Sarah: So John, what do you think about tattoos and piercings?
萨拉：约翰，你怎么看纹身和穿孔?
John: Oh. Well, I think they’re okay. Personally, I have my ears pierced, and I have many tattoos. But in the professional world, different people have different ideas. So I had to make sure all of my tattoos can be covered by a t-shirt, so any person who sees me doesn’t know that I have any tattoos. But I personally think tattoos are okay. So if I saw a police officer with many tattoos on her arms and her neck, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. What about you?
约翰：哦。我认为那没什么问题。我有耳洞，而且我也有很多纹身。但在职场上，不同的人有不同的看法。我要确保T恤能遮住我的纹身，这样人们就不知道我有很多纹身。不过我个人认为纹身不是问题。如果我看到女警胳膊上和脖子上有很多纹身，我并不觉得那是问题。你呢?
Sarah: Do you think in the future, maybe as you and I grow up, it will become more common to go to the doctor or maybe go to the bank and you see people, and they are professional people, but they have visible tattoos or earrings? I also have a tattoo. So I think they’re okay.
萨拉：你认为未来，也许在你和我都成熟以后，我们去看医生或去银行时，会看到那些职业人士露出纹身和穿孔吗?这种现象会更普遍吗?我也有纹身。所以我也认为这不是问题。
John: I agree. I think that in the future, it will be more and more commonplace to see people who have visible tattoos and piercings. Of course, right now, people are having more and more visible tattoos that are very small. But maybe in the future, tattoos will be bigger and bigger. I think it’s the same with piercings. Nowadays, it’s normal to see women and men who have their ears pierced. But it’s still not common to see a professional working with their nose pierced or their eyebrows pierced. Maybe in the future that will be common as well.
约翰：我同意。我认为未来，看到人们露出纹身和穿孔会更普遍。当然，现在人们会露出那种很小的纹身。不过也许以后，人们露出的纹身会越来越大。我认为穿孔也是如此。现在，女性和男性打耳洞是很平常的事。不过，现在并不常见到职业人士戴鼻环或眉环。也许未来这些现象也会更常见。
Sarah: I think so. But one thing that I think won’t change is professional clothing. I think these days and the future, I think a nice suit, a professional collared shirt, ironed pants – I think those type of clothes are really important for your job or for the type of job if you want a promotion. And I think in the future, we’ll see people with really nice professional clothing and then they might have visible tattoos or earrings. I think your clothes show how important your job is to you.
萨拉：我也是这么认为的。不过我认为职业着装是不会改变的。无论是现在还是未来，得体的西装、职业有领衬衣、熨好的裤子等，我认为这类衣服对你的工作非常重要，如果你想升职的话，这类衣服对你的工作类型很重要。未来，我们可能看到人们穿着得体的职业着装，露出纹身和穿孔。我认为着装能显示出工作对你的重要性。
John: I see what you’re saying. If I was trying to hire a lawyer and I saw two lawyers and both of them had tattoos and their ears pierced, but if one of the lawyers was wearing a suit, even if that person have tattoos and piercings, if they’re wearing a suit, I would rather choose that lawyer than someone who had tattoos and piercings who was wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
约翰：我明白你的意思。如果我要聘请一名律师，我看到两名律师都有纹身，而且戴耳环，但是其中一人穿着西装，即使那个人有纹身和穿孔，可是如果他穿着西装的话，我也会选择他，而不是那个有纹身和穿孔，但是穿着T恤和短裤的人。
Sarah: Uh-hmm.
萨拉：嗯。
John: So I agree with you that the clothing is more important for professional image.
约翰：我同意你的观点，衣着对职业形象更重要。
Sarah: What do you think – these days, some of the computer companies or tech startups, the CEOs are young people and they’ll go to work wearing jeans or shorts and a t-shirt. And they like to portray a casual atmosphere through their clothes. What do you think about that?
