ESL杰夫的一天 第93期:做晚饭 吃晚饭和清洗餐具讲解(7)

 So, "I get out the place mats and the napkins to set the table." 因此，“我取出餐具垫和餐巾摆在餐桌上。”

A napkin, "napkin," is like a little towel that you use. 餐巾（napkin），是你使用的一种小毛巾。

In case you need to wipe your face while you are eating, you can use your napkin, 如果你在吃饭的时候需要擦脸，你就可以使用餐巾。

and it's common in American restaurants and in houses for people to put the napkin on their legs while they are sitting, on the top of their legs,  人们坐着的时候把餐巾放在腿上，这在美国的餐馆和家庭是很普遍的现象，腿的上半部，

which we would call the lap — on your lap, "lap," you put the napkin while you are eating. 我们称之为膝部（lap）——你在吃饭的时候把毛巾放在腿上。

To set, "set," the table means to put all of the things that you need on the table — plates, spoons, knives, forks, and so forth¹. 摆（set）餐桌是指把所有需要的东西都放在桌子上——盘子、调羹、刀、叉等等。

That is to set the table — to make the table ready so you can eat. 这就是摆餐桌——摆好桌子吃饭。

"About 15 minutes" after I set the table, my wife and I sit at the table — "we sit down at the table in the dining room and talk about our long day." 摆好餐桌后“大约15分钟”，我妻子和我坐在餐桌旁——“我们坐在餐桌旁边，聊着我们漫长的一天”。

The dining room, "dining," is a place where you eat. 餐厅是吃饭的地方。

To dine², as a verb, "dine," means to eat. 动词“dine”是“吃饭”的意思。

So, the dining room is the room in your house where you eat your meals. 因此，餐厅就是你房子里吃饭的地方。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 dine   

vi.吃饭，进餐；vt.宴请

参考例句：

• I wish I could afford to dine off fresh meat every day.我要是能天天吃到新鲜的肉就好了。
• Let's dine out tonight，I'm too tired to cook.我太累了，不想做饭，今晚咱们到外面吃吧。