美語情景對話 第224期:Olympics 奧運會

Todd: So Travis, this summer we have the Olympics. Are you going to watch the Olympics on TV?

託德：特拉維斯，今年夏天有奧運會。你會收看奧運會的電視轉播嗎？

Travis: I will probably get suckered into watching the olympics I'm sure. It will be on every channel. It will only be on one channel but it will be on the whole day I'm sure.

特拉維斯：我確定我會看電視轉播的。每個頻道都會有轉播。也許只是一個頻道轉播，不過會播一天。

Todd: Yeah, they kind of go overboard. It's on too much.

託德：對，有點過分了。播的太多了。

Travis: Well, I think it was the last winter Olympics, where, I don't know which channel in the Unites States was covering it but whatever channel was covering it most of the olympics was just people's background and personal stories and profiles and a lot of America got really fed up with it, and I don't know if you were still here in Japan or if you were in the Unites States at the time of the last olympics, but people didn't watch the last olympics in the states. They just tuned out completely. The reason that they tuned out is because the coverage was so poor. The station that was covering it was basically just doing profile after profile of athletes, about how they had to overcome hardship, how they had to eat one meal every two weeks , and you know run five hundred miles back and forth, you know, some school in Russia and those sort of profiles, stories drown out the actual events, and it was covered very poorly, but maybe this year will be different, maybe there will be a backlash against that sort of poor coverage, and we'll get to see more of the actual olympics this time. This is the summer olympics right. (Yeah, exactly) It shows how little I know about the olympics. I'm not sure if it's the winter of the summer.

特拉維斯：嗯，我想是上屆冬奧會吧，我不太清楚美國是哪個頻道轉播了上屆冬奧會，不過進行轉播的那個頻道不停地在放運動員的背景資料、個人故事和簡介，許多美國人都對此感到厭煩，我不知道上屆冬奧會的時候你已經來到日本了還是還在美國，不過美國人都沒有看上屆冬奧會。他們完全沒有關注，原因是報道太差了。電視臺只是在報道運動員的簡介，報道他們是如何克服困難的，他們不得不每兩週吃一頓飯，還要進行500英里往返跑，你知道，還有俄羅斯的一些學校，都是這類的簡介，這種報道淹沒了實際的比賽報道，太糟糕了，不過也許今年會有所不同，也許對那種糟糕的報道會有牴觸情緒，這次我們可能會看到更多比賽的報道。今年是夏季奧運會。這說明了我對奧運會知道的太少。我連是冬奧會還是夏奧會都不確定。

Todd: Well, of the Olympics, what's your favorite event?

託德：嗯，說到奧運會，你最喜歡的運動項目是什麼？

Travis: Running.

特拉維斯：跑步。

Todd: Running

託德：跑步。

Travis: Just straight running. It seems like a very pure athletic event. There's no guess work in it. There's not five judge panel trying to decide who won, and then the Canadian judge and the France judge get in a fight and they have to decide. Nothing like that happens. It's just run, clock, stop and whoever got through the finish line the fastest wins. It seems very pure athleticism, so I like running: 100 meter dash,200 meter dash, all of that, and long runs too. I used to run when I was in high school so that helps a little bit. Not short distances. I used to run cross country, three and five miles.

特拉維斯：就只是跑步。這是一場純粹的體育賽事。沒有猜測。不會出現五名裁判來決定誰贏，然後加拿大裁判和法國裁判會爭吵，而他們還必須要做出決定。不會有這樣的情況出現。就只是跑步，計時，停止，最先衝過終點線的就是贏者。這就是非常純粹的運動，所以我喜歡跑步比賽，比如100米跑，200米跑，所有的跑步比賽，當然還有長跑。我在高中的時候會去跑步，這多少會有所幫助。並不是短距離跑。我過去會進行越野長跑，3英里和5英里的。

Todd: Ooh, that's a long ways. Are you still a runner?

託德：哇，那真是很長的距離了。你現在還跑步嗎？

Travis: Well I went running tonight but I don't consider myself to be much of a runner. No, I only say that some day I am going to train and run a marathon but I have yet to train and run a marathon. Maybe someday. Yeah, I did it when I was in Bangkok and it about killed me. Yeah, running in Bangkok, running a marathon in Bangkok was not the smartest thing. It was terrible because they had, they have pollution right, Bangkok's a great city but they have a lot of pollution right. They have to have marathon at 4 o'clock in the morning before the cars start running, and then when you're running the marathon some of the policeman that are officiating have to wear like masks because of the pollution in the air, so when you're running a marathon through that it's not that fun.

特拉維斯：嗯，我今晚去跑步了，不過我認爲我自己並不是跑步選手。不，我只是說有一天我會去練習跑馬拉松，我還沒有開始。也許某一天。嗯，我在曼谷的時候有跑過馬拉松，差點累死我。對，在曼谷跑馬拉松不是明智的做法。那簡直很糟糕，因爲那裏有污染，曼谷是一個很棒的城市，不過那裏的污染很嚴重。他們會在凌晨四點辦馬拉松比賽，要在汽車上馬路以前，之後馬拉松開始以後，一些維持秩序的警察就不得不戴上口罩，因爲空氣污染，而在那種情況下跑馬拉松可沒那麼有趣。

Todd: But anyway, you should do it. You should run a marathon.

託德：不過不管怎麼樣，你應該做。你應該去跑馬拉松。

Travis: I think maybe I will but perhaps after I finish school this year.

特拉維斯：我想也許我今年畢業後會參加馬拉松。

重點講解：
1. go overboard
做得過分（或過火）；
eg. Women sometimes damage their skin by going overboard with abrasive cleansers.
女性有時因過度使用磨砂膏而損傷了皮膚。
eg. He has a tendency to go overboard at their parties.
在他們的晚會上，他總是喜歡過分地表現自己。
2. fed up
厭倦的；厭煩的；膩味的；
eg. He had become fed up with city life.
他已經厭倦了城市生活。
eg. I'm just fed up and I don't know what to do.
我就是膩味了，不知道該怎麼辦。
3. back and forth
往返；
eg. He paced back and forth.
他來回踱步。
eg. Two boys were in the street, tossing a baseball back and forth.
兩個男孩在街上來來回回地投接棒球。
4. tune out
走神；開小差；漠視；
eg. Whatever you're talking about, children rapidly tune out if you go beyond them.
不管你在說什麼，如果孩子們聽不懂，就會很快走神。
eg. Rose heard the familiar voice, but tuned out the words.
羅斯聽到了熟悉的聲音，但沒注意聽說的是什麼。