美語情景對話 第1252期:Adopting Holidays 適應節日

Todd: So Megen we are talking about Holidays and Christmas and in the last interview we talked the difference between Christmases in a cold country and a warm country, so now I thought we would talk about Christmas in countries that aren't really Christian countries. They don't really celebrate it for religuous reasons. So we're in Japan and it's interesting that in Japan it's a romantic day, right?

託德：梅根，我們來討論一下節日和聖誕節，在上期節目裏我們討論了在寒冷國家過聖誕節和在溫暖國家過聖誕節的不同之處，現在我想我們可以來討論一下非基督教國家的聖誕節。他們慶祝聖誕節不是出於宗教原因。我們兩個人都在日本，有意思的是，聖誕節在日本是很浪漫的節日，對吧？

Megen: Yes. Yeah it is.

梅根：對，沒錯。

Todd: It's like Valentine's Day

託德：就像情人節一樣。

Megen: Yes, you have to spend Christmas with your partner.

梅根：對，要和另一半一起過聖誕節。

Todd: Right, and everybody looks forward to it. To go out on a date and give each other gifts, and yeah.

託德：沒錯，所有人都很期待聖誕節的到來。在那一天去約會，互送禮物。

Megen: Yeah, yeah, I think the fireworks are for the boyfriend and girlfriend and I think, and I think there are a lot of decorations that are similar to like Valentine's actually.

梅根：對，對，有爲戀人準備的煙花秀，而且還有很多類似情人節的裝飾。

Todd: Yeah, it's interesting because they have the Christmas decoration everywhere, but nobody gets the day off. No families celebrate it really.

託德：對，這很有意思，因爲日本在那天到處都是聖誕節的裝飾，可是沒有人休息。沒有家庭慶祝聖誕節。

Megen: Yeah, it's a regular day.

梅根：對，那只是普通的一天。

Todd: Except eating the chicken dinner, which we talked about — the fried chicken dinner. Yeah, so it's kind of like one of those, like I call it a soft holiday. Like in America a soft holiday would be St Patrick's Day. Like everybody has to go to work but you do something that day related to the holiday even though you have no historical connection to it at all.

託德：除了吃雞肉晚餐，我們之前提到過，日本在聖誕節吃炸雞晚餐。那有點像我稱之爲的“軟節日”。在美國，聖帕特里克節就是軟節日。那天所有人都要上班，雖然人們會做一些和節日有關的事情，但卻完全沒有歷史聯繫。

Megen: Ah, I see.

梅根：啊，我明白了。

Todd: So for example on St Patrick's Day you drink green beer and you wear green. Like, do you do that in Australia?

託德：比如，在聖帕特里克節要喝綠啤酒，穿綠色的衣服。澳大利亞也這樣做嗎？

Megen: Ah, that started to become a thing in Australia that the bars do tend to have green beer, and you have green clothing that you might wear and people go out. It's definitely a drinking holiday. Not a holiday though.

梅根：啊，那在澳大利亞已經成爲一種流行了，酒吧會提供綠啤酒，人們會穿着綠色的衣服外出。那絕對是一個飲酒的假日。雖然那天並不放假。

Todd: Right, are there any other holidays that you've absorbed into Australia?

託德：對，澳大利亞還吸收了哪些節日？

Megen: Well, people are starting to celebrate Halloween more these days and people take their kids trick or treating.

梅根：嗯，最近人們開始慶祝萬聖節，人們會帶孩子去做“不給糖就搗蛋”的惡作劇。

Todd: Oh, really?

託德：哦，真的嗎？

Megen: Yeah! Not everyone does it, though I think that some people like to put a sign on their front door to say that trick-or-treaters are welcome, because generally we don't do that kind of thing in Australia, but the departments, the department stores are having more decorations and it's definitely infiltrating from America I think.

梅根：對！雖然並不是所有人都會這樣做，不過有些人會在房子的前門掛個牌子，上面寫着：歡迎玩不給糖就搗蛋的孩子，通常我們澳大利亞不會做這種惡作劇，不過現在百貨商店裏有關萬聖節的裝飾越來越多，我認爲那一定是從美國滲透進來的。

Todd: Oh, that's interesting. So, in America Halloween is a big time to have parties. Do you have parties?

託德：哦，那真有趣。在美國，萬聖節是舉行派對的絕佳時間。你們舉行派對嗎？

Megen: I think more and more people are having parties. They have their own party in their house with decorations and costumes, but it's hard to say how many people celebrate Halloween really.

梅根：現在越來越多的人會舉辦派對。他們在自己家裏辦派對，在家裏進行裝飾，穿上萬聖節服裝，不過很難說清楚現在有多少人會慶祝萬聖節。

Todd: Well, what about costumes? Did you wear a costume?

託德：嗯，那服裝呢？你們會穿萬聖節服裝嗎？

Megen: I never wore a costume in Australia. I had never celebrated Halloween, but I noticed that some of my friends, and friends with children, they are celebrating it more, and it's becoming just a chance to have a party and dress up.

梅根：我在澳大利亞從來沒穿過萬聖節服裝。我沒慶祝過萬聖節，不過我注意到，我的一些朋友，尤其是那些有孩子的朋友，他們會過萬聖節，那天是舉辦派對和裝扮的好機會。

Todd: As an English teacher did you dress up here in Japan?

託德：作爲英語老師，你在日本有穿萬聖節服裝裝扮一下嗎？

Megen: Yes, I did actually. Twice.

梅根：有，我裝扮過兩次。

Todd: Oh, you did. Did you like it?

託德：哦，你穿過萬聖節服裝。你喜歡嗎？

Megen: I did. It was fun to dress up. I dressed up as a character from a Jubilee movie, and it was really good to get together with my friends and to go out. Have you ever dressed up before?

梅根：我很喜歡。穿萬聖節服裝裝扮一下很有意思。我打扮成了電影《慶典》裏的一個角色，和朋友們聚會、一起出去玩非常開心。你以前裝扮過嗎？

Todd: Oh, countless times. Countless. Yeah, so as a kid it was a big thing definitely in America.

託德：哦，我裝扮過無數次了。無數次。在美國對孩子來說，萬聖節裝扮是件大事。

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重點講解：
1. look forward to sth./doing sth. 期待；盼望；
例句："I look forward to seeing him tomorrow and exchanging views with him, " he said.
他說：“我期待着明天與他見面並與他交換意見。”
2. be similar to 相像的；相仿的；類似的；
例句：The conference was similar to any that had gone before. I don't want to come again.
會議與以往的差不多，我再也不想來了。
3. even though 即使；儘管；縱然；
例句：Even though your research appears to be at a dead end now, you shouldn't lose heart but keep on trying.
即使你們的研究現在似乎沒有什麼進展，你們還是不應該泄氣，而要繼續進行下去。
4. dress up 裝扮；打扮；
例句：Little girls dress up as angels for fiestas.
小女孩們在節日裏扮成天使的樣子。