美語情景對話 第367期:School Uniforms 校服

Todd: Marion, at the school you work at, do the children wear uniforms?

託德：瑪麗恩，你工作的那所學校要求孩子們穿校服嗎？

Marion: Yes they do.

瑪麗恩：是的，孩子們要穿校服。

Todd: Ah, that's terrible.

託德：啊，那真糟糕。

Marion: Do you think so?

瑪麗恩：你這麼認爲嗎？

Todd: Yeah.

託德：對。

Marion: I think it's a good thing that they wear uniforms. For them, and for their parents too.

瑪麗恩：我認爲穿校服是件好事。對他們是這樣，對他們的父母也是這樣。

Todd: Why?

託德：爲什麼？

Marion: Well, because when they wake up in the morning, they don't have to think about what they wear for that day. So, it saves time, they can have extra time in bed maybe, and for their parents it saves them a lot of money, I think.

瑪麗恩：嗯，因爲早上他們起牀後就不用去想要穿什麼了。所以這會節省時間，他們可以多睡一會兒，而對他們的父母來說，我想這樣也爲他們節省了很多錢。

Todd: See, I disagree. First of all, when children are young, they're starting to be creative for the first time. So, just by choosing what they're going to wear every day, they're can show their creativity, or their individuality, you know? Also, it helps students learn to make choices, to make decisions, to make decisions for themselves. I don't know, like a uniform you take that away from children.

託德：我明白了，不過我不同意。首先，我認爲這是在孩子們小的時候開始培養他們的創造力的好時機。通過選擇每天要穿的衣服他們能顯示出他們的創造力和個性，你明白嗎？而且，這也會幫助學生們學習如何做選擇，如何做決定，如何爲自己做決定。雖然我不太懂，不過我希望孩子們可以不用穿校服。

Marion: I think they can learn how to choose in other ways, maybe, I don't know the accessories they wear, but basically that everybody is in the same clothes I think is really good, just to make everybody equal. Did you wear a uniform when you were at school?

瑪麗恩：我覺得也許他們可以從其他地方學習如何進行選擇，我不太清楚他們的配飾，不過我認爲，所有人都穿一樣的衣服很好，這是爲了要做到人人平等。你上學的時候穿過校服嗎？

Todd: No I didn't. And looking back, I'm glad I didn't, because you know, your clothes reflect your personality, and I think that it's important for kids to be able to show how they are as a person, through their clothes.

託德：沒有，沒穿過。回想一下的話，我很高興我不用穿校服，因爲你知道，你的衣服會反映你的個性，我認爲讓孩子們通過衣服來顯示出他們是怎樣的一個人很重要。

Marion: But maybe if you can show your personality through your personality, and you don't need your clothes to show your personality, then that's a bit better, I think.

瑪麗恩：可是你也可以通過性格來顯示你的個性，你不必非得用衣服來顯示個性，我認爲這樣更好一些。

Todd: That's a good point. I guess I just can't imagine wearing a uniform every day. Plus, I mean if you wear a uniform every day it must get really old, really repetitive, the same thing again and again and again. And I think that mentally, that can be tiring.

託德：這點很有道理。我想我只是不能想象每天要穿着校服的生活。另外，如果你每天穿校服，那校服一定變得很舊，而且每天都要穿一樣的衣服會讓人覺得很煩。

Marion: I think that it might be tiring, or worrying mentally if you, for example, if you see other children in your school who have nicer clothes, more expensive clothes, and your parents can't afford those kind of clothes. Then, it makes you feel left out when you're a child, and that's really, really awful if you feel that way as a child, just because of clothes and money I think.

瑪麗恩：舉個例子來說，如果你看到學校裏的其他孩子穿的衣服比你好，比你的貴，而你的父母買不起那樣的衣服，那你心裏會覺得煩惱或是憂慮。而且還會讓你覺得你被排擠了，我認爲，如果是因爲衣服和錢讓你在孩提時代感受到那些那就太糟糕了。

Todd: Well, did you wear a uniform?

託德：嗯，你以前穿過校服嗎？

Marion: Yes.

瑪麗恩：穿過。

Todd: Did you feel that way?

託德：你有那種感受嗎？

Marion: I went to school in Ireland, so almost all schools have uniforms, so for us it felt very normal, that when I was in primary school we had a uniform, and then in secondary school a different uniform, and my brother's school had a uniform, so it's normal for us. So, I thought it was OK, sometimes you do get bored, but I think overall it saved us time in the morning, which is good.

瑪麗恩：我是在愛爾蘭上的學，那裏幾乎所有學校都要求穿校服，所以這對我們來說很平常，我上小學的時候會穿校服，升到初中之後會換另一套校服，而且我哥哥上的學校也要穿校服，所以對我們來說很平常。我認爲那沒什麼，雖然有的時候確實是會有些煩，不過我認爲總體來說，這爲我們在早上節省了時間，這點很好。

重點講解：
1. first of all
第一；首先；
eg. First of all, this complex problem that they feel discouraged, but after thinking it over carefully they finally worked out a solution.
起初，這個複雜的問題使他們感到灰心，但經過仔細思考他們終於研究出瞭解決辦法。
eg. I was quite surprised first of all and was trying to find out from Ellen for the longest time what this was about.
我首先是很吃驚，在很長一段時間裏，我都想從Ellen那裏弄清楚這到底是怎麼一回事。
2. look back
追憶；回顧；
eg. Looking back, I am staggered how easily it was all arranged.
回頭一想，我驚異地發現這一切的安排竟是如此簡單。
eg. When I look back now, I realize what a trial I must have been to my friends and relatives.
當我回頭看時，我才發現，那段時光對於我的朋友和親戚們來說是一種考驗。
3. leave out
排除；不包括；
eg. Some would question the wisdom of leaving her out of the team.
有人會質疑把她排除在隊伍之外是否明智。
you prefer mild flavours reduce or leave out the chilli.
如果喜歡清淡的口味，可少放或不放辣椒。