Showing posts with label 英語學習. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 英語學習. Show all posts

the Tartan Army

世界杯足球賽在我們這邊舉行。第一場是蘇格蘭對摩洛哥,兩國來了很多的觀光客專程來看足球賽。因為蘇格蘭人很會喝酒(之前我只知道愛爾蘭人很會喝酒),一些酒吧的酒都被喝光啦!

這些天常在新聞裡頭讀到或是聽到 tartan:

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (或是Google看圖片)
tartan
a traditional Scottish pattern of coloured squares and crossed lines, or cloth, especially wool cloth, with this pattern

比如 tartan army 或是 tartan party 等等:

Drunk dry: Boston bars report running out of beer, spike in business with Scotland’s ‘Tartan Army’ in town for World Cup
https://whdh.com/news/drunk-dry-boston-bars-report-running-out-of-beer-spike-in-business-with-scotlands-tartan-army-in-town-for-world-cup/

While the party is far from over with the World Cup continuing into early July, bars in Boston are reporting being “drunk dry” with the influx of Scottish soccer fans, also known as the “Tartan Army,” descending on the city while their team plays in Foxboro.

有個音樂家為此做了首歌。他提到他之前並不知道the Tartan Army是什麼,現在的話也許每個美國人都知道了。

Local musician goes viral with song commemorating Boston, Scotland relationship during World Cup
https://whdh.com/news/local-musician-goes-viral-with-song-commemorating-boston-scotland-relationship-during-world-cup/

“If you asked me a week ago who the Tartan army was, I probably couldn’t have told you,” Law said. “But I think, maybe, everyone in America knows now who these guys are.”


King's "Dinah's Hat"

 

Read “Dinah’s Hat,” a new short story by Stephen King in The Atlantic

“I was holding myself together, but just barely. In time, maybe I’d be able to convince myself that never happened.”

我把那篇做成電子書,方便閱讀。

I thought I'd just ask ...

“Instead of ambushing, I thought I’d just ask you over for dinner.”
https://imgur.com/a/y1UUhHJ
https://imgur.com/IRKSLDx

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online
https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/i-thought-that
I thought (that)
used when you are politely suggesting something to do

  • I thought we’d go swimming tomorrow.
  • I thought we could meet for lunch.

Google News Audio Briefing

我那年代一般是用收音機聽 ICRT 電台新聞廣播練英文聽力。現在則是有 AI 播報新聞快報。
我手機有這功能一陣子了,今天無聊試聽了一下。說真的,若不是在播報時說明了是 "AI hosts" ,我還真的聽不出這不是真人播報。

Was given to jeans?

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL上的一篇文章: One Doctor's Lonely Quest To Heal Brain Injury
http://biz.yahoo.com/wallstreet/070926/sb119076442562439330_id.html?.v3
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119076442562439330

裏頭我有興趣的是這句:

During his time at Clark, Dr. Stein was given to jeans, long hair and shooting his mouth off in faculty meetings or challenging guest speakers, even eminent ones. "Eyebrows would go up whenever Don's hand would go up," recalls...
畫底線之後的部分我讀了好多遍,雖然後頭的意思比較好抓,但是到底什麼是"...was given to jeans, long hair"?本來按照之前的內容他在學校不大如意,那麼我就猜也許這是在說學校把他派給穿牛仔褲留長髮的學生,但是意思不是很合理。又讀了幾遍之後,覺得應該是在說他的"習性"--他當時是穿牛仔褲和留長髮的,只是我不記得"give"有這用法,所以上了Longman ONLINE查give,卻找不到這字義和這用法。後來繼續查其他的字義→given (adj),天殺的,居然在這裡!
Longman ONLINE
given (adjective)
......
3 be given to (doing) something formal to tend to do something, especially something that you should not do:
- He was a quiet man, not usually given to complaining.