萨拉：现在有些计算机公司或科技初创公司的首席执行官是年轻人，他们会穿着牛仔裤或短裤T恤上班。他们希望用穿着营造轻松的氛围。你对此有什么看法?
John: Well, in my opinion, the environment at a job, as long as everyone working there is in the same environment, maybe they should be able to choose what kind of professional attire is appropriate inside of that company. But the problem would arise when those workers have to interact with people from another company. So if another company has a dress code where everyone is wearing suits and these two companies have to work together, there might be a problem.
约翰：在我看来，就工作环境来说，所有员工都在同一个环境，也许应该让员工选择适合公司的职业装。不过，因为这些员工要和其他公司的人接触，这样做可能会产生问题。如果其他公司有着装规定，要求员工穿西装，而这两家公司要一起工作，那可能就会有问题产生。
Sarah: It’s strange that clothes seem like they’re so important. The knowledge and the product should be important but I think everyone looks at the clothes and makes a judgment.
萨拉：着装如此重要其实很奇怪。知识和产品应该更重要，不过我认为所有人都会根据他人的着装去做判断。
John: Yeah. It’s interesting that we all know the saying ’Don’t judge a book by its cover’ but we can’t help but do that. Everyone is judging people by what they wear, and that’s not going to change.
约翰：对。有意思的是，我们都知道“不要以貌取人”这句话，可是我们却不由自主地去这样做。所有人都通过其他人的穿着来评判他们，这种情况不会改变。
Sarah: I agree.
萨拉：我同意。
上学着装
Sarah: Okay, John, let’s talk about fashion. You know, I have students and I think sometimes they don’t, they don’t dress appropriately for the classroom.
萨拉：好，约翰，我们来谈谈时尚。你知道，我教学生，有时我认为他们的课堂着装不太得体。
John: Oh yeah. Sometimes, it looks like students are wearing the clothes which they will plan to wear at night, to go out and go to a party with friends.
约翰：好。看起来有时学生上课时穿的衣服，是他们为晚上出去玩或是和朋友去参加派对准备的。
Sarah: Yeah. So actually, I think school uniforms are great. I would make the teachers wear the school uniform, too.
萨拉：没错。所以我认为校服是很好。我希望老师也穿校服。
John: I agree with you.
约翰：我同意你的观点。
Sarah: Because I think when we talk about appropriate clothing, I think girls very often take most of the blame for that. But I think it’s our society, and we can fix the problem by having a uniform for girls and boys and teachers, and we can feel like part of a team.
萨拉：就得体的服装来说，我认为女孩经常因此遭受指责。我认为这是我们的社会，我们可以通过要求女生、男生和老师穿校服来改正这个问题，而且这样我们也可以有团队感。
John: I know there are a lot of problems of school uniform. First of all, students don’t want to all dress the same.
约翰：我知道校服有很多问题。首先，学生不想穿一样的衣服。
Sarah: Hmm.
萨拉：嗯。
John: But there’s other problems. Usually, when schools have a uniform, the boys wear pants and the girls have to wear a dress or a skirt. I don’t think that’s fair.
约翰：还有其他问题。如果学校提供校服，通常男生是裤子，女生是裙子或短裙。我认为这并不公平。
Sarah: I agree. I don’t think that’s fair either. I think a lot of schools these days they can let the girls choose. And so the girls can wear shorts or pants.
萨拉：我同意。我也认为那不公平。我认为现在许多学校让女生选择着装。所以女生可以穿短裤或裤子。
John: Well, that’s good. I think even beyond the pants or a skirt issue, there should be some flexibility to customize your uniform, whether you want to wear shirts that are a different color, even if they’re in the same style. Or you want to have some pins or patches or some other accessories.
约翰：这很好。我认为除了裤子或短裙，在定制校服时应该更灵活，你是否想穿不同颜色的衬衫，即使它们是同样的款式?或者你想佩戴胸针、贴片或其他饰品。
Sarah: Do you think as a teacher, would you say something to your student if your student if your student came to class and maybe, for example, it was a boy and his pants were very low and you could see his underwear. Or maybe it was a girl and you thought, ’Oh no, her shorts are a little too short.’ What do you think you would do?
