【英语早间课堂】人生的阶段(1)

 情景对话：

 

E : You know, Aiden, I don't know much about you. Where were you born?

 

你知道吗，Aiden，我不太了解你。你是在哪儿出生的。

 

A : I was born in London, but I spent most of my childhood in Hongkong.

 

我是在伦敦出生，在香港长大。

 

E : What was your childhood like?

 

你小时候过得怎样？

 

A : I had a pretty strict upbring, and my parents and I were always fighting about it.

 

小时候家教很严，那时候我经常和父母对着干。

 

E : Do you get along with your parents now?

 

那你现在和父母相处得怎么样呢？

 

A : Oh sure. Once they reached middle age, they became a lot less uptight¹.

 

哦，好多了。人近中年，心态平和多了。

 

E : Where did you go to university?

 

你在哪儿上的大学。

 

A : My parents wanted me to stay in Hongkong, but I decided² to go back to England. I graduated from Oxford³ University with a degree in English Leterature.

 

我父母想要我留在香港，可是我自己决定回英国。后来，我从牛津大学毕业并且拿到了一个有关英国文学的学位。

 

E : What is your current⁴ occupation⁵?

 

那你现在做什么工作呢？

 

A : I am a freelance writer. I write magazine articles and fiction books.

 

我是个自由撰稿人。给杂志写点文章，也写些小说。

 

E : Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?

 

当作家是你一直以来的愿望吗？

 

A : No, I didn't. I was an English teacher for about five years, but by the time I was 30, I decided I wanted a fresh challenge⁶.

 

不是。以前我坐过5年的英语教师。后来30岁那年，我觉得自己需要一些新鲜的挑战。

 

E : How did you start writhing⁷?

 

那你是如何踏上写作之路的呢？

 

A : I start writing magazine articles for fun and eventually was asked to write a book, so I was pretty lucky.

 

起初我只是给杂志写些小文章，写着玩。后来就有人请我写书。其实我挺幸运的。

 

E : Are you writing a book now?

 

你手头上有正在写的书吗？

 

A : Yes, it is about a group of friends living in a foreign country and all the strange experience they have.

 

有的。是一本关于几个朋友生活在异国他乡的奇特经历。

 

E : Sounds interesting.

 

听起来很有意思。

 

语言要点：

 

1. know much about：对......知之甚多

 

2. spend one's childhood：度过童年

 

3. have a strict upbring：家教严厉

 

4. fight about：因......吵架

 

5. get along with：相处很好

 

6. reach middle age：进入中年

 

7. Oxford University：牛津大学

 

8. go back to：回到

 

9. a degree in：在（某学科）的学位

 

10. a freelance writer：自由撰稿人

 

11. a fresh challenge：新的挑战

 

12. for fun：找乐子，好玩地

 

活学活用：

 

I spent my childhood in Paris.

 

我的童年在巴黎度过。

 

I was brought up in Paris so it took a long time to get used to living in London.

 

我在巴黎长大，所以需要很多时间来适应伦敦的生活。

 

I had a very strict upbring.

 

我小时候受到的教育很严格。

 

I graduated from Cambridge University.

 

我毕业与剑桥大学。

 

My major is English Literature.

 

我主修英国文学。

 

The day I decided to change my career was the big turning-point in my life.

 

我决定换一种职业的那天是我人生的一个转折点。

 

转自可可英语

1 uptight   

adj.焦虑不安的，紧张的

参考例句：

• He's feeling a bit uptight about his exam tomorrow.他因明天的考试而感到有点紧张。
• Try to laugh at it instead of getting uptight.试着一笑了之，不要紧张。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 current   

n.涌流，趋势，电流，水流，气流；adj.当前的，通用的，流通的，现在的，草写的，最近的

参考例句：

• Electric current is often powerful enough to kill a man.电流常强得足以致命。
• There is a story about her in the current number.最近一期上有关于她的故事。

5 occupation   

n.职业，工作；占领，占据；占用

参考例句：

• I haven't entered up your name and occupation yet.我尚未记下你的名字和职业。
• Reading is a useful occupation to us.阅读对我们是一种有益的消遣。

6 challenge   

n.挑战；v.向...挑战

参考例句：

• The job doesn't really challenge him.这项工作不能真正地考验他。
• She looked at me with challenge.她带着挑战的目光看着我。

7 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。