雖然都是基本單字,但是整個片語卻是正式用法。

pump switching

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/warning-pump-switching-scam-spreads-180500439.html
或是 YouTube 然後用這字串搜尋:pump switching scam
這個在台灣恐怕行不通(台灣現在應該沒有自己用電子支付自助加油吧?)。在美國的話,在加油站用信用卡自己加油很普遍,那麼自行加油的步驟是先刷卡(credit card, debit card 等)(*1),然後才是加油。加完油後把油槍放回機器,機器會印收據結帳,也就是完成卡片扣款程序。

所以這個 scam 就是 scammer 會過來好意幫忙加油或是把油槍放回去,他拿到油槍後當然是假裝把油槍放回機器,換句話說交易尚未完成,繼續加油的話仍會繼續扣款。等受害顧客離開後,這個 scammer 就會等下一個顧客過來,然後推銷說比如收現金$20美金幫他加滿油,機器扣的款仍是之前受害者的卡片,就這樣子一直重複下去直到機器無法再加油為止。

 

(*1) 也可以先給現金,這時機器會設定好固定的量,加油時達到這金額數時會自動停止給油

book it

book it

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/book-it
IDIOM
Slang.

  • to move quickly; hurry.
    We had to book it to the other terminal to make our flight, which we barely did.

  • to flee at top speed, as to avoid being discovered or caught by someone.
    The cops are coming—book it!

book

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/book
VERB (used without object)
3. Slang.
b. to leave; depart

  • I'm bored with this party, let's book.

https://youtu.be/awSW2nH52RM


一則電視新聞報導。一個偷車賊在逃跑中撞上另一輛車,然後......
... Murphy, for some reason, crashed into another car and tried to book it.

我第一次在一本小說上讀到 book 這用法時印象很深,因為沒想到 book 居然還有這意思。原句子大概是"... he booked to the kitchen"。昨晚在看新聞時突然聽到這"... book it"就又特別留意了一下。

奶油 與 奶油

Butter? Cream? ...? 

這是多年前的一件趣事。我哥有時會來我這開伙。這次他說要煮洋蔥湯,因為他在華人報紙上看到這食譜。他說他在餐廳吃過洋蔥湯,覺得很好吃,於是想自己做看看。反正煮的人是他,我就讓他在廚房裡忙。

當時我正在看電視。我記得他說要「炒」洋蔥,只是我看了好一陣子電視後突然發覺怎麼他還在那裡「ㄌㄚv」(還在那拿著鍋鏟攪啊拌啊),於是我好奇過去看.....(如第二個照片)。

這時我突然想到他之前不是說要「炒」洋蔥嗎?怎麼是一鍋的湯?

Butter

  • Dr.eye: n. 1. 奶油;黃油 《英漢大辭典》
  • 文馨: n. 1. 奶油 Shall I use butter for frying the fish?
  • Merriam-Webster Online: 1. a solid emulsion of fat globules, air, and water made by churning milk or cream and used as food

Cream

  • Dy.eye:  n. 1. 奶油;乳脂[U] Butter is made from cream. 《英漢大辭典》
  • 文馨: n. 1. 乳脂,乳皮(牛奶上層的油脂,可製奶油)
  • Merriam-Webster Online: 1. the yellowish part of milk containing from 18 to about 40 percent butterfat

看樣子文馨似乎好了些,兩個英文字的翻譯沒有用到相同的中文,但是如果按照文馨的翻譯的話,那麼喝咖啡時加的「奶油球」就變成「乳脂球」或是「乳皮球」。 

以下的 butter 和 cream 說明是專指用於烹飪和飲食方面的字義。 

Butter 在室溫下是固態狀,通常是(淡)黃色(有染色),也有白色的(沒染色)。基本上是當成油脂來用(比如用於油炸)。

Cream 是液態狀,在美國的話依照油脂含量來說有分很多種,比如 heavy cream, light cream, half & half 等等,油脂含量越高越濃稠。因為水分含量高,所以不能用於油炸。我哥就是犯了這錯誤,他以為他買的通常用於加在咖啡裡頭的「奶油」 half & half cream 是油炸煎炒用的「奶油」,更扯的是他買到的是「fat free」,油脂含量幾乎是零(我剛查了這商品成份標示,有微量的油脂,可以按照規定標示為零油脂)。他是有說因為報紙上的洋蔥湯照片看起來是白色的,所以他以為是 ......

