美語情景對話 第228期:European Life 歐洲生活

Todd: Now Norman, you've lived in Japan for awhile. Have you lived in any other countries?

託德：諾曼，你在日本生活過一段時間。你還在其他國家生活過嗎？

Norman: Yes, I've lived in Germany as well.

諾曼：對，我還在德國生活過。

Todd: Germany!

託德：德國！

Norman: Yes, I lived for five years. I had two contracts in Germany. The first one in the seventies, for three years. I was an immersion teacher, which means that they're English students at the elementary level who take all their courses in French, so with a particular second language approach I would teach them not only French, but I would teach them mathematics in French, science in French, visual arts in French, physical education in French

諾曼：沒錯，我在那兒生活了五年。我曾在德國簽了兩份工作合約。第一份是在70年代，合約期限是三年。我當時是融入課程的老師，意思就是他們都是水平爲初級的英語學生，他們所有的課程都要用法語講授，所以作爲一種特殊的第二語言教學方法，我不僅要教授他們法語，而且還要用法語教他們數學、科學、視覺藝術和體育。

Todd: Wow, in Germany.

託德：哇，在德國。

Norman: In Germany, yes! This was for the Canadian Armed forces. The, usually it's the man the father, who's there as a soldier, but sometimes it's the woman. But they have, they do have children and there was a need for some Canadian schooling. They hire teachers to teach the children of military personnel.

諾曼：對，在德國！這是爲加拿大武裝部隊提供的課程。那些士兵通常都已爲人父，不過有時也會有女性士兵。不過他們都有孩子，所以就需要爲這些加拿大人提供教育。他們僱傭老師教導軍人的孩子。

Todd: Wow! What a cool job! What did you think about Germany?

託德：哇！這工作真棒！你覺得德國怎麼樣？

Norman: Germany is very interesting in that it's a very lively country, I find. I enjoyed certainly the nature part. Every weekend, Susan and I tried to go on what they call volksmarch, which means, it's, "volks" means popular, popular walk. You have a choice of five kilometers, ten kilometers, or fifteen kilometers walk and at the end, once you complete the walk, you get a metal, and the walk is always in some nice village. You go up the hills, up the mountains, you have beautiful sights, and every now and then they have some kind of a food stand with a Bavarian band playing, and then you have those Bavarian sausages and it's just a whole lot of fun so we would take our children along with us and it would be quite an event.

諾曼：我想，德國非常有意思，是一個充滿活力的國家。我非常喜歡那裏的自然風景。每週末，蘇珊和我都要去稱之爲大衆行走的活動，"volks"的意思是大衆的，大衆行走。你可以選擇五公里走、十公里走或是十五公里走，最後你完成行走以後，會得到一枚獎牌，這種行走活動通常都在美麗的山村舉行。你可以爬到山上，看到美麗的風景，有時他們會準備食品店，那裏有巴伐利亞樂隊演奏音樂，還有巴伐利亞肉腸，整個過程非常有意思，所以我們會帶着孩子們一起參加，這是一件重要的活動。

Todd: That's nice. How long did you live in Germany?

託德：那很好。你在德國生活了多長時間？

Norman: I lived there five years total. 75 to 78,for a three year contract, and then 85 to 87, a two year contract.

諾曼：我一共在那裏生活了五年。從75年到78年，一份三年的合同，之後是85年到87年，一份兩年的合同。

Todd: Wow, so you speak German as well.

託德：哇，所以你的德語也說的很好。

Norman: I do, I do, but now I have not spoken it for quite a long time so it would take a little bit of, let's say, review.

諾曼：對，沒錯，不過我已經有很長時間沒有說過德語了，所以需要稍微複習一下。

Todd: Wow! tri-lingual. That's cool!

託德：哇！你會說三門語言。真棒！

重點講解：
1. a choice of
選擇範圍；選擇餘地；
eg. It's available in a choice of colours.
有多種顏色可供選擇。
At lunchtime, there's a choice between the buffet or the set menu.
午餐可以吃自助餐，也可以選套餐。
2. every now and then
不時；有時；偶爾；
eg. Stir the batter every now and then to keep it from separating.
不時攪動麪糊，防止其成分散開。
eg. She looked out of the window every now and then.
她不時向窗外探望。
3. a whole lot of
一大堆，許多許多的；
eg. I've spent a whole lot of my life trying to be myself and at the same time fit in.
我一生中花了很多時間，想做自己，同時融入主流。
eg. Well, the single best way is to get them to understand that what they're being told is a whole lot of nonsense.
最棒的一個辦法是讓他們瞭解到他們正在被教導的是一堆沒有用的東西。