英语听力精选进阶版 7939

Programme Summary 节目梗概

Sun Cha from Urumqi gave us this week's question. He is living in the UK at the moment and he says he has heard people use the word loo and wants to know what it means.

Basically¹ loo is a British English word people say to mean toilet. You can use this word in any situation - with friends, with colleagues, or even with your boss. It is informal language but we do use it all the time, even in formal situations.

You might hear someone say, "I need the loo," or, "I'm just going to the loo." That means someone is going to the toilet or wants to go to the toilet.

There are many explanations as to why we might use this word in Britain, so it's hard to actually understand the real origin of where it might have come from.

Loo isn't the only word we say to mean toilet. There are lots of other words you might hear - lavatory², water closet, restroom, ladies' room, men's room to name but a few. They all mean toilet.

Glossary 词汇

colleagues

同事

boss

老板，上司

informal language

非正式用语

formal

正式

origin

起源，来源

to name but a few

还有很多，就不一一列举了

1 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

2 lavatory   

n.盥洗室，厕所

参考例句：

• Is there any lavatory in this building?这座楼里有厕所吗？
• The use of the lavatory has been suspended during take-off.在飞机起飞期间，盥洗室暂停使用。