暴風雪 與 暴風雪

snowstorm vs blizzard

我們這邊約上個月有一場 snowstorm,下了超過一整天,累積雪量超過一英呎。今天呢則是來了場 blizzard。現在是早上,從窗外望出去一片白,這場 blizzard 從昨晚開始,估計今天會持續到下午(剛查了氣象預報,下午4點從 Blizzard 轉為 Snow/Wind,然後 Snow Showers/Wind),雪量跟上次差不多。

上次那場 snowstorm,我在報給台灣親友知道時,我本來想寫以前背過的 「暴風雪」,但是那場 snowstorm 主要是大雪,風速不大,要說是「暴風」總是怪怪的。現在則是來了場 blizzard,因為上次的 blizzard 是在 2022 年,很多年沒聽到這字眼,這次再次聽到,我記得以前背過的好像也是 「暴風雪」。好奇之下我查了一下:

dreye.com

snowstorm

  • 暴風雪
    以上來源於:《英漢大辭典》

  • a heavy fall of snow accompanied by a high wind.
    以上來源於:《簡明牛津英語詞典》

blizzard

  • 大風雪,暴風雪
    以上來源於:《英漢大辭典》

  • a severe snowstorm with high winds.
    以上來源於:《簡明牛津英語詞典》

文馨英漢辭典

snowstorm

  • 暴風雨,大風雪

blizzard

  • 大風雪,暴風雪

嗯,這跟那個「中暑 與 中暑」有拼。還是直接看英英字典吧:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=blizzard

snowstorm

  • A storm marked by heavy snowfall.

blizzard

  • 1a. A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile (400 meters) for three hours.


在電視台看到的:


 

is wearing不是「正在穿/戴」

… is wearing … 不是「正在穿(上)/戴(上)/...」

直接看影片比較清楚:

如果上頭的 yarn.co (或是 getyarn.io) 無法看影片,那麼看這個英文教學影片也行:

  • "What are you wearing? "
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O67zKqPKiYc
    從 [0:20] 開始(或是 [3:08] 處是附上字幕的相同影片)。訪問的人問 "What are you wearing?",接受訪問的少年郎並不是正在把衣物穿上,他回答的是他穿在身上的是什麼衣物:"I'm wearing, uh, black shoes, blue jeans, black jacket, and red top."
    影片接下去則是更多的 "What are you wearing?" 的對話例子。

字典怎麼說?

文馨當代英漢辭典(第五版)

  • (vt.) wear:  穿著(衣、鞋);戴著(帽);戴著(戒子、眼鏡);佩著(槍、劍)
    (★指穿上,戴上時,用put on)
    ....
    • He was wearing a saber. 他配著一把軍刀。 

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

  • wear1 ... verb
    1 ON YOUR BODY: ... to have something such as clothes, shoes, or jewellery on your body:
    • Susanna was wearing a black silk dress.

...

Register
In everyday English, people often say that someone has something on rather than is wearing something:
· She had on a black silk dress.

注意讀 Register 部份的說明。

 


之前的舊資料

https://www.englishforums.com/English/WearProgressiveOrSimple/brwwcn/post.htm
CalifJim:
He is wearing a new coat. (now, as we speak)
He wears his new coat wherever he goes. (always, as a habit)
He was wearing a new coat at the party last night. (then, during the time we are speaking about)
He [wore / used to wear / would wear] his new coat wherever he went. (always, as a habit)
He wore his new coat to the party last night. (then, when he traveled to the party, on that occasion)


https://www.englishforums.com/English/WoreOrWasWearing/brjbhz/post.htm
(1) He wore glasses (2) She was wearing a new coat. ...
.... 'wore' and 'was wearing' ...

CalifJim:
In many, many cases, the two are equivalent. Choose the one you like better.

If you are talking about something that always or usually happens, something that occurs regularly, then wore is probably better.

He (always) wore glasses.
She (always) wore the same coat every day.


https://www.englishforums.com/English/PastContinuousTense/bhvbck/post.htm


When he stopped showing up, the chef went looking for him.

A man ate at the same Florida restaurant every day for a decade. When he stopped showing up, the chef went looking for him.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shrimp-basket-pensacola-florida-restaurant-regular-rescued-chef/

說不定 Reader’s Digest 會採訪這故事

#true_story

Backerinners

 


We call them “backerinners.” As opposed to the more traditional way of parking, going in nose-first with the front of the car, backerinners are more and more prevalent these days.

