纽约英语口语网新版
流行美语
第 142 课:gooey / retro

Larry和李华正走在公园里,两人准备穿过公园到地铁站去。今天李华会学到两个常用语:gooey和retro.

LL: Oh no! I just stepped in something gooey! Gross!

LH: 怎么啦!Larry!你踩到什么啦?gooey是什么?该不是鸟粪吧?

LL: Something that is gooey is sticky and wet like glue or chewing gum. As a matter of fact, I think that the gooey thing I stepped in is actually chewing gum.

LH: 呃,你踩到口香糖啦!口香糖又湿又黏的,真是够恶心的!原来gooey就是指这种东西。我最讨厌那些人把吃过的口香糖随便吐在地上。真没有公德。

LL: I hate it, too, especially because gooey things like chewing gum are really hard to clean up. Now, I'm going to have to walk around with a gooey pink spot on the bottom of my shoe.

LH: 就是啊。这些黏呼呼的口香糖一旦沾上了,是很难洗掉的。也许你可以等到晚上口香糖干掉后,可能会比较容易从鞋底掰下来。

LL: That's a good idea. I'll try and peel it off later tonight.

LH: Laryy, 你就别再发火了。想一想,口香糖沾上鞋底,总比沾上头发要好一些吧?

LL: I can imagine. Has that ever happened to you?

LH: 嗯,是有那么一次。我还在念小学的时候,班上的一个男孩把一瓶胶水倒在我头上,黏呼呼的胶水把我头发全沾上了。我妈妈花了好几个小时才把我的头发洗干净呢!

LL: That's awful! You must have been so upset!

LH: 就是啊!我哭了好久。第二天我也拿了一大罐黏稠的水彩倒在那个男孩的衣服上作为报复。谁要他先倒胶水在我头发上!

LL: That's terrible, Li Hua!

LH: 我也知道这样做是不对的。可是你知道吗?那个男孩再也没敢欺负我了!

LH: Larry, 我喜欢你这双新鞋。真好看!

LL: Thanks! I bought them to replace the shoes that were all gooey from the gum I stepped in. I liked these because they are kind of retro.

LH: Retro? 那是什么意思啊?

LL: Retro means similar to something from the past. These shoes are retro because they look like the shoes people used to wear in the 1950s.

LH: 噢,retro是指那些与过去流行的东西很类似,那不就是“仿古”的意思吗?我也注意到,一些仿古的衣服或饰品通常都有特殊的风格。

LL: Yeah, some people even go to special stores to buy actual vintage clothes that are twenty or thirty years old.

LH: 哇!到特殊的商店去买二,三十年前的衣服啊!我虽然喜欢仿古风味的衣服,可是我还真不明白为什么有人会花钱买一件20年前的旧衣服。

LL: I don't understand it, either. I prefer to buy a new shirt that looks old-fashioned instead of one that actually is old.

LH: 当然了!我也宁可买式样是仿古的新衣服。我才不要花大钱去买那些古董衣服呢。
LL: Some car manufacturers are making retro cars now, too. Chrysler makes a couple of cars that look like cars from the 1940s.

LH: 对,我也见过克莱斯勒出的那种汽车。式样象四十年代的车。真的很酷!

LL: Yeah, I like them too, but in this case, I actually prefer real vintage cars. A retro new car just isn't the same as a real classic car.

LH: 你宁可买几十年前的老车呀?式样仿古的新车跟老车有什么不一样哪?是结构,还是材料不一样?

LL: It's hard to explain, but sometimes nothing compares to the real thing.

LH:衣服嘛要买老款式的新衣服。汽车嘛要买真正的老车。Larry,你真怪!

今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是gooey,是形容那种湿乎乎,又很黏的东西。另一个常用语是retro,就是仿古,或复古的意思。