中国人做什么都有讲究,凡事都要求吉祥如意,尤其在新春佳节,一切不吉利的事情都是不允许的。一个Jackson已经让李霞初尝苦头了,大年初一里又来了一个Penny,这两个活宝究竟又会让李霞陷入怎样的苦恼之中呢?
发音：澳式发音 语速：170词/分钟 使用方法：精听+角色扮演
Penny: Is Jackson still sleeping?
Li Xia: Yes. He must be very tired. My dad made him drink a lot of wine last night.
Penny: OK, I’ll let him sleep. But I hope he gets up soon. We are going to look around the city.
Li Xia: I prepared some breakfast for you. These are jiaozi.
Penny: Oh, 1)dumplings. Wow, there are so many.
Li Xia: Yes. You must eat all of them. They will bring you lots of money.
Penny: Oh, I really can’t eat so much. ①I’m watching my weight. ②I really want to avoid piling on pounds over
the winter.
Li Xia: Well, now it’s spring, so you have no excuse. Quickly! Eat!
Penny: OK, I’ll do my best. Oh, I was meaning to ask you, do you have a broom? I just wanted to sweep my bedroom.
Li Xia: Oh, no! You cannot clean today.
Penny: No, really it’s no problem. I would have done it earlier, but I couldn’t find your broom.
Li Xia: No, today is the first day of the new year. You must not sweep the floor. ③If you do that, you may as well just throw my money out the door!
Penny: Sorry. I didn’t realise. Well, at least let me take the garbage out. Where should I put it?
Li Xia: No, no, no, no, no. You just sit down and take it easy. Garbage cannot be 2)disposed of on New Year’s Day. ④Oh! Between you and Jackson, I can see I’m going to have my hands full. You have so much to learn. ⑤It’s not going to be a walk in the park.
Penny: Sorry. We are not used to so many customs and traditions. I don’t know how you remember them all.
Li Xia: Every Chinese person will know about these things.
Penny: Well, I might just take a quick shower. I feel 3)yucky from being on the plane for so long.
Li Xia: Sure, go right ahead…but don’t wash your hair.
Penny: Excuse me?
Li Xia: You cannot wash your hair for three days. That’s a tradition. You wouldn’t want to wash away your wealth,
would you?
Penny: Ah, no…I guess I wouldn’t. But the smell may scare away a few people.
佩妮:杰克逊还在睡觉吗?
李霞:是啊,他肯定累坏了。昨晚我爸爸灌他喝了很多酒。
佩妮:好吧,就让他再睡会儿。不过我希望他赶紧起床。我们要在城里到处转转呢。
李霞:我为你们准备了早餐。这些是饺子。
佩妮:噢,饺子。哇,这么多。
李霞:是啊,你得吃光它。它们会给你带来很多钱。
佩妮:哦,我真吃不了这么多。我正在减肥呢,真不想一个冬天就体重
暴增。
李霞:现在是春天了,所以别找借口了。快!吃了吧!
佩妮:好吧,我尽力而为。哦,我正想问你,你有扫帚吗?我想打扫下我的卧室。
李霞:噢,不行!你今天不能扫地。
佩妮:不,真的没关系。我早该打扫了,可是我找不到扫帚。
李霞:不行,今天是大年初一,你不能扫地。如果你那样做,就跟把钱扔到门外去没什么两样!
佩妮:对不起,我没意识到这点。那么,至少让我把垃圾扔出去吧。该放哪呢?
李霞:不,不,不,不,不。你坐下来,放轻松。在大年初一不可以扔垃圾的。哦!在你和杰克逊之间,我可以预见我将会忙得团团转。你们要学的太多了,这可不是轻而易举的事。
佩妮:对不起。我们不太习惯有这么多的习俗和传统。我不知道你是怎么记住所有这些的。
李霞:每个中国人都知道这些。
佩妮:我该去快快冲个澡。在飞机上待了那么长时间让我浑身不自在。
李霞:那当然了,请便吧……但是别洗头。
佩妮:什么?
李霞:这三天你都不能洗头,这是传统。你不想把财富洗走了,对吧?
佩妮:哦,不……我想我不会的。但是这味道会吓走很多人吧。
Smart Sentences
① I’m watching my weight. 我正在减肥呢。
watch one’s weight: be careful with one’s weight(留意自己的体重)。例如:
You need to watch your weight during the Chinese New Year.
春节期间你最好多留心自己的体重。
② I really want to avoid piling on pounds over the winter. 真不想一个冬天就体重暴增。
pile on pounds: gradually adding weight to one’s body(渐渐地增加体重)。例如:
My husband piled on a lot of pounds over the holiday.
我丈夫的体重在假期增加了不少。
③ If you do that, you may as well just throw my money out the door! 如果你那样做,就跟把钱扔到门外去没什么两样!
may as well: a situation is the same or almost the same as if it were true(与……一样)。例如:
If I go out tonight, I may as well not take the exam tomorrow.
如果我今天出去混,还不如明天不参加考试呢。
④ Oh! Between you and Jackson, I can see I’m going to have my hands full. 哦!在你和杰克逊之间,我可以预见我将会忙得团团转。
have one’s hands full: very busy because of sth. (非常忙)。例如:
Sorry, I didn’t call you back earlier. I have had my hands full for the last two days.
很抱歉没能早点回你的电话,我这两天忙坏了。
⑤ It’s not going to be a walk in the park. 这可不是轻而易举的事。
a walk in the park: sth. that is really easy(易如反掌)。例如:
Don’t worry about the class registration. It’s like a walk in the park.
别为课程注册担心,那太容易了。