Larry和李華剛看完電影2012,在門口聊起來。李華會學到兩個常用語:bucket list和dough。
LH: Larry, 你覺得2012年真的會是世界末日嗎?
LL: I don't know. But the movie does remind me that I have yet to finish my bucket list.
LH: Your bucket list? 世界末日前你唯一想做的事情就是買一堆桶子?
LL:No, no. A bucket list is not a list of buckets that I want to buy. It is a list of things I want to do before I die.
LH: Oh... 所以bucket list是指死以前要完成的事情的清單嘍?
LL:Exactly. In ancient British language, people used "kick the bucket" to refer to death. Therefore "a bucket list" means a list of things you want to do before you die.
LH: 原來如此。 那它跟wish List很像啊。
LL:Mmm. You can say a bucket list is very similar to a wish list. However, a bucket list is mostly filled with things you want to do before you die, whereas a wish list can be anything you want to do or any object you want to buy for any occasion. But recently, a bucket list has been used for more general wishes as well.
LH: 那你的bucket list里都有哪些東西呢?
LL:I want to swim across the Atlantic Ocean, I also want to go skydiving, and...
LH: 哇...你想完成的事情也太難了吧。 Bucket list上一定要是這些高難度的東西嗎? 不能簡單點, 比如說,結婚?生子?
LL: What you put on your bucket list is totally up to you. However, a bucket list is usually a list of things that are unordinary that you would not normally do unless you only had a few days left on Earth.
LH: 是這樣啊。 那我懂了。 所以我也可以說,visiting the seven wonders of the world is on my bucket list?
LL: Yes, that works. An example of something more simple that could make everyone's bucket list is to make a lot of dough. Although that is more generic...
LH: 等等。 怎么會有人死前的愿望是做很多面團呢? 這也太奇怪了吧。
LL: Haha...dough here is not the dough you use to make cookies. Here it means money.
LH: Dough是金錢的意思?
LL:Yup. Dough is derived from bread, a commonly used commodity for trade in ancient times. Therefore dough is the same thing as money.
LH: Wow. I didn't know that. 原來古時候人們把面包當錢用,所以dough又有錢的意思。 那我明白了。
LL: Terrific. Now, can you give me a sentence using the word dough?
LH: 我可以說, Recently I spent all my doughs on movies.
LL: That's good. But dough is a plural noun, so you do not need to add a "s" at the end. You can simply say, recently I spent all my dough on movies.
LH: 喔...原來是這樣說的,dough已經(jīng)是復數(shù)形式,所以不用加 S。
LL: Now, how about you, Lihua? What's on your bucket list?
LH: 這個嘛...我最大的愿望是英文說得能跟你一樣好。
LL: Really? But I don't think you can ever beat me in English...
LH: 所以這個愿望是在我的bucket list上啊。我有一生的時間可以完成!鐵定可以超過你。
LL: I'm glad you have the confidence. What else is on your bucket list?
LH: 在死以前我還要donate all my dough to charity.
LL: You want to donate all your dough? And I want to make lots of it...why don't you just donate to me?
LH: 這怎么可以。 我捐錢出去是為了幫助有需要的人。 況且那是你bucket list上的內(nèi)容, 還是自己完成吧。
LL: Good. I think you know what a bucket list is now. The movie has sure got us thinking about our big wishes.
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是bucket list, 表示死前想要完成的事的清單。另一個是dough, 金錢的替代說法。