美语情景对话 第382期:Mexican Vacation 去墨西哥度假

Todd: SiMon, when you were younger, did you take vacations with your family?

托德：西蒙，你小的时候和家人一起度过假吗？

Simon: Yes, I did.

西蒙：嗯，有过。

Todd: OK, where did you go?

托德：好，那你去哪里了？

Simon: Well, I went to many places, but I have one memorable experience. I went to Baja, California.

西蒙：我去过很多地方，不过我有次难忘的旅行。我去了北下加利福尼亚州。

Todd: Baja, California. Nice. Can you explain where Baja, California is?

托德：北下加利福尼亚州，不错。你能解释一下北下加利福尼亚州在哪儿吗？

Simon: Actually, it's not in California. It's south of California. It's in Mexico, and it's on the west side of Mexico, below California, of course, and it's a desert surrounded by beautiful ocean.

西蒙：实际上那里不在加州，而是在加州以南。位于墨西哥境内，在墨西哥西边，当然是在加州以南了，那里是片被美丽海洋环绕的沙漠。

Todd: Oh, sounds good. Sounds nice. What's the landscape like?

托德：哦，听上去不错。听上去很好。那里的景色怎么样？

Simon: Dry, dusty, and beautiful.

西蒙：干燥、多尘，但很漂亮。

Todd: So it's a desert?

托德：所以那里是沙漠吗？

Simon: Yeah, it's a desert with lots of cacti.

西蒙：对，是沙漠，那里有很多仙人掌。

Todd: Oh, OK. What are cacti?

托德：哦，好。什么是仙人掌？

Simon: Well, maybe you know what a cactus is. It's a, you know, the desert plant from Cowboy movies, and it has needles which stick and hurt and it's green, but yeah. That's about it and beautiful blue waters.

西蒙：嗯，也许你知仙人掌。就是一种在牛仔电影里常出现的沙漠植物，上面有刺，可能会刺伤你，当然那是种绿色植物。就是这样，那里还有美丽的蓝色海水。

Todd: You mean water from the ocean.

托德：你是指海水吗？

Simon: Water from the ocean. There's no water on the land. You know, there's no lakes, probably no rivers, just dust, yeah!

西蒙：是海水。那里的陆地上没有水。你知道，没有湖，可能连河都没有，只有尘土！

Todd: How did you get there?

托德：那你是怎么去那里的？

Simon: I drove.

西蒙：我开车去的？

Todd: You drove?

托德：开车去的？

Simon: Yeah! We drove. I didn't drive. I was too young but my parents drove. Baja is very long. It's about 2,000 miles, or 2,000 kilometers and we drove.

西蒙：对！我们开车去的。不是我开的车，我当时太小，是我父母开的车。北下加利福尼亚州是非常狭长的地带，那里有约2000英里，或者说2000千米，我们是开车过去的。

Todd: What do you remember most about your trip?

托德：你那次旅行中记忆最深的是什么？

Simon: Well, I remember the color of the water, the white sandy beaches, and the desert at dusk. It's a pretty cool place, you know.

西蒙：嗯，我记得海水的颜色，白色的沙滩，还有黄昏的沙漠。你知道，那里真的是个很棒的地方。

Todd: How long did you stay for your vacation?

托德：那你们的假期在那里待了多长时间？

Simon: 6 weeks.

西蒙：6周。

Todd: 6 weeks. That's a long time.

托德：6周。那是很长的一段时间了。

Simon: Yeah, well, my parents were a little bit different from other parents.

西蒙：对，我父母和其他的父母有一点儿不同。

Todd: Sounds like a really good time. So do you plan to back to Baja sometime?

托德：听起来你们度过了非常愉快的时光。那你打算某个时候再回到北下加州吗？

Simon: I hope so. Yeah. But I won't prick myself on a cactus.

西蒙：我希望可以再去。不过肯定不会再让仙人掌扎到了。

Todd: OK. Well, take me. I want to go, too.

托德：好的，带我一起去吧。我也想去。

Simon: OK.

西蒙：好的。

重点讲解：
1. a little bit
一点儿；
eg. So after consideration, we have decided to change it a little bit this year.
因此经过考虑之后，我们决定今年做点改变。
eg. We are all a little bit guilty.
我们所有人都有点内疚。
2. be different from
异于；和…不同；
eg. I surrendered to the fact that our lives are just going to be a bit different from the norm.
我终于向现实投降，那就是我们的生活和正常生活的确有些不同。
eg. A sleep-deprived child's reaction is often different from the low energy and sleepiness experienced by adults.
孩子在睡眠不足时的反应往往不同于成年人（在缺觉情况下）感到的精力不足与困乏。
3. plan to do sth.
计划；筹划；谋划做某事；
eg. He planned to leave Baghdad on Monday.
他计划周一离开巴格达。
eg. Of those surveyed, 23% plan to hire more than last year.
受访公司中有23%计划在去年的基础上增加招聘人数。