美語情景對話 第382期:Mexican Vacation 去墨西哥度假
Todd: Simon, when you were younger, did you take vacations with your family?
託德：西蒙，你小的時候和家人一起度過假嗎？Simon: Yes, I did.
西蒙：嗯，有過。Todd: OK, where did you go?
託德：好，那你去哪裏了？
Simon: Well, I went to many places, but I have one memorable experience. I went to Baja, California.
西蒙：我去過很多地方，不過我有次難忘的旅行。我去了北下加利福尼亞州。Todd: Baja, California. Nice. Can you explain where Baja, California is?
託德：北下加利福尼亞州，不錯。你能解釋一下北下加利福尼亞州在哪兒嗎？Simon: Actually, it's not in California. It's south of California. It's in Mexico, and it's on the west side of Mexico, below California, of course, and it's a desert surrounded by beautiful ocean.
西蒙：實際上那裏不在加州，而是在加州以南。位於墨西哥境內，在墨西哥西邊，當然是在加州以南了，那裏是片被美麗海洋環繞的沙漠。Todd: Oh, sounds good. Sounds nice. What's the landscape like?
託德：哦，聽上去不錯。聽上去很好。那裏的景色怎麼樣？Simon: Dry, dusty, and beautiful.
西蒙：乾燥、多塵，但很漂亮。Todd: So it's a desert?
託德：所以那裏是沙漠嗎？Simon: Yeah, it's a desert with lots of cacti.
西蒙：對，是沙漠，那裏有很多仙人掌。Todd: Oh, OK. What are cacti?
託德：哦，好。什麼是仙人掌？Simon: Well, maybe you know what a cactus is. It's a, you know, the desert plant from Cowboy movies, and it has needles which stick and hurt and it's green, but yeah. That's about it and beautiful blue waters.
西蒙：嗯，也許你知仙人掌。就是一種在牛仔電影裏常出現的沙漠植物，上面有刺，可能會刺傷你，當然那是種綠色植物。就是這樣，那裏還有美麗的藍色海水。Todd: You mean water from the ocean.
託德：你是指海水嗎？Simon: Water from the ocean. There's no water on the land. You know, there's no lakes, probably no rivers, just dust, yeah!
西蒙：是海水。那裏的陸地上沒有水。你知道，沒有湖，可能連河都沒有，只有塵土！
Todd: How did you get there?
託德：那你是怎麼去那裏的？Simon: I drove.
西蒙：我開車去的？Todd: You drove?
託德：開車去的？Simon: Yeah! We drove. I didn't drive. I was too young but my parents drove. Baja is very long. It's about 2,000 miles, or 2,000 kilometers and we drove.
西蒙：對！我們開車去的。不是我開的車，我當時太小，是我父母開的車。北下加利福尼亞州是非常狹長的地帶，那裏有約2000英里，或者說2000千米，我們是開車過去的。Todd: What do you remember most about your trip?
託德：你那次旅行中記憶最深的是什麼？Simon: Well, I remember the color of the water, the white sandy beaches, and the desert at dusk. It's a pretty cool place, you know.
西蒙：嗯，我記得海水的顏色，白色的沙灘，還有黃昏的沙漠。你知道，那裏真的是個很棒的地方。Todd: How long did you stay for your vacation?
託德：那你們的假期在那裏待了多長時間？Simon: 6 weeks.
西蒙：6周。Todd: 6 weeks. That's a long time.
託德：6周。那是很長的一段時間了。Simon: Yeah, well, my parents were a little bit different from other parents.
西蒙：對，我父母和其他的父母有一點兒不同。Todd: Sounds like a really good time. So do you plan to back to Baja sometime?
託德：聽起來你們度過了非常愉快的時光。那你打算某個時候再回到北下加州嗎？Simon: I hope so. Yeah. But I won't prick myself on a cactus.
西蒙：我希望可以再去。不過肯定不會再讓仙人掌扎到了。Todd: OK. Well, take me. I want to go, too.
託德：好的，帶我一起去吧。我也想去。Simon: OK.
西蒙：好的。重點講解：
1. a little bit
一點兒；
eg. So after consideration, we have decided to change it a little bit this year.
因此經過考慮之後，我們決定今年做點改變。
eg. We are all a little bit guilty.
我們所有人都有點內疚。
2. be different from
異於；和…不同；
eg. I surrendered to the fact that our lives are just going to be a bit different from the norm.
我終於向現實投降，那就是我們的生活和正常生活的確有些不同。
eg. A sleep-deprived child's reaction is often different from the low energy and sleepiness experienced by adults.
孩子在睡眠不足時的反應往往不同於成年人（在缺覺情況下）感到的精力不足與睏乏。
3. plan to do sth.
計劃；籌劃；謀劃做某事；
eg. He planned to leave Baghdad on Monday.
他計劃週一離開巴格達。
eg. Of those surveyed, 23% plan to hire more than last year.
受訪公司中有23%計劃在去年的基礎上增加招聘人數。