萨拉：作为老师，如果你的学生……假设有个男生穿着低腰裤来上课，你可以看到他的内裤，那你会不会说那个学生?或者就女生来说，你认为“哦不，她的短裤真的太短了”。你会怎么做?
John: Hmm, wow, that’s a difficult question. I have to say, I don’t think I have been in that situation. I guess I’m lucky enough my students haven’t pushed the limit too far. But I feel that I would say something if a student came to class in clothing that was, in my opinion, too inappropriate. I would ask them to, probably to, if not leave the class, at least don’t wear clothes like that next time. What about you?
约翰：嗯，哇哦，这是一个很难回答的问题。我要说的是，我想我没遇到过这种情况。我很幸运，因为我的学生没有挑战规定。不过，如果有学生上课的着装在我看来不太得体，那我会说他们的。我可能不会让他们离开教室，但至少我会让他们下次不要再穿成这样来上课。你呢?
Sarah: Well, I had a student, and he came to class with a jacket. And it looks like a very expensive jacket but it had a very bad word written on the jacket.
萨拉：嗯，我有一个学生，有一次他上课时穿了件夹克。那件夹克看上去很贵，可是上面有脏话。
John: Oh.
约翰：哦。
Sarah: And after class finished, I told him to, ’Wait, please.’ And I told him that he probably shouldn’t wear that jacket to class, or maybe, he shouldn’t wear it anymore at all. It just isn’t very appropriate. And he came to class next time and he had the jacket but he had taken it to a shop and they had taken the bad word off of the jacket. And so, I was very happy to see that, that he changed his behavior and now he could dress the way he liked but also be appropriate.
萨拉：下课以后，我跟他说，“请你等一下。”然后我告诉他，他不应该穿这样的夹克来上课，也许他不应该再穿那件夹克了。那件衣服不太得体。下次他来上课时，他还是穿的那件夹克，不过他去店里把衣服上的脏话弄掉了。我很高兴他改变了他的行为，现在他依然可以穿他喜欢的衣服，而且衣服也很得体。
John: Well, that sounds very good. That’s very effective.
约翰：听起来真好。那是十分有效的方法。
20年国外生活
Meg: Hey, Todd. I know you’ve traveled a lot. What countries have you lived in?
梅格：嗨，托德。我知道你经常旅行。你在哪些国家生活过?
Todd: I’ve lived in three countries. I’ve traveled to many, many countries. But I’ve actually lived in three. I lived in England for one year. I lived in Thailand for four years. And I have lived in Japan for 15 years.
托德：我在三个国家生活过。我去过很多国家旅行。不过生活过的国家只有三个。我在英国住了一年，在泰国生活了四年。到目前为止，我在日本生活了15年。
Meg: Wow. So when you lived in England, why did you live there?
梅格：哇哦。你为什么在英国生活?
Todd: It was the first country I traveled to after college. And I had a work permit, a work visa for one year. And I worked at a pub restaurant, which was great. It was in the countryside. And I really enjoyed it. And then I did that for six months. I lived near Cambridge. So, I was near Cambridge University. And then after that I moved to London. And again, I worked at a restaurant. And I lived in London and just worked.
托德：那是我大学毕业后去的第一个国家。我当时拿的是工作签证，有效期一年。我在一家酒吧餐厅工作，那里非常好。那家餐厅位于乡村。我非常喜欢那里。这份工作我做了六个月。那里位于剑桥附近，我住在剑桥大学附近。然后我搬去了伦敦。我依然选择在餐厅工作。后来我就在伦敦工作、生活。
Meg: Wow. So it was after college. How old were you?
梅格：哇哦。你是大学毕业以后去的。那时你多大?
Todd: I was 23 years old.
托德：23岁。
Meg: Oh, and living in London. That must have been fun.
