美語情景對話 第352期:Thailand and America 泰國和美國

Thailand is so different from where I used to live in America. First of all, in my neighborhood there are many stray dogs, dogs with no home. During the day, they lay around and sleep and at night they fight and make a lot of noise barking and howling. Sometimes they're even dangerous, especially people who ride by on their bikes, sometimes can be bit by these dogs. In America, stray dogs, are sent to the pound. The pound, the dog pound, is like a jail for dogs. Um, also, in front of my house, in front of every house in my neighborhood, there's a fence, or a gate with a lock on it. I don't like it. I think it's a hassle because I have to take out my key, unlock the lock, then drive the car out, stop the car, get out, close the gate and then put the lock on again. In America, it's much more convenient. Usually there's a garage or a closed car park and when you drive up you have a remote control, and it opens, the garage door opens automatically, and in America usually we don't have fences or gates around our front yard. Often there's a gate around the backyard, but nothing in the front. Some of the really expensive houses in Thailand too, around there fence they have broken pieces of glass around the top to keep people who want to climb in from getting in. In Thailand usually to buy food, you go to the outdoor market. It's very different than the clean supermarkets in America because they are lots of different smells and lots of action. You can smell fish, meat, trash, fruit, smoke from the barbeques, curry. Sometimes the smells are not so good. People come there, cook fresh food every day and they'll stay there till they sell all their food. It's very cheap. You can eat for about 2 or 3 U.S. dollars. So it's not as clean and it doesn't smell as nice as a big supermarket in America but I think it's a lot more interesting. It makes the supermarkets in America seem very boring.

泰國和我曾經生活過的美國非常不一樣。首先，我家附近有很多流浪狗，無家可歸的狗。白天，他們會四處閒逛、睡覺，晚上它們會打架，大聲吠叫、嚎叫，製造出很多噪音。有時它們甚至會很危險，尤其是騎車從它們身邊經過的人有時會被它們咬。在美國，流浪狗會被送去流浪狗收留所。流浪狗收留所就像狗狗們的監獄。嗯，我家前面，我附近所有人的家前面都有柵欄，或是帶鎖的大門。我很不喜歡這種東西。我認爲那很麻煩，因爲我必須要拿出鑰匙，開鎖以後把車開出來，然後停車、下車，把大門關上，再把鎖鎖上。而在美國，就要方便得多了。通常房子都會有停車庫和非公開的停車場，你要把車開進去的時候就按下遙控器，然後車庫的門就會自動打開，而我們美國一般房子不會帶柵欄，前院也不會有大門。通常大門是在後院，但是前面什麼也沒有。泰國有些非常昂貴的房子也有柵欄，柵欄頂部有一些玻璃碎片，用來防止那些想爬進房子的人。在泰國，一般買食物要去露天市場。那裏和美國整潔的超市非常不同，因爲露天市場有很多種不同的味道，有很多活動。你會聞到魚味、肉味、垃圾的味道、水果味、燒烤的煙味、還有咖喱的味道。有時那些味道並不是很好。人們每天在那裏烹飪新鮮的食物，直到他們賣光所有的食物。那裏的食物很便宜。兩三美元就夠用了。所以露天市場沒有美國的大型超市乾淨，味道也不如大型超市，但是我認爲那裏的樂趣更多。那使得美國的超市看上去很無趣。

重點講解：
1. used to do sth.
過去常常；過去曾做某事；
eg. We used to compete on just cost.
我們曾經僅僅在成本上競爭。
eg. Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans.
瑪喬麗貝爾曾經拿她的退休計劃開玩笑。
2. first of all
第一；首先；
eg. My aim was first of all to determine what I should do next.
我的目標首先是要確定自己下一步該做什麼。
eg. First of all, to try to keep calm at the interview.
首先，面試時要保持鎮靜。
3. keep sb. from doing sth.
阻止（或防止、阻礙）…做某事；
eg. Embarrassment has kept me from doing all sorts of things.
我總是害怕受窘，什麼事都不敢去做。
eg. He kept her from being lonely.
他不讓她感到孤獨。