；v.加亮，强调；[计算机]醒目

参考例句：

• Her performance was the highlight of the show.她的表演是那场演出中最精彩的部分。
• The highlight of this term is the school trip to Austria.这学期最重要的活动就是去奥地利的校外旅行。

2 highlights   

n.头发挑染部分；全球知名儿童刊物及相关产品的发行和销售商的名称、商号及商标

参考例句：

• The report highlights the major problems facing society today. 报告特别强调了当今社会所面临的主要问题。
• The report highlights a number of instances of injustice. 这篇报道重点列举了一些不公正的实例。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 routine   

n.例行公事，惯例；adj.例行的，常规的

参考例句：

• It is everyday routine.这是每天的例行公事。
• She found the hospital routine slightly dull.她感到医院的工作有点枯燥乏味。

5 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。