欢迎来到《酷炫漫画英语口语》。
中国人以前的格调那是文以载道,英国文学史上的散文大师Joseph Addison当年办报《Spectator》时,可是雄心壮志,他说:
It was said of Socrates that he brought Philosophy down from heaven to inhabit among men; and I shall be ambitious to have it said of me that I have brought Philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and in coffee-houses
苏格拉底把哲学从天堂带入凡间,而我则要让哲学走出密室,走出学府,如五月春风一般,让其流转于茶楼酒肆。
现在打开电脑看新闻,真是够乱,各类小编推的资讯大多数都是鸡鸣狗盗之事,最火热的关键词,真的逃不过3S原则:Sex(性), Screen(戏), Sports(体育),这些东西看多了,估计人很难清醒看世界了。
这次的漫画与报纸有关。
漫画素材:
Cashier: (Bleep,Bleep) 179.88 dollars.
Ditto: Wow! That was fast!
Lois: But I haven’t finished my tabloid yet!
这幅漫画选自著名连载 “Hi and Lois” 。这期漫画里,主要人物是:儿子Ditto, 妈妈Lois 和收银员(cashier)。
女性是伟大的。在当今竞争如此激烈的时代,女性不仅要出外工作,也还要担负着照顾家庭的重任。一些家庭琐事男人是不愿涉入的,这样一些类似于出外购物,打扫房间,做饭的家务就要落在女性身上了。
总之,外出工作与照顾家庭对于女性来说很难做到两全。Going out to work and looking after the family can be a difficult balancing act for women. 今天的漫画就与购物有关,一起看看发生了什么:
母亲Lois每周都要去超市狂购,这时她会带上自己的儿子Ditto 让他帮忙提东西回家。 因为买的东西多,一般而言,收银员总得花上很长的时间,将顾客所买东西的价格打入收银机(cash register)。
今天却与往日大不相同,来了个动作麻利的收银员,他使出记账绝招无影手,只见几道白光,空中Bleep, Bleep的响声不绝于耳,就三下两除二搞定。Ditto作为第一现场目击者,刚开始是看得目瞪口呆,在收银员(cashier)报完账单总价一共是179.88美元后,他才缓过神来,笑着赞美道:Wow! That was fast! 哇!好快!
事实上,因为当在收银机上输入数据时,会发出Bleep的响声,所以这个用收银机记账的过程英文里会用“ring up the bill”来表示。例如:
这个收银员手脚一点不笨,用收银机计算账单好快。
The cashier is not all thumbs at all, for he can ring up the bill so fast.
Lois平常都会利用收银机记账的这段时间做点事,可这回做不成了,于是她略带埋怨地说:But I haven’t finished my tabloid yet! 我还没看完我的小报呢!
tabloid是本期漫画要重点掌握的词汇。经查字典:A tabloid is a newspaper that has small pages, short articles, and lots of photographs. Tabloids are often considered to be less serious than other newspapers. 原来tabloid就是专指那些登点八卦绯闻文章的小报纸,一点正经没有。
说到tabloid,不得不提到一些明星,比如Michael Jackson。例如:
Michael Jackson因为精湛的舞艺与歌艺而闻名于世,被人称之为流行音乐之王( the king of pop),但他也因为娈童(Child molestation)等传闻而备受争议,常常要上tabloid的头条。
Michael Jackson was well-known as the king of pop for his elaborate dancing and singing skills, but he also hit the headlines of different tabloids because of his controversial scandals, say, child molestation.
无论如何,MichaelJackson已随风而去,但他留下的精神财富却将永存于世!
了解世界,记忆词汇,欣赏漫画。每天一小步,看得见的进步!
Gutta cavat lapidem.
水滴穿石!
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