美語情景對話 第342期:Cold Weather Life 寒冷的生活

Adrienne: So, Mary, are you from Minnesota?

埃德里安娜：瑪麗，你是來自明尼蘇達州嗎？

Mary: I am. I lived here all my life.

瑪麗：是的，我一生都生活在這裏。

Adrienne: Wow. It's a great place but it's really cold this time of year.

埃德里安娜：哇！這裏真是個很棒的地方，不過每年的這個時候都特別冷。

Mary: It is, but if you've lived here a long time you get used to it. A lot of people from the South get really chilly when the temperature gets around 50 and right now that's, that's actually sounding pretty good because a Minnesotan will probably just be wearing a lightweight jacket when it is about 50 degrees, but we're OK with that. You know it gets to be kind of fun when you have a big snow fall and you go outside with all your neighbors, pushing cars out of the snow drift and kind of enjoying it that way so we have a lot of fun with it being cold and snowy and you have to make some fun on the inside of your house too, you know. A lot of people have fireplaces, so there's a way to enjoy being inside for long stretches of time and opposed to just kind of, I guess, being locked in and not being able to enjoy house or that kind of thing.

瑪麗：的確是，但是如果在這裏生活了很長時間，你就會習慣的。許多從南部來的人在溫度低於50華氏度以後，就會覺得特別冷，而現在的溫度其實非常好，因爲明尼蘇達州人在50華氏度的時候會穿着超輕量風衣，我們覺得這個溫度還好。你知道，在下大雪的時候會有很多樂趣，你可以去外面，和鄰居們一起把陷在雪堆裏的車輛推出來，其實那樣也很享受，所以其實寒冷和下雪也會給我們帶來樂趣，而且你在室內也可以享受到樂趣，你知道，有許多人家裏都有壁爐，所以這就是可以長時間享受室內生活的方式，而不是過那種被關起來無法享受室內樂趣的生活。

Adrienne: What do you do to warm up in the winter?

埃德里安娜：你冬天都怎麼取暖？

Mary: Well, there's always sweaters. You know we like our sweaters here, that keeps us warm. Actually, you can get pretty warm outside. A lot of people enjoy cross-country skiing which I do from time-to-time and the more you exercise outside, you can actually get pretty warm doing it even though the temperature is cold, but as far as being indoors, that's when, I think that's when people start really kind of researching their hobbies, things they like to do, that's activity that will keep you busy while you are inside the house for such long stretches and things.

瑪麗：冬天都是穿毛衣來保暖。我們喜歡這些毛衣，它們讓我們很暖和。實際上，在室外也可以很溫暖。有許多人喜歡越野滑雪，我就偶爾會去越野滑雪，在室外你運動得越多，就會感到越暖和，即使溫度很低也能感到溫暖，至於室內，我覺得那是人們可以開始培養興趣愛好的時間，他們可以做他們喜歡做的事情，而這些活動會讓你長時間待在室內時保持忙碌的狀態。

Adrienne: Yeah, that's true. I like to drink hot chocolate when I get cold. Do you like hot chocolate?

埃德里安娜：沒錯。我感到冷的時候喜歡喝熱巧克力。你喜歡熱巧克力嗎？

Mary: Yeah, that will always help, and tea, really enjoying my tea as well, but there's nothing like, you know, hot chocolate and maybe roasting something in the fireplace and making smores.

瑪麗：喜歡，那很有幫助，還有茶，我也喜歡喝茶，不過你知道，沒有什麼比熱巧克力，然後再加上壁爐上烤點棉花糖點心之類的東西更能讓人感到溫暖的了。

Adrienne: That sounds great.

埃德里安娜：聽起來真棒。

Mary: Yeah, that would be kind of fun.

瑪麗：沒錯，那也是一種樂趣。

Adrienne: Very cozy.

埃德里安娜：非常愜意。

重點講解：
1. a stretch/stretches of time
一段時間；
eg. He was fluent in French, having spent stretches of time in Southern France.
他曾在法國南部呆過一段時間，法語流利。
eg. But while this courage can get you going, it can't keep you going over a long stretch of time.
這種勇氣能使你開始，但它不能使你長時期堅持做一件事情。
2. lock in
關禁；把…鎖在屋裏；
eg. Manda cried out that Mr Hoelt had no right to lock her in.
曼達大喊着說赫爾特先生無權關禁她。
eg. At 9 pm the prisoners are locked in for the night.
晚9時把犯人鎖進牢房過夜。
3. warm up
使暖和；變暖；
eg. USB Eye Warmer can warm up your eyes and help you to get rid of tired.
USB眼罩能夠溫暖你的雙眼，讓你擺脫疲憊。
eg. He jumped and down to warm up his body.
他上下跳動，好使身子暖和起來。
4. from time to time
不時地；間或；偶爾；
eg. I can see Hieks at the library from time to time.
我在圖書館有時能看見希克斯。
eg. She sat silently, flinging the odd word into the conversation from time to time.
她靜靜地坐着，在談話過程中不時插上一兩句話。
5. nothing like
（用於否定短語中強調以…爲最）沒有什麼能比得上它；沒有什麼地方能比得上它；
eg. There's nothing like candlelight for creating a romantic mood.
再沒什麼比燭光更能營造浪漫氣氛了。
eg. There's nothing like being beforehand.
最好的辦法莫過於早作準備。