梅格：哦，你生活在伦敦。那一定很好玩。
Todd: It was fun. And interestingly, when I went to England, I could not speak English. So, I could not understand British people. It took me maybe two months before I could understand their English. So it was very, very difficult to understand British people when I first moved there.
托德：的确很有趣。有意思的是，我去英国时，我不会说英音。所以我听不懂英国人的话。我用了大概两个月才听懂英音。我刚到那里时，很难听懂英国人的话。
Meg: Ah, so you liked it.
梅格：你喜欢英国。
Todd: I did like England. It was fun. It was my first country. But the weather was cold for me. I’m from California, and California in the United States is very warm. So I didn’t like the weather. But that’s okay because all British people don’t like the weather, too.
托德：我喜欢英国。那里的生活很有趣。英国是我去的第一个国家。不过，对我来说那里有点冷。我来自美国加州，加州非常温暖。我不喜欢英国的天气。不过那也还好，因为所有英国人都不喜欢英国的天气。
Meg: Oh, really?
梅格：真的吗?
Todd: Yeah. Everybody complains about the weather.
托德：对。所有人都在抱怨天气。
Meg: So after England, did you move someplace warmer?
梅格：在英国之后，你有去更暖和的地方吗?
Todd: I did. Right after England, I moved to Thailand. And I lived in Thailand for over four years.
托德：有。离开英国以后，我去了泰国。我在泰国生活了四年。
Meg: Wow. Why did you live in Thailand?
梅格：哇哦。你为什么在泰国生活?
Todd: I was traveling. And in Thailand I had no money and I needed a job. And I wanted to stay in Thailand, so I became an English teacher.
托德：我当时在四处旅行。到泰国时，我身上没有钱了，我需要找份工作。而且我想继续留在泰国，所以我成为了英语老师。
Meg: Really?
梅格：真的吗?
Todd: Yeah.
托德：对。
Meg: Did you teach English there for four years?
梅格：你在泰国教了四年英语?
Todd: I did. So I went there and I began teaching English. Then I got a teaching course certificate to teach English in Thailand, and I really enjoyed it. The Thai students were really fun. And Thailand is a great place to live because the weather is really nice. The people are really friendly and the food is delicious. It has the best food in the world, I think.
托德：对。我在泰国开始从事英语教学工作。后来我获得了在泰国教授英语的教师证书，我很喜欢那份工作。泰国学生很有趣。泰国是一个很适合居住的地方，因为那里的天气很不错。泰国人很友好，而且食物也很美味。我认为泰国的食物是世界上最好吃的。
Meg: I’ve also heard that Thailand is beautiful. Is it true?
梅格：我听说泰国是个很漂亮的国家。是这样吗?
Todd: It is. It has many, many beautiful islands and it has lots of beautiful places with nature and the mountains. It has jungles. It has beautiful beaches. So it’s a nice place to live.
托德：没错。泰国有很多美丽的岛屿，也有很多美丽的自然景观和山区。泰国还有丛林和美丽的海滩。所以，泰国是适合居住的地方。
Meg: So you like Thailand, too.
梅格：你也喜欢泰国。
Todd: I did. Thailand was great. Yeah.
托德：对。泰国很不错。
Meg: So England, Thailand, you said next was Japan?
梅格：英国和泰国之后，是日本?
Todd: Yeah, so next was Japan. And Japan is nice. I am a teacher, an English teacher in Japan and I love teaching English in Japan. Like Thailand, the food is really, really good. The people are nice. The scenery is really beautiful. So Japan is really nice.
托德：对，是日本。日本很不错。我在日本当英语老师，我喜欢在日本教英语。和泰国一样，日本的食物也很美味。日本人很不错。风景也很漂亮。所以日本很好。
Meg: Are there fun things to do in Japan?
梅格：日本有什么有趣的活动?
