英语听力精选进阶版 7942

Programme Summary 节目梗概

This week Shirley asks about the words quality and cheesy. Both of these words are very colloquial¹ and in the programme William says that he is not surprised to hear that Shirley spent some time in the UK.

In the sentence, 'This is quality meat' the word quality means high quality. This sounds quite formal, unlike the example that Shirley gives in the programme, of young people watching football and saying "Wow, that’s quality".

This usage² is slang³ and it means cool or really good. It's very informal, so you shouldn't use quality in this way in some situations.

The word cheesy is harder to explain, because it is a concept not found so easily in Chinese culture. In the programme we hear from some Londoners about what they regard as cheesy.

We can use the word to describe something that is poor quality or unfashionable but which is still very enjoyable. For example, party music can be cheesy – it's not high class or sophisticated⁴, just good fun. Cheesy things are often quite sentimental⁵ too.

There are also a couple of other meanings to cheesy, but you will have to listen to the programme to find out what they are.

Glossary 词汇

colloquial

口语的

slang

俚语

concept

概念

regard

被看做

sophisticated

高雅的

sentimental

感伤的

1 colloquial   

adj.口语的，会话的

参考例句：

• It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
• They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。

2 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

3 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

4 sophisticated   

adj.老练的，精密的，尖端的，高雅的

参考例句：

• She has become very sophisticated since she went to live in London.移居伦敦后她变得世故多了。
• This is a very sophisticated machine.这是一台非常精密的机器。

5 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。