2013年5月18日 星期六

Home Decorating 居家裝潢實用對話‏

每日 EZ Word 
gasp for breath 喘不過氣
gasp 可當作喘氣或倒抽一口氣,而 gasp for breath 則表示氣喘吁吁、喘不過氣來。
play the field 同時與多人交往
field 可解釋為「原野;運動場」,而片語 play the field 源自於英國賽馬運動,意思是在比賽中在不只一匹馬身上下注,後來引申為男女在交往中不只和一人約會。
get a life 你少無聊了
get a life 是美語中常常出現的慣用語,常用在勸說別人「不要只專注在目前的事情或狀況上,另外去找些有意義、有趣味的事情來做」。其實言下之意,有點暗示對方令人厭煩的感覺。
do one’s own thing 按照自己的心意過日子
這句話表示做自己想做的事情,按照自己的方式過日子的意思。
lose track of 記不得……,不清楚……
lose track of 原是有「對……失去聯繫;不瞭解……的動態」,對話中凱莉說 loses track of what day it is 就是說她的男友連幾月幾號都「忘記了,不清楚了」。
今日會話 EZ Talk 

Customer: Hi. I’m decorating my bedroom and I’d like to buy some paint. Could you recommend any colors?
顧客:你好,我正在裝潢我的臥室,我想買一些油漆。可以推薦一些顏色嗎?
Clerk: Well, a nice off-white like cream or 1)ivory is always good, but some people like to try something a little more 2)soothing. For that, I’d recommend turquoise or lavender.
店員:好啊,像奶油白或象牙白這種非純正的白色很不錯,不過有些人喜歡嘗試可以讓心情放鬆點的那樣的話,我會推薦藍綠色或薰衣草紫。
Customer: Hmmm…the turquoise is nice. What about the finish?
顧客:嗯……藍綠色很不錯。那面漆呢?
Clerk: Nothing too 3)glossy. A matte or eggshell finish should do the job.
店員:不要太光亮的,用平光漆或蛋光漆應該會很適合。
Customer: What kind of curtains do you recommend for a living room?
顧客:你建議客廳用哪一種窗簾呢?
Clerk: 1)Drapes will provide the most 2)privacy, but choosing the 3)fabric and color is important since you might have to clean them.
店員:落地窗簾最有隱秘感,但選擇布料及顏色很重要,因為你可能需要清理。
Customer: I hadn’t thought of that.
顧客:我沒想到這點。
Clerk: If you choose blinds, they can be cleaned more easily. Venetian and vertical blinds are our most popular styles.
店員:如果選擇百葉窗,比較容易清理。活動式百葉窗和垂直百葉窗是我們最熱門的款式。
Customer: 1)Apart from cotton, do you have sheets made from any other type of fabric?
顧客:除了棉質之外,你有其他布料的床單嗎?
Clerk: Yes. Our silk and satin sheets are also quite popular. Silk is more expensive, but both are very comfortable and feel cooler and more comfortable against the skin. Here, feel for yourself.
店員:有的,我們的絲質和緞面的床單也很受歡迎。絲質的價格貴了點,但兩者都非常舒服,皮膚觸感也比較涼爽舒適。你自己摸摸看感受一下。
Customer: Wow! That feels wonderful—so soft and 2)smooth.
顧客:哇!觸感真的很棒──好軟好平滑。
Clerk: Yes. And they’re also very 3)durable—although they do need to be dry washed.
店員:是啊,而且也非常耐用,只不過必須乾洗。
Customer: A friend of mine told me there may be some kinds of sheets and bedding that’ll help me with my 1)asthma.
顧客:一位朋友告訴我,可能有一些床單及寢具可以幫助我改善氣喘的毛病。
Clerk: Well, we do carry 2)allergy-proof bedding that’s 3)resistant to 4)dust mites, if that’s a 5)trigger for your asthma.
店員:是的,我們的確有進一些抗過敏防塵蹣的寢具,如果你的氣喘就是這些原因造成的話。
Customer: Actually, my doctor says I’m sensitive to chemicals.
顧客:其實醫生說我是對化學成分過敏。
Clerk: Unfortunately, this type of bedding doesn’t seem to help much with that type of allergy.
店員:那就很抱歉了,這種寢具對於您那種過敏似乎沒有什麼幫助。
Customer: I’m setting up a home office and need some shelves. What are my options?
顧客:我正在打造一間居家辦公室,需要一些架子。請問我有哪些選擇?
Clerk: Well, it depends on the shape of the room. If the room has 1)alcoves, you can 2)install built-in shelves.
店員:嗯,這要根據房間的形狀。如果房間有凹一塊空間,你可以安裝內嵌式的架子。
Customer: Sorry, no alcoves.
顧客:抱歉,沒有凹一塊空間。
Clerk: In that case, you’ll need to put in 3)bracket shelves. We have both fixed and 4)adjustable brackets. The adjustable ones are more 5)practical, but less 6)aesthetically pleasing.
店員:這樣的話,你就需要附有托架的架子。我們有固定式及可調整式的兩種托架。可調整式比較實用,但比較不美觀。
今日EZ單字 
ivory (n.) 象牙色,乳白色
soothing (a.) 使人寬心、鎮靜的
drape (n.) (落地)窗簾
privacy (n.) 隱私
fabric (n.) 布料
apart from (phr.) 除…之外
smooth (a.) 光滑的,柔順的
durable (a.) 耐用的,耐久的
asthma (n.) (醫)氣喘
allergy-proof (a.) 抗過敏的
resistant (a.) 防…的,抵抗的 (v.) resist 抵抗,抗拒
dust mite (n.) 塵蹣
trigger (n.) 引起後續效應的事物alcove (n.)(房屋內)凹入的一處空間
install (v.) 安裝,設置
bracket (n.) 托架,撐架
adjustable (a.) 可調整的(v.) adjust 調整,調節
practical (a.) 實用的,實際的
aesthetically (adv.) 美觀上地,審美觀點地 (a.) aesthetic 美學的,藝術的

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