美語情景對話 第564期:Meet the Family 見家人

Todd: Lucinda, has Kwame been to New Zealand?

託德：露辛達，誇梅去過新西蘭嗎？

Lucinda: Yeah, he has. He came with me on my last vacation to New Zealand.

露辛達：去過，他去過。上個假期他和我一起去了新西蘭。

Todd: OK, so how was it? It was his first trip to New Zealand.

託德：你們玩得怎麼樣？這是他第一次去新西蘭。

Lucinda: It was quite funny actually because, he's, I'm from New Zealand in the Western Country and I'm from the country and he's from Africa and he's from the city so a lot of people assume that if your from Africa you're from the country and if you're from a Western Country, you're from the city and when he came to visit us I think he was a little bit shocked to end up in the middle of the country and my family thought he's be able to, he'd know his way around a spade and a shovel and and be able to plant trees which is what my parents spent a lot of time doing and so, I think in the beginning he was very, he was quite shocked about the type of lifestyle we had but after awhile he really settled in really well.

露辛達：其實非常有意思，因爲我來自新西蘭，雖然新西蘭是西方國家，可是我來自鄉村，而他來自非洲的城市，所以有很多人會認爲，如果你來自非洲，那你一定來自鄉村，如果你來自西方國家，那你一定來自城市，我認爲，他去我家拜訪時對我家在鄉村這件事感到有點吃驚，我家人認爲他會用鐵鍬和鏟子、會種樹，這是我父母大部分時間都在做的事情，所以我認爲開始時他對我們的生活方式感到非常震驚，不過一段時間之後他已經非常適應這種生活了。

Todd: What did you guys do on his trip to New Zealand?

託德：他在新西蘭的時候你們做了什麼？

Lucinda: I taught him to swim. (Really) Kwame, well, he still can't swim very well. He can float, so we put actually, we, it's quite embarrassing, but we put a life jacket on him from, cause we have race boats, so we put a life jacket on him, and just sent him out into the water on his back.

露辛達：我教他游泳。（真的嗎）不過現在誇梅遊得還不太好。他可以浮在水上，這非常尷尬，我們有賽船，所以我們讓他穿上了船上的救生衣，然後就讓他那樣漂浮在水上。

Todd: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That would work.

託德：好，對，是這樣。這很有效。

Lucinda: So we were quite shocked that he could't swim because coming from an island country, I have never before met anyone in my life that couldn't swim. I learned to swim when I was maybe 4 years old and we have swimming lessons at school so at least you don't go to school, there's no way that you can't swim.

露辛達：我們對他不會游泳這件事感到非常吃驚，因爲我來自島國，以前我從未遇到過不會游泳的人。我大概4歲的時候就學會游泳了，而且學校裏有游泳課，所以除非你不上學，否則不可能不會游泳。

Todd: So are you a good swimming teacher? Did you teach him successfully?

託德：那你是優秀的游泳老師嗎？你成功教會他游泳了嗎？

Lucinda: I gave up halfway through it. My mom had to teach him because I'm very small and my mom used to be a lifeguard so she, she was able to, cause Kwame is so big. He's over 6 foot, so and I'm almost 5 foot so it's kind of a bit, a bit dangerous for me to be teaching him how to swim.

露辛達：我在中途放棄了。所以後來是我媽媽教的他，因爲我個頭太小了，我媽媽以前做過救生員，所以她可以教他，因爲誇梅的個頭太大了。他身高超過6英尺，而我只有5英尺，所以我教他游泳有點兒危險。

Todd: What else do you remember about his first trip to New Zealand?

託德：你還記得誇梅那趟新西蘭之行的什麼事情？

Lucinda: Oh, gosh. I remember that my parents, they really, really loved him and my family spent the whole time fighting over who got to spend time with Kwame and I think that my parents want to adopt me out and adopt Kwame instead. I really think they prefer him. He's the good son.

露辛達：哦。我記得我父母非常非常喜歡他，我家人一直在爭論誰可以和誇梅共處，我想我父母想把我送走，把誇梅當自己的孩子。我真的覺得他們更喜歡他。他是個優秀的兒子。

Todd: What did Kwame think of New Zealand?

託德：誇梅認爲新西蘭怎麼樣？

Lucinda: He really liked it. He, my stepfather, he goes fishing all the time and Kwame, coming from the city, he, when my stepfather asked him to go fishing he kind of squirmed at the thought of the start, but after coming back fishing, he asked every night after that to go fishing (really) and now all he talks about is the large snapper that he caught in New Zealand.

露辛達：他非常喜歡新西蘭。大部分時間誇梅都在和我的繼父釣魚，誇梅來自城市，我繼父邀請他一起去釣魚時，他開始時有些不安，不過他去釣魚回來後，每天晚上他都要求去釣魚，現在他一直在談論他在新西蘭釣到的那條大鯛魚。

Todd: That's nice.

託德：真好。

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重點講解：
1. know one's way arond 對…完全熟悉；通曉；
例句：He knows his way around the intricate maze of European law.
他通曉錯綜複雜的歐洲律法。
2. settle in 習慣（新居）；適應（新工作、新學校等）；
例句：I haven't yet settled in in my new job.
我還未適應我的新工作。
3. give up 放棄；戒除；
例句：He gave up the struggle in despair.
他絕望地放棄了鬥爭。
4. used to do sth. 過去常常；過去曾；
例句：He used to crap around like that.
他老做那樣的傻事。
5. all the time 一直；始終；
例句：Tom talked about his holiday all the time.
湯姆一直在談着他的假期情況。
6. ask sb. to do sth. 要求…（做…）；請求…（做…）；
例句：Every time I ask her to set the date she stalls.
我每次請她定一個時間，她總是藉故拖延。