英语听力精选进阶版 20138

In good nick 品质好、没有损坏

内容简介

Neil 去了一趟二手市场，买了不少玩意儿。还发现了一枚古董硬币呢，不过大家都知道古董要是保存不好的话，就不值钱了。想知道 “完好无损”的最地道英式英语的表达是什么？ 听Neil 来说一说。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Helen

大家好，欢迎收听BBC英语教学的《地道英语》节目。我是Helen, 和我在一起的还有我的同事 Neil。

Neil

Hello everyone.

Helen

So Neil, where did you go last weekend?

Neil

I went to a car boot sale near my home. There were lots of sellers getting rid of their unwanted Christmas presents.

Helen

是吗， 你去了一趟 car boot sale 那不就是二手货市场吗。 So did you manage to pick up any bargains?

Neil

Plenty, I got presents for my kids to last the rest of the year. And I picked up this little gem¹. Look!

Helen

What’s this?

Neil

It’s an old silver English coin.

Helen

你手里的是一枚古银币吗？看着很新嘛。

Neil

It does, doesn’t it? I had a close look and it’s in good nick.

Helen

Good Nick? 谁是好尼克先生啊？

Neil

Oh, I don’t mean Nick as a person’s name. When British people say ‘it’s in good nick’, we mean ‘it’s in good condition’, especially if it’s something that’s very old but still looks new.

Helen

原来 Neil 说的 Nick 不是指人名尼克，in good nick 这个表达可以用来形容一件东西的品质，尤其是指那些有年份的东西或者是古董，保存得很好，看着完好无损，没有瑕疵。 请听例句。

Examples

I picked up a set of silver plates from an antique² shop and they were in pretty good nick.

My grandpa loves his 1960s motorbike and he has worked very hard to keep it in good nick.

Neil

I know it sounds a bit strange to use a person’s name in this phrase, but it’s very authentic³ colloquial⁴ British English.

Helen

I see. 这个表达是地道的英式口语，其它说英语的国家的人还不一定能听懂呢。 那除了描述东西完好无损之外，我们还可以用 in good nick 来形容人吗？

Neil

Absolutely, how about my grandmother, she’s 96 and still does her own shopping, she’s in good nick.

Helen

不得了，你的外婆已经有96岁高龄还能自己上街购物，身体真好。In good nick 也可以用来称赞年纪大的人依然精神抖擞，身体健康。I hope I’ll be in good nick when I get to her age.

Neil

Keep fit and eat well!

Helen

Good idea.

1 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

2 antique   

adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩

参考例句：

• The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.周日的古董市场是收藏家的淘物乐园。
• I saw the vase in the window of an antique shop.我在一家古玩店的橱窗里看见了这个花瓶。

3 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

4 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。