情境介紹
任職於跨國企業臺灣分公司的Eric利用休假到加拿大拜訪友人Daryl,此時正好是冰上曲棍球季開始,兩人一同前往觀賽……
Eric: Thanks for inviting me to a hockey1 game.
Daryl: Hey, don’t mention it. Besides, you can’t visit Canada without going to a hockey game. It’s our national sport.
Eric: Wow, the players skate2 so fast, and the puck3 moves even faster!
Daryl: Yes. They have to anticipate4 what will happen next. Hockey’s greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky5, once explained tha the “skates to where the puck is going to be.”
Eric: Cool. I’ve lost sight of the puck now!
Daryl: Hahaha! So, you can imagine how skilled the players are. As we say in hockeyspeak6:“You have to keep your stick7 on the ice” to always be ready for a shot8.
Eric: Ouch! That was a really hard hit. Do all hockey games get this physical9?
Daryl: Well, sometimes it can get really physical. Body checking10 is part of the game. But don’t get the wrong impression. Canadians are quite mild-mannered11 and lowkey12,just like me.
Eric: 謝謝你邀請我來看曲棍球比賽。
Daryl: 嘿,別客氣。何況,你來加拿大怎麼能不看場冰上曲棍球賽呢!它可是我們的國民運動耶。
Eric: 哇,選手們溜冰的速度好快,冰球跑得更是快!
Daryl: 是呀,球員們必須預測接下來的球勢。冰上曲棍球史上最偉大的球員韋恩‧格雷茨基就曾說他「總是溜到冰球即將到的地方。」
Eric: 酷!我看不到球在哪了!
Daryl: 哈哈哈!這樣你就能想像球員們有多厲害了吧!套句曲棍球的行話,「球棍要隨時貼著溜冰場地板」,要能隨時準備射門。
Eric: 哎喲!那可真是力道好大的一擊。曲棍球賽都這麼激烈嗎?
Daryl: 嗯,有時候的確會粗暴一些。身體撞擊算是比賽的一部分。不過別誤會。加拿大人可是相當溫和、低調的,就像我一樣!
實用慣用語
想要深入了解一個國家的文化,可從觀賞他們的國民運動開始。就像去英國一定要去看足球(soccer),去美國看美式足球(American football)一樣,加拿大的冰上曲棍球可是他們的熱情象徵,一起來看看Eric跟Daryl的對話中實用的詞彙!
Don t mention it. 別客氣(小事一件甭提了)
例:A: Thank you for your hospitality.B: Don’t mention it! It’s my pleasure.
(A: 謝謝你的款待。B:別客氣。這是我的榮幸。)
Lose sight of something 看不見
例:The puck was going so fast that even the cameraman lost sight of it for a few seconds.
(冰球的速度快到連攝影師有一、兩秒的時間也看不到它。)
Get the wrong impression 對??有錯誤的印象、誤會
例:People always get the wrong impression of me because I don’t talk very much.
(因為我比較少說話,人們總是對我有錯誤印象。)
Skate to where the puck is going to be 溜向冰球將到達的地方,常引申為「預測未來情勢」
例:Investors make money by investing where the puck is going to be.
(投資者靠著預測下一步情勢來賺錢。)
Keep your stick on the ice 球棍要隨時貼著溜冰場地板,常引申為「隨時做好準備」
例:An opportunity can come anytime. All you can do is to keep your stick on the ice.
(機會隨時都可能來臨。你能做的只有隨時做好準備。)
本月加值
運動在不同文化中都占有重要的一席(an important place),但學英文不用這麼辛苦,有些基本詞彙是可以通用的(universal),這一期的本月加值特別介紹運動基本詞彙!
rookie 新入選選手
例:Vic was awarded Rookie of the Year for his amazing performance this season.
(維克以他這季優秀的表現獲頒了年度新人獎。)
standing 排名
例: Uncle Richard has been following the playoff standings of the hockey teams all week.
(理察叔叔整星期都在關注曲棍球季後賽的排名。)
Keep your head up (冰上曲棍球)運球時頭抬起觀四方,常引申為專注於一事上
例:In life as well as in hockey, it helps to keep your head up and focus on the one thing that matters.(人生與曲棍球賽一樣,觀四方、專注於真正重要的一件事上能夠給我們助力。)
Commit a foul 犯規
例:Sometimes committing a foul can be a powerful tactic in a game.(有時候在比賽中,犯規是個非常有效的策略。)
goalkeeper (非正式說法為goalie) 守門員
例:The goalkeeper/goalie threw himself in front of the puck to stop it from going in the net.
(守門員衝向冰球以阻止它入網得分。)