Dialogue Script 1 对话原文1
Clerk: Can I help you?
Stan: OK, I want to buy a computer.
Clerk: What do you want to be able to do with it?
Stan: Oh, I'm not sure. I don't know much about computers.
Clerk: Do you want to play games or write documents?
Stan: What's the difference?
Clerk: Well, for game playing, it's better if you have a bigger memory and a better quality video card.
Stan: I guess Pentium IV 1.6 would be good.
Clerk: OK. What size hard drive do you want?
Stan: It doesn't need to be too big, just big enough to play games. What about the rest?
Clerk: If you're concerned about game effects, I suggest you buy a higher quality sound card and video card.
Stan: Effects? Yeah, that's important. Give the best! And I'd like a big screen.
Clerk: The monitor for a big screen will take up more space. What about a flat screen? They're more expensive, however.
讲解:
1. 首先,导购员问Stan想拿电脑来做什么。 What do you want to be able to do with it? 也可以说What are you going to use your computer for?
2. Stan打算用电脑来打电脑游戏,这对电脑有什么要求呢?就是a bigger memory and a better quality video card and sound card. 大一点的内存,质量好一点的显卡和声卡。Pentium IV 1.6 奔腾4 1.6的处理器,Pentium是英特尔(Intel)公司开发的32位微处理机名称。
3. What size hard drive do you want? 要多大的硬盘?a big screen or monitor.大一点的显示器。a flat screen就是纯平显示器,比较贵。现在比较流行的是体积较小的液晶显示器,LCD,是liquid crystal display的缩写。还有笔记本电脑的显示器现在是以 “薄膜电晶体” TFT 是thin-film transistor的缩写,当然造价就更高了。
Dialogue Script 2 对话原文 2
Brian: Check it out!Were slashing prices! Hello, ma'am .
Monica: Oh, Hi, I'm just looking. I have a computer already.
Brian: How long have you had it?.
Monica: Ten years. Works like a charm.
Brian: Ten years? What a dinosaur! I can't believe you still use it.
Monica: It's fine for writing letters and...
Brian: Do you like to play interactive games?
Monica: Well, my sister has a Ninendo.
Brian: Today's computer graphics are so realistic. And you can download games from the Internet.
Monica: Oh, yeah, the Internet thing. I'd like to get that some day.
Brian: Why not today? Live in the 21st century with a new system.
Monica: But my parents gave me that computer when I started grad school. Can't I just upgrade it?
Brian: Even if it's possible, it won't be worth it.
Monica: I used it to write my thesis. The hard drive has almost 40 megabytes!
Brian: Today's have twenty to eighty gigabytes. I bet your computer isn't even modem compatible.
Monica: But it was so expensive, over 20,000 yuan. It must be high quality.
Brian: In the 80's, all computers cost and arm and leg.
Monica: Are things different now?
讲解:
1. 这里Monica在一个电脑商城闲逛的时候,Brian趁机向她推荐电脑产品。他用的广告语是Check it out!We're slashing prices! 就是 “瞧一瞧,看一看了,大减价了!” check it out在口语当中是一个很有用的词组,表示 “看看”的意思,例如: Check it out, man! The room is huge. 天哪,快来看!房间好大呀!
2. I'm just looking. 我就是随便看看。下次大家去逛商场的时候,如果导购员问你想买什么的时候,而你又还没有决定,就可以说I'm just looking.随便看看。
3. Works like a charm. Something works like a charm,是说某物有奇效,这里是说我的电脑很好用。
4. Monica 的电脑用了10年了,Brian惊叹 What a dinosaur! 整个一个恐龙,也就是说Monica 的电脑真够老的了。
5. interactive games是互动式游戏,也就是我们说的网络游戏。Ninendo是指任天堂公司出品的电视游戏机和游戏。任天堂是日本一个专门生产游戏的公司。
6. Today's computer graphics are so realistic. 是说现在的电脑图象非常逼真。Graphics是指在电脑上能制作,处理,编辑图形的能力,一般也称为computer graphics。这里用realistic来修饰它,是逼真,生动的意思。
7. upgrade the computer给电脑升级,但是一般都比较贵,所以Brian说It won't be worth it. 不值得,还不如买一台新的。be worth something 具有某种价值,值得... ...,例如:What is it worth?或How much is it worth?这值多少钱? It is worth£500. 它值五百镑。The rarer it is, the more it is worth. 物以稀为贵。He is worth a million. 他是百万富翁。It's worth seeing /hearing,/reading. 值得一看(一听, 一读). The proposal is not worth consideration.这个提案不值得考虑。
8. The hard drive has almost 40 megabytes! 硬盘有将近40MB呢。megabyte是百万字节,是电脑的存储单位,通常以缩写MB来表示。也就是我们说的兆字节。下面说的gigabyte是十亿字节,通常用缩写GB来表示。giga-为字首,意为“十亿”
9. The computer is modem compatible.电脑能兼容调制解调器,modem调制解调器,也就是我们俗称的“猫”。
10. It must be high quality.质量一定很好。那么质量差就是Low quality。
11. In the 80's, all computers cost and arm and leg. 80年代的电脑都贵的要命。cost and arm and leg.表示“价值不菲”。