Rafal 抵达英国后,陆续开始看宿舍。今天下午他跟一位英国老爷爷约看房…
Landlord: Good afternoon, you must be Rafael. Come on in lad, I’ll show you the flat.
房东: 午安啊,你一定就是 Rafal 了吧。进来吧小伙子,我来带你看公寓。
Rafael: Flat what now?
Rafael: 不好意思,你说什么平平的?
Landlord: Oh, in British English, flat means “apartment”.
房东: 噢,在英式英语里面,flat 就是「公寓」。
Rafael: Thanks! The … flat is on the first floor, right?
Rafael: 谢谢您!我的公寓在一楼对吧?
Landlord: Yeah, so we’ll take the lift up.
房东: 对,所以电梯在这边。
Rafael: Lift … up?
Rafal: 提…什么东西?
Landlord: Haha, here we call an elevator a lift. Or we can take stairs if you like.
房东: 哈哈,lift 就是「电梯」的意思,不然你也可以爬楼梯。
Rafael: But you said it was on the first floor?
Rafael: 但您说我的公寓在一楼不是吗?
Landlord: Oh, I see why you’re confused. What you would call the second floor is actually our first floor, and the first floor is called the ground floor.
房东: 喔,我懂为什么你这么困惑了。你们说的二楼其实是我们的一楼,然后我们的一楼叫做 ground floor。
看来 Rafael 还要好一阵子才能适应英国的生活呢,先来复习单字吧!
flat (n.) 公寓
flat 在美式英语中当形容词,指「平坦的;扁平的」,在英式英语中是指一层「公寓」,也就是 apartment,如果是一整栋公寓则称作 a block of flats。
He rented a flat in central London.
他在伦敦市中心租了公寓。
lift (n.) 电梯
lift 在美式英语中当动词,指「抬起;举起;提起」,在英式英语是当名词,指「电梯」,也就是 elevator。
My auntie always takes the lift instead of the stairs because she’s claustrophobic.
她忍不住在人挤人的电梯里放了屁。
ground floor (n.) 一楼
在美国,一楼就是 first floor,但在英国及欧洲许多国家,一楼会称作 ground floor,所以 first floor 反而是他们的二楼唷。
The lost property office is on the ground floor.
失物招领处在一楼。
补充:lost property office 是英式英文的「失物招领处」,美式英文叫 lost-and-found office。
心很累的 Rafael 跟老爷爷看完房子后,肚子不断咕噜咕噜地叫。
Landlord: If you have any questions about the flat or if you decide to rent it, just give me a bell!
房东: 如果有任何问题或想租我的公寓,随时都可以打给我!
Rafael: You mean give you a call?
Rafael: 我想你的意思是叫我「打给你」对吗?
Landlord: Exactly! And if you’re hungry, there’s a fish-and-chip shop across the road.
房东: 没错,然后如果你肚子饿的话,对面有一家卖炸鱼薯条的餐厅。
Rafael: Wow, there’s a really long queue! But does fish go well with chips?
Rafael: 也太大排长龙了吧!但鱼跟洋芋片吃起来搭吗?
Landlord: French fries here are called chips, and what Americans call “chips” are called “crisps.” And to answer your question, yes, they really are a perfect match!
房东: Chips 在英国是薯条的意思,美国人说的洋芋片在这里叫 crisps,然后回答你的问题,炸鱼跟薯条根本是绝配!
Rafael: I must give it a try then. But not today, though, I’m having a picnic with my friends later.
Rafael: 我会去吃吃看的,但今天没办法,我等等要跟朋友们去野餐。
Landlord: I’m afraid that your picnic party might go pear-shaped…it’s set to bucket it down later.
房东: 我想你们的野餐派对恐怕泡汤啰…快要下大雨了。
Rafael: Oh no!
Rafael: 噢不!
英国的天气真的是说变就变呢!
give sb. a bell (phr.) 打电话给某人
bell 是「门铃;钟」的意思,英式片语 give sb. a bell/ring 意指「打电话给某人」。
I wanted to give you a bell but I didn’t have your phone number!
我想打电话给你,但我没你的电话号码啊!
queue (n.) 队伍
queue 是指排队的「队伍;行列」,发音跟 cue 一样,美式英语则是 line。 「排队」会说 wait in a queue,「插队」叫 jump the queue。
He scolded the man for jumping the queue.
他对那位插队的家伙破口大骂。
go pear-shaped (phr.) 泡汤;搞砸了
pear 是「梨子」,但 go pear-shaped 跟水果一点关系都没有,这个片语是英式用法,用来形容事情、计画「泡汤;搞砸了」,美式英语会用形容词 screwed-up 这个形容词表示。
His plan to drive across the U.S. went pear-shaped after two of his wheels fell off his car.
他的美国之旅因为冠状病毒疫情泡汤了。
bucket (it) down (phr.) 倾盆大雨
bucket 是「水桶」,bucket (it) down 就像是一桶水到下来,为动词片语,指「倾盆大雨」。美式英语会说 It’s pouring. 或 It’s raining hard.。
As we arrived in the beach, it started bucketing it down.
我们一抵达海滩后便开始下起倾盆大雨。
英式和美式英语根本就是两种不同的语言啊!
想要学习优雅的英式英语,不妨透过影片、电影来学习唷!