美語情景對話 第252期:The Prize 獲獎

Todd: Hey, Ian, have you ever met anyone famous?

託德：嗨，伊恩，你見過名人嗎？

Ian: Anyone famous? Ah, yes, I have. I met the Duke of Edinburgh.

伊恩：名人？嗯，我見過。我見過愛丁堡公爵。

Todd: Mm, who's that?

託德：嗯，他是誰？

Ian: He is the Queen's husband and I met him at Buckingham Palace.

伊恩：他是女王的丈夫，我是在白金漢宮見到他的。

Todd: How did that happen?

託德：那是什麼情況？

Ian: Well, it was because I received an award.

伊恩：嗯，那是因爲我得了獎。

Todd: What kind of an award?

託德：什麼獎？

Ian: The award was called the Duke of Edinburgh Award and I completed the bronze award, the silver award, and the gold award, and if you complete all three, then you can go to Buckingham Palace and he gives you your award.

伊恩：那個獎名爲愛丁堡公爵獎，金獎、銀獎和銅獎我都獲得過，如果你這三個都獲得了，便可以前往白金漢宮，公爵會頒獎給你。

Todd: The award is for what kind of job?

託德：獲得那個獎有什麼要求？

Ian: OK, well it's for young people between the ages of, I think it's 14 to 21, but I'm not quite sure, and you have to do different challenges for each award. Now, for the gold award you had to do community service, and I visited an old man. I had to do a sport and I played badminton. You had to do an expedition, and we went hiking in the Brecon Beacons in Wales for five days and you had to do a skill and I did driving and you had to do each one for a year.

伊恩：嗯，這個獎是爲年齡在14歲至21歲的年輕人設立的，我對年齡段並不是很確定，每個項都必須要接受不同的挑戰。現在，要想獲得金獎，你必須要做社區服務，我是去探望了一位老人。還要參與體育運動，我選擇了羽毛球。同時還要進行探索活動，我們在威爾士的佈雷肯山徒步旅行了五天的時間，同時要想得到這個獎還要具備一項技能，我的技能是開車，每項要求都要堅持一年的時間。

Todd:So what was it like getting the award?

託德：得到這個獎之後是什麼感覺？

Ian: Um, it was exciting and disappointing at the same time because my friends and I, we were waiting at Buckingham Palace for quite a long time and we had all our best clothes on: our ties, our shirts, our trousers. We had very clean shoes. It was quite hot and we were waiting and we were waiting and in came

the Duke of Edinburgh. And he gave us our award. He asked us maybe one question each and then he went, so we only actually met him for about five minutes.

伊恩：嗯，我既興奮又有些失望，因爲我朋友和我在白金漢宮等待了特別長的時間，我們穿上了我們最好的衣服：我們打了領帶、穿了襯衫和正式的褲子。我們還穿了洗乾淨的鞋。當時非常熱，我們等了又等，然後愛丁堡公爵來了。他給我們頒了獎。他問了我們每人一個問題，然後就離開了，所以實際上我們和他見面的時間只有5分鐘左右。

Todd: So it wasn't the most exciting time, meeting him a famous person.

託德：所以，見到他，一個名人，並不是最興奮的時光。

Ian: No, he was a very busy man, but you know, I shook his hand, and that was it, but it was nice to see Buckingham Palace and it was a good day out in London.

伊恩：不，他非常忙，你知道，我和他握手了，就這樣，不過能看到白金漢宮還是很高興，而且那天的倫敦很適合外出。

Todd: Sounds like it.

託德：我想也是。

重點講解：
1. quite
（用於強調）相當；很；頗；
eg. I felt quite bitter about it at the time.
當時我對這件事感到相當怨憤。
eg. Well, actually it requires quite a bit of work and research.
嗯，實際上這需要花不少的工夫，做點研究。
eg. can state quite definitely it will be terrible.
我可以非常明確地說，情況會十分糟糕。
（與否定詞連用，表示語氣較弱或不確定）；
eg. Something here is not quite right.
這裏有什麼地方不太對勁。
eg. And at the beginning, I didn't quite understand what all this was about.
我起初不太明白這一切究竟是怎麼回事。
2. shake one's hand
與…握手；
eg. I said congratulations and walked over to him and shook his hand.
我向他表示祝賀，並走過去和他握手。
eg. A stranger walked up to me and shook my hand.
有個陌生人向我走來跟我握手。