美語情景對話 第805期:Essential Stuff 必需品

Jess: Right, Tom, tell me, what three things could you not live without?

傑西：好，湯姆，哪三樣東西是你生活中必不可少的？

Tom: Well, I guess you say me playing with my new toy just now. It's my iPod touch and it is fantastic. I often take long bus journeys at the weekend and on this little electronic storage machine with screen I can watch a movie and that's just ... makes bus journeys fly by. It also has wireless internet so I can carry it around and in a coffee shop I can check my e-mail and it has the added function of being able to play music, although I don't listen to music much. That's one. My iPod touch is with me all the time. It's kind of connected to my number 2. Number 2 is the internet. I couldn't live without the internet. I'm online every day — reading newpapers, checking out information about things I want to do and see that day. Keeping in touch with family and friends, although I don't do that as much as they would like. The internet is such a huge part of my life. I can't imagine what it was like ten or fifteen years ago, when nobody was online. Number three, I suppose is the sun, which sounds a bit facile because everything on the whole planet requires the sun, but for me it's not so much about the nutrition that plants and animals derive from the sun. It's just being able to lie and relax in the soft warmth, tanning by the pool letting my mind empty and clear. Those are my three. How about you?

湯姆：嗯，你看到我現在正在玩我的新玩具吧。這是iPod touch，非常棒。我週末經常要坐長時間的公交車，有這個帶有屏幕的小型電子儲存設備，我就可以在公交車上看電影，這樣時間就過得很快。而且這上面還有無線網絡，我可以隨身攜帶，可以在咖啡店檢查電子郵件，iPod touch還有一個附加功能，可以用它聽音樂，不過我不太常聽音樂。這是其中一樣東西，我隨時都要帶着我的iPod touch。其實它和我第二樣必需品有點兒聯繫。第二個就是互聯網。沒有網絡我沒法生活。我每天都要上網，上網看新聞，瞭解我當天想做的事情的相關信息。還有用網絡和家人以及朋友保持聯繫，不過我不像他們聯繫的那麼頻繁。互聯網在我生活中佔據很重要的部分。我無法想象十年或十五年前那種沒有網絡的生活。我想第三樣不可或缺的應該是陽光，這聽起來可能像是隨口說的答案，因爲這個星球上的一切都需要陽光，不過對我來說，我需要的不僅僅是動植物從太陽那裏得到的營養。還有可以在溫暖的陽光下，躺在泳池旁邊曬太陽，什麼都不想，只是休息。這就是我必不可少的三樣東西。你呢？

Jess: Well, I have to agree with your second one, definitely the Internet is one thing couldn't live without either, for the same reasons you mentioned, really, just to stay in touch with people for things like reading the news, checking my e-mail, finding phone numbers, getting information. I really couldn't live without it. The second thing would be my family. I couldn't live without them. I think since I've moved away from Britain and I don't live close to them, and I don't see them regularly anymore, I've grown to love them even more. Kind of you don't realize what you've until it's gone, and that was true with my family. I really miss them all the time, and I love going back to see them, so they're my number two, and my number three would be music. Music's a huge part of my life and I think I remember things by what I was listening to at the time. I'll remember periods of my life by what's songs I was listening to or what album i bought, so for me my memories are very much brought back to me by music, so those are my three things: the Internet, my family, and music.

傑西：嗯，我同意你說的第二樣，互聯網絕對是我必不可少的，我的理由和你的一樣，要和朋友們保持聯繫，瀏覽新聞，檢查電子郵件，找電話號碼，獲取信息。沒有網絡我真的無法生活。第二樣是我的家人。沒有他們我也沒法生活。我離開英國以後，我住得離他們很遠，我不能像以前那樣經常和他們見面，而我卻更愛他們了。就好像你在失去某樣東西前沒有意識到它的珍貴一樣，我和家人的感情就是這樣。我真的很想念和他們在一起的時光，我想回去看看他們，所以家人是我不可或缺的，第三樣是音樂。音樂在我生活中佔據了重要的部分，我通過我當時聽的音樂來記憶。我會通過我當時聽的音樂或我當時買的專輯來記住生命中的那段時光，對我來說音樂會幫我找回以前的記憶，讓我回憶起以前的事情，所以我必不可少的三樣東西是：互聯網、家人和音樂。

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重點講解：
1. check out 瞭解清楚；覈實；查實；
例句：You should check out that new movie. It's great.
你應該看那部新電影。很棒的。
2. in touch with （與…）聯絡；（與…）聯繫；
例句：I haven't been in touch with her for some years.
我有好些年沒有同她聯繫了。
3. derive from 獲得；取得；得到；
例句：Mr Ying is one of those happy people who derive pleasure from helping others.
英先生屬於那種助人爲樂的快活人。
4. agree with 同意；贊成；意見一致；
例句：I quite agree with you that he needs further training.
我完全同意你的意見，他還需要進一步培養。
5. bring back 使記起；使想起；
例句：Your article brought back sad memories for me.
你的文章使我想起了傷心的往事。