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 uptight.
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 decided to go back to England. I graduated from Oxford 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 current occupation?
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 challenge.
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 writhing?
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。
本资料来自《生活英语情景口语100主题》一书,部分文字可可编辑原创。