【英语趣味课堂】他一生想要达到的目标-Goals He Wants to Achieve in His Lifetime

 Sarah: So Adam, we're talking about bucket lists, so things that you would like to do before you die. So what's your number one thing on your bucket list?

 

Adam: Oh, difficult question. Number one, I'd probably have to say, oh, skydiving maybe. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. And I went bungee jumping in New Zealand. That was fun but I still have not yet been sky-diving. And jumping out of the plane just sounds like an awesome¹ idea to me.

 

Sarah: What other kind of adventure sports have you done?

 

Adam: This summer, I was – what did I do? Sand boarding in Peru. That was fun. When I was younger I did a lot of snowboarding and skateboarding. And yeah, I really enjoy extreme sports. I ride a motorcycle currently². If I could I'd love to race cars professionally, although I don't know how good I'd be at it. But it just looks like so much fun.

 

Sarah: Yeah. Well, it’s never too late to start something you want to do, so you should add that to your bucket list. So tell me what else is on your bucket list?

 

Adam: I really want to write a book. Be the author of a novel. I'm always in the process of writing something down but it never seems to come to complete book type end result. But maybe eventually, all of these little things that I have written down will come into a book form and I can publish it and complete my goal.

 

Sarah: What kind of things do you write? Like what kind of genre³ or is that kind of all the same or do you write many different styles?

 

Adam: I wrote a lot of different things. One thing that I write is travel stories from my travels abroad or anecdotes⁵ that I come across when I'm traveling. Recently, I've been writing jokes. I really enjoy watching stand-up comedy and have got kind of inspired from them to write some stuff⁶ down, although I've never really presented it.

 

And I also write, I guess, fantasy stories as well. I have a few short stories but it's been difficult for me to try to put them into book, like a longer version⁷ of them. The details are tricky⁸ to write down.

 

Sarah: Wow! That's really interesting. Hopefully, one day, we'll be able to read a book written by you.

 

Adam: Yeah. That'd be great.

 

Sarah: Yeah. So tell me what else is on your list?

 

Adam: The other things would be traveling to Europe, which I plan to do hopefully next summer, so I can cross that one off the list. I've always wanted to go to Europe especially Italy and Spain. So I'm excited to get that one done.

 

And I'd also really like to go to Africa and go on a safari⁹ and see, you know, lions, tigers in the wild, in their natural habitat. I've also heard that you could see sharks, Great White sharks in South Africa on the coast. I had some friends that went and sat in a cage in the water and had Great White swim by. That sounds like a terrifying and once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm terrified of sharks but it would be quite amazing to see.

 

Sarah: Yeah. I am terrified of sharks as well, so I probably will not be adding that to my bucket list. But yeah, I hope you get to do everything that's on your list there.

 

Adam: Thanks. Me too!

 

[End of Transcript]

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn vocabulary from the lesson below.

 

bucket list

 

What is on your bucket list?

 

A bucket list is a list of things you want to do in your lifetime. Notice the following:

 

Learning¹⁰ to fly a plane is on my bucket list.

Writing a book is on my bucket list.

it's never too late

 

It’s never too late to start something you want to do.

 

People use the phrases "it is never too late" and "it is never to early" to encourage people to do something they hope to do. Notice the following:

 

It is never too late to go to college.

It is never too late to learn something new.

anecdote⁴

 

He writes about his travels in interesting anecdotes.

 

An anecdote is a short story that helps makes a point about something. Notice the following:

 

She is always telling funny anecdotes.

He uses anecdotes to give advice.

cross off the list

 

I can cross that one off the list.

 

You mentally cross something off a list, when you have completed it. Notice the following:

 

I finished the report, so I can cross that off the list.

I have many things to do which I hope to cross off the list by the new year.

natural habitat

 

I saw tigers in their natural habitat.

 

A natural habitat is a place where animals live naturally. Notice the following:

 

You rarely see mountain lions in their natural habitat.

We need to protect the bears' natural habitat.

once-in-a-lifetime

 

This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

A once-in-a-lifetime experience is a unique and rare opportunity. Notice the following:

 

The movie role was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

This only happens once in a lifetime.

once in a lifetime = adverb phrase

once-in-a-lifetime = adjective

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

3 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

4 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

5 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

7 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

8 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

9 safari   

n.远征旅行(探险、考察)；探险队，狩猎队

参考例句：

• When we go on safari we like to cook on an open fire.我们远行狩猎时，喜欢露天生火做饭。
• They went on safari searching for the rare black rhinoceros.他们进行探险旅行，搜寻那稀有的黑犀牛。

10 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。