純正地道美語 第189期(外教講解):建造理想家園
A: Mr. and Mrs. Robinson! Let’s get straight to it. You have saved up your money for years and are now ready to build your dream home. What did you have in mind?
B: A suburban bungalow straight out of the sixties! A perfect lawn with minimal landscaping. A brick patio in the backyard with an old-fashioned grill, quaint lawn furniture, and a swimming pool. A two-car carport, pastel siding and a gable roof. Completed with white shutters and a white picket fence !
C: Uh, honey?
B: In the living room we would have moss-green rugs and a fireplace with a stone mantle and wood paneling on the walls. In the kitchen, the cupboards would be a pale yellow and we would have a turquoise metal oven and vinyl flooring -
C: Umm, sweetie, but I was thinking of a more modern style house. An open concept house, all glass, wood, metal, and concrete.
B: But sweetums, there is always a lot of wasted space in those kinds of homes. Besides, it’s just a fad. It doesn’t have the homey feeling the old homes do.
C: Sweetie-pie it’s not a lot of wasted space. It is relaxing and the house would be eco-friendly with an in-floor heating system and designed to retain the heat of the sun in the winter and keep the house cool in the summer. We would have solar panels on the roof.
B: Do you know how much those things cost?
C: What about your vintage furniture, dearest? And instead of a lawn, which is also a lot of wasted space and would require environmentally harmful pesticides, we would have a fish pond in the backyard and a garden that would cover the whole yard so we could grow our own food!
B: But buttercup, I thought you always said that you loved visiting your grandmother’s house!
C: And I thought you, Mr. Scientist, were all up on saving the planet with your technological advancements!
A: Umm well I am just going to go get some coffee while you two keep discussing.
dream n.夢想
suburban adj. 郊外的
bungalow n. 平房
the sixties 60年代 （1960-1969）
minimal adj. 最小的
landscaping n. 全景
patio n. 天井; 露臺
quaint adj. 古雅的, 奇怪的
carport n. 無牆車庫, 車棚
pastel n. 粉蠟筆
siding n. 牆板
gable n. 山牆, 三角牆
shutter n. 百葉窗
mantle n. 壁爐上的牆
paneling n. 嵌板
turquoise n. 青綠色
vinyl n. 塑料
sweetums adj. 心肝兒, 寶貝fad
homey adj. 家庭似的, 舒適的, 自在的
sweentiepie n.親愛的
eco-friendly a.不損壞生態環境的
in-floor 地熱
heating n. 取暖
retain v.保存
vintage adj. 老式的
pesticide n. 殺蟲劑
buttercup, n. 毛茛, 金鳳花
technological adj. 技術的
advancement n. 前進; 進步
A: 羅賓遜夫婦，我們直接來談主題吧。這些年你們已經存了很多錢，現在你們已經準備好建造理想家園。你們有什麼打算？
B: 要蓋一個60年代那樣的平房。有一塊能欣賞到全景的漂亮草坪，後院要有一個磚砌的露臺，舊式的烤架，古雅的細麻紋傢俱，還要有一個游泳池。 能容納2輛車的車棚，有着粉蠟筆牆板和三角牆屋頂。還要有一個白色的百葉窗，和白色的尖樁籬柵。
C：親愛的，補充點吧?
B: 在起居室，我們想要苔綠色的地毯 和一個有遮擋牆的壁爐，以及一個鑲在牆上的嵌板。廚房的櫥櫃要灰黃色的，要一個 青綠色的烤箱和塑料地板。
C：親愛的，我想要一個現代式樣的房子，全新概念的房子，全是由玻璃，木頭，金屬和水泥建造。
B: 但是寶貝，那樣的房子總是有很多空間被浪費，而且，那只是一種時尚，它沒有老式房屋的舒適感。
C：親愛的，那不是浪費空間。那樣的房子令人放鬆，它是種環保的房子，它裝有地熱系統，設計時在冬天能夠保存太陽的熱量，在夏天能保存樑順。我們將在屋頂安裝太陽能電池板。
B:你知道那樣做會花費多少錢嗎？
C：那老式的傢俱會花費多少錢？草坪會浪費很多空間，而且需要噴灑對環境有害的殺蟲劑。所以我們會建一個魚塘，和一個能覆蓋整個院子的菜園，那樣我們就能自己種菜。
B:但是金鳳花，我記得你總是說你喜歡參觀祖母的屋子。
C：我認爲你，科學家先生，總是想着用技術上的進步來拯救地球。
A: 喔，那你們繼續討論，我去弄杯咖啡。