感恩節那一陣子的新聞。因為是購物熱潮,而 backerinners 因為需要多花些時間停車,因此會在停車場造成像上頭影片那樣的阻塞。說實在的,我一般是避開購物熱潮,所以我沒注意到這種現象。平常的話就算在停車時遇到前頭的車在那邊「倒車入庫」也只是多等一會,也不常遇到,所以這不是問題。但是一般人要購物熱潮期間去賣場購物需要停車時,情況就不一樣了。

眼鏡度數?

1. Rx / Prescription

圖片下方說明有這字樣: Additional charge may be applied for strong Rx ....

"Rx"是prescription的縮寫,整句用我們的(台灣)中文說法來講的話相當於「度數深者價格另計(*1)」。

(*1) 原意思是說度數深的話會加價,但是相同情況下我們(台灣)會用意思較隱晦的「價格另計」來說,至少這造成的衝擊性比直接跟顧客講「我們要另外多收錢喔」要和緩些。

另外一個: https://www.zennioptical.com/c/faq#lenses-faq?top=lenses-thinner

+ How do I get thinner lenses?
The lens that is preselected as a recommended option in ② Your Lenses during the ordering process will be the best option for your Rx. If you have a strong Rx, a higher lens index number will give you a thinner lens. 

很巧,多年後我用 Zenni Optical 線上買眼鏡,我都忘了我有寫這篇。相同度數,價格差很多。在買之前是有些猶豫,畢竟會懷疑便宜沒好貨,所以我沒選擇更好的配備,就基本的 1.67 high index 和 anti-reflection。這眼鏡我戴了快三年,感想是和舊的眼鏡沒差別,看樣子便宜還是有好貨。
  • New glasses: $57.80 (Zenni Optical 2023)
  • Old glasses: over $400 (LensCrafters 2009)😱

會用 Rx(prescription) 這字也是因為在美國配眼鏡時需要眼科醫師或是驗光醫師開的處方簽(eyeglass prescription, spectacle prescription, optical prescription, etc),然後直接將「這張紙」給眼鏡行,一般人不會去記這張紙上的多樣數據。所以 Rx 除了是處方簽,在配眼鏡時也是指處方簽上的數據,不然每次都要在那邊落落長講 distant vision(DV), oculus dexter(OD), oculus sinister(OS), spherical, cylindrical, axis,… 誰受得了啊?!一個例子:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Specrx-prescription2.jpg 。另一個例子(沒小數點的版本

再來一個:

 

2. Strength(比如 +1.75 或是 -5.0)

圖片字樣:NEW TO READERS? TEST YOUR EYES BELOW. LOOK THROUGH THE LENSES STARTING ON THE LEFT. WHEN YOU CAN READ CLEARLY, THAT'S YOUR STRENGTH.

美國賣場很容易看到的賣老花(遠視)眼鏡的架子(不需要 Rx)。在那牌字樣下方有標示數字「度數(我們的說法)」。比如 +1.75 相當於台灣眼鏡行講的(遠視)一百七十五度,然後 +1.75 數子正下方有這度數的老花鏡片。想買老花眼鏡的人可以用這鏡片去看後方的字樣,能看的清楚的就是你的度數(THAT'S YOUR STRENGTH)。

近視眼鏡的話,比如 -5.0 就相當我們講的五百度。

3. 不是 degree

我們在講的眼鏡「度數」主要是 diopter(鏡片曲率單位;折光度;屈光度),這和「degree」無關。

算是題外話。2023年我在網路上找了幾家眼鏡公司(含實體店面的連鎖店),他們的網站有提供計價資訊,和上述的「計價用的度數」不同的是鏡片價格差不多清一色的和「度數」無關,不管度數深淺都是一樣的價格。(我算是深度近視,我沒去查比我更深的度數的計價方式,也許會另外算。至少這篇上頭的第一個圖片的那家眼鏡行是這樣子說的。)