Todd: Yes. Actually, I like Japan the most because you get everything. You get lots of beautiful nature. So, you can go hiking. You can go see beautiful beaches. You can go to really nice islands. But also Japan has many, many nice cities. So you can go to Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and the cities have lots to do. There’s good shopping, great restaurants. It’s easy to travel in Japan by train and bus. So, it’s really nice.
托德：有。我最喜欢日本，因为日本什么都有。日本有许多美丽的自然风景。你可以去徒步旅行。还可以去美丽的海滩和岛屿。而且日本有许多不错的城市。你可以去东京、大阪、福冈游玩。当然，日本也有不错的购物中心和餐厅。坐火车和公交车在日本旅行很方便。所以，非常不错。
Meg: Oh, that sounds like the best of both worlds.
梅格：哦，听上去真是最好的地方。
Todd: Yeah, it is. Definitely a good place to live.
托德：没错。所以，日本非常适合居住。
完美的选手
Aimee: So what are some of the characteristics of the women and the girls who always win?
艾米：在选美比赛中获胜的女生有哪些特质?
Gilda: Well, you know, they have – well, recently, they did a sort of like a reality show. And like the whole country get to see what’s happening in this Miss Venezuela organization. And they are always looking for something trendy, like what’s popular in America.
吉尔达：嗯，最近她们拍了一个真人秀节目。所有人都可以看到委内瑞拉小姐比赛的准备情况。她们经常关注潮流，关注美国潮流。
Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。
Gilda: If there’s a blonde girl or a brunette or – and normally, tall with all the perfect, 90-60-90 – is it?
吉尔达：就身材高挑的金发美女或褐发美女来说，完美的比例是90、60、90，对吧?
Aimee: Hmm?
艾米：什么?
Gilda: 90-60-90 I think is the perfect...
吉尔达：我认为完美的身材比例是90、60、90。
Aimee: Oh, you’re talking about measurements?
艾米：哦，你在说三围。
Gilda: Yeah, the body.
吉尔达：对，身材。
Aimee: Like body size measurements.
艾米：你指的是身材比例。
Gilda: Yes. Yes.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: Right. So that’s important too, obviously.
艾米：好。显然这也很重要。
Gilda: Yes. Yeah. That’s really important. Yeah. Also the hair, the eyes, the teeth, everything. Yeah, so they think about many, many things.
吉尔达：对。没错。这点非常重要。还有头发、眼睛、牙齿等等。要考虑很多方面。
Aimee: So it’s all based on physical appearance.
艾米：所以完全看外表。
Gilda: Yes, yes.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: Of course it’s a beauty pageant.
艾米：当然了，这是选美比赛。
Gilda: Of course, they go under a training, I heard, of almost one year.
吉尔达：当然，她们要接受训练，我听说基本上要训练一年的时间。
Aimee: Wow.
艾米：哇哦。
Gilda: So they train them in terms of how to express themselves using proper language.
吉尔达：会有专业人士训练她们如何用得体的语言表达自己。
Aimee: Yeah.
艾米：好。
Gilda: And yeah, and also beauty; how to make-up, how to fix their hair or something like...
吉尔达：还有美容，她们要学习如何化妆，如何做发型之类的。
Aimee: Okay. So like maintenance and self –
艾米：好。就像护理一样。
Gilda: Yes, exactly.
吉尔达：对，没错。
Aimee: Self presentation, I guess.
艾米：我认为这有点像自我呈现。
Gilda: Yes, yes, yes. Yes.
吉尔达：对，对，没错。
Aimee: Wow. What about – I don’t know much about beauty pageants, so but I’ve heard or I’ve noticed that you have to have a skill as well, don’t you? An extra, a special skill like what’s your, what are you going to present to the judges as your additional skill. Is that the case?
艾米：哇哦。我不太了解选美比赛，不过我听说选手也要有才艺，是吧?选手要有向评委展示的特殊才艺。是这样吗?
Gilda: That’s more like American beauty pageants.
吉尔达：美国选美比赛可能是