放完寒假，Aaron 和 Samuel 两人在开学第一天闲聊，互相问对方选了哪些有趣的课。
Aaron: I heard you’ve started taking taekwondo classes.
Aaron：我听说你注册了跆拳道的课。
Samuel: Yeah, I’ve been obsessed with martial arts lately.
Samuel：对啊，我最近迷上了武术。
Aaron: Oh really? have you finally decided to beat up that bully from our class?
Aaron：原来如此，我还以为你终于要去痛扁我们班上的恶霸了。
Samuel: No! You can’t use violence to stop violence. Martial arts are more for self-defense, not for aggression.
Samuel：才不是！我早就跟你说过我们不能以暴制暴了，而且武术比较像是自我防卫的工具，不是用来打架的。
Aaron: Chill out, I was only joking! What made you choose taekwondo instead of something like karate?
Aaron：放轻松啦，跟你开玩笑的！但空手道也是武术啊，你为什么选跆拳道而不是空手道？
Samuel: I used to play soccer, and taekwondo also involves kicking so I thought it would be easier to get the hang of.
Samuel：我以前是踢足球的，而跆拳道有许多足技，所以我觉得跆拳道对我来说会比较好上手。
Aaron: Here… what’s actually the difference between taekwondo and karate?
Aaron：那跆拳道跟空手道又有什么不同？
Samuel: They’re totally different. First of all, they come from different countries. Taekwondo is from Korea. Karate is from Japan. Secondly, taekwondo emphasizes kicking, whereas karate focuses on hand strikes.
Samuel：这两个是完全不同的运动。首先，他们的起源地不同，跆拳道起源于韩国，而空手道起源于日本。其次，跆拳道着重于足技，空手道则注重打击技。
martial arts (n.) 武术
martial 的意思是「武术的；军事的」，而 art 有「技术；本领」之意，因此 martial arts 就是指「武术」，除了对话中提到的 taekwondo (跆拳道) 和 karate (空手道) 之外，常见的武术还有 kung fu (功夫)、jiu-jitsu (柔术)、Muay Thai (泰拳)。
Many foreigners take up martial arts after watching kung fu movies.
许多外国人在看了功夫片之后就开始学武术。
beat sb. up (phr.) 痛扁某人
beat 本身就有「打；击」之意，其动词三态是 beat-beat-beaten，而片语 beat sb. up 的意思又更强烈，意指「痛扁；痛殴」某人。
The gangsters beat up a high school student to threaten him into giving them money.
那帮歹徒痛扁一名高中生，还威胁他交出钱来。
get the hang of sth. (phr.) 抓到…的诀窍、要领
get the hang of sth. 是指在学习某件困难的事情时「抓到…的诀窍、要领」，也就是对某件事「上手；熟悉」之意。
Unlike most old people, my grandpa got the hang of using a smartphone really quickly.
我爷爷跟其他长辈不一样，他很快就熟悉怎么使用手机了。
几周过后，Aaron 又碰到 Samuel，便关心他的跆拳道学得如何。
Aaron: How’s your taekwondo class?
Aaron：你的跆拳道课上得如何？
Samuel: The coach has been teaching us the fundamentals of taekwondo: the ready, horse, walking, and forward stances.
Samuel：我们一开始先学了跆拳道精神，接着教练就教我们一些基本的站姿，像是预备站姿、马步、行步和弓步。
Aaron: So you just learned how to stand? When do you get to start kicking things?
Aaron：所以你只学了怎么站？那些神乎其技的足技呢？
Samuel: Laying the groundwork is essential! We’ll start on kicks next week, including the front kick, roundhouse kick, side kick, two feet alternate kick and…
Samuel：打好基础是很重要的嘛！我们下周就会学前踢、回旋踢、侧踢、两段侧踢，还有…
Aaron: Wait, wait! You’re confusing me with all these names!
Aaron：等一下！我完全被这些名字搞混了啦！
Samuel: Well I can demonstrate after I’ve learned them!
Samuel：我学完之后可以示范给你看。
Aaron: Alright! So you are white belt at the moment, right? What do the different colors mean?
Aaron：当然啊！你现在是跆拳道白带对吧？不同颜色又代表什么啊？
Samuel: Different colors represent different levels. The white belt is for beginners, and from there it goes: white belt with a yellow stripe, yellow belt, yellow belt with a green stripe, green belt, up to black belt. Then there are nine different levels or “dans” at black belt… You still with me?
Samuel：不同的颜色代表不同级数。白带是给初学者的，接下来是白黄带、黄带、黄绿带、绿带，一路到黑带，黑带又由九个段位组成… 你有跟上吗？
Aaron: Sorry, I zoned out. I get it—you love Taekwondo.
Aaron：抱歉啦，我刚刚走神了。反正我现在知道你是超级跆拳道迷了。
stance (n.) 站姿
stance 除了当「观点；立场」之外，还有「(运动时的) 站姿」。在跆拳道里面，不同的招式会搭配特定的站姿，就像对话中提到的 horse stance (马步)、forward stance (弓步) 等。
The horse stance is very common in martial arts.
马步这个姿势在各种武术中都很常见。
groundwork (n.) 基础；准备工作
ground 是「地面；土地」，盖房子都是从地面开始打根基，接着再往上盖，因此 groundwork 就是做某件事前的「准备工作」，也可以指「根基；基础」，常跟动词 lay 搭配。
once you lay the groundwork, you’ll learn quickly.
只要你打好基础，学什么都可以很快。
roundhouse kick (n.) 回旋踢
还记得前一阵子风靡全球的「瓶盖挑战 (bottle cap challenge)」吗？当时网路流传了许多艺人用回旋踢踢开瓶盖的影片，其中回旋踢的英文就是 roundhouse kick。
My sister threw out her back trying to do a roundhouse kick.
我妹在尝试回旋踢的时候闪到腰。
dan (n.) 段位
dan 是专指跆拳道、柔道、空手道的「段位」。其中跆拳道分成十级九段，级术用不同的色带区分，十级是最初阶的白带，一级则是红黑带。而黑带分为九段，一到三段是黑带新手，四到六带是高阶段位，七到九带则是对跆拳道领域有极大贡献的人。
If you don’t have a dan certificate issued by World Taekwondo, you can’t sign up for the contest.
如果你没有世界跆拳道联盟核发的段位证书，你就无法报名参赛。