---------

我忘了以前寫的這篇:diopter value 

讀報紙學單字

這是大約本世紀初的事情。那一陣子因為美國高中生申請大學要考的 SAT 開始要加考 essay,所以有很多相關的報導。我讀的一篇文章應該是 The Boston Globe 報紙。文章標題我忘了,反正是教高中生在考前如何準備,其中的一個建議是「每天閱讀報紙」,作者說呢利用考前每天讀報紙可以多學些生字。

說到這個報紙生字,很多年前我和個老美朋友談到這事。我知道他有讀報紙的習慣。讀報,這也沒什麼,只是有時他看到報上有趣的文章指個給我看時,我有發現到他讀報的速度很快。我想說老美嘛,讀報速度比我快,這本來就很正常,只是那次談到這事時,他說他有學過速讀,然後他不是整篇從第一個字讀到最後一個字,而是只讀重點,不重要的部份就快速掃描過去或是直接略過,至於生字,他說他當然也會遇到,這時就是靠前後文來理解那意思。

現在的話,應該沒人會去建議讀紙張報紙,那麼讀線上版的也行。除了上網閱讀之外,一個不錯的工具是用 Calibre 的 Fetch news 功能,設定好你要的網路新聞或是雜誌(找沒有 paywall 的),然後下載轉成電子書:
https://manual.calibre-ebook.com/news.html


 

Gen Z stare

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Z_stare



 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbRY1nspVmQ

Youth in Asia ; Her Bxxx

當年在上會話課時,有次上課的課程和 euthanasia 有關。老美老師說他第一次聽到這字時以為是 “youth in Asia”。雖是說笑,但是我發現把這當成像是諧音那樣來記這單字倒也是不錯的方法。

美國今天的新聞有一條是發生在亞利桑那州的沙塵暴,有的新聞網站標題(以及後來電視新聞播放的一個影片)有這單字:haboob。因為有照片所以知道那是什麼,但是還是好奇查了一下 —— 至少可以確定發音。

一個例子:A haboob covered central Arizona in dust. But what exactly is it?

年紀大了,所以一陣子後回想這單字時發現快忘了,再想一下,隱約只記得前幾個音,所以又查了一次。

後來我突然發覺這單字聽起來很像 her bxxx 😆 這下就不成問題啦。

My Family's Slave

My Family’s Slave by Alex Tizon
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/
有中文版以及有聲書。如果被 pay wall 擋的話,以下列字串用 Google 搜尋其它網頁。

“The ashes filled a black plastic box about the size of a toaster. It weighed three and a half pounds.”

很感人的一篇文章。

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Family%27s_Slave

#true_story #essay #biographical_essay

'Skibidi' 'tradwife'

 ‘Skibidi’ and ‘tradwife’ among words added to Cambridge Dictionary

skibidi

“a word that can have different meanings such as ‘cool’ or ‘bad’, or can be used with no real meaning as a joke”. Example: “What the skibidi are you doing?”

tradwife

“a shortening of ‘traditional wife’ – a married mother who cooks, cleans and posts on social media.”

delulu

“a play on the word ‘delusional’, with a similar definition: ‘believing things that are not real or true, usually because you choose to’.”

broligarchy

“Merging ‘bro’ and ‘oligarchy’, it means ‘a small group of men, especially men owning or involved in a technology business, who are extremely rich and powerful, and who have or want political influence.’”


中暑 與 中暑


(沒有列全部翻譯)
heat stroke (heatstroke) : 中暑

heat exhaustion: 中暑(*1),熱疲憊(文馨),熱衰竭(Cambridge),輕度中暑(英漢大辭典)

(*1)國家教育研究院雙語詞彙辭典(英漢),Cambridge

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根據 Wikipedia ,兩者的區別之一是前者體溫大於 40.0 °C,後者則是低於。這幾天我們這又來一波熱浪,然後電視新聞播報一處火災時,提到 "A number of firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion."

What gasoline is called around the world

https://worldvisualized.com/article/what-gasoline-is-called-around-the-world-and-what-it-reveals-about-language


電影28 Years Later《28年毀滅倒數》裡頭有一幕是一個瑞典阿兵哥在一個充滿汽油氣的加油站裡頭救了主角母子。救出來之後他說他引爆的是"benzene"。一開始我還納悶怎麼他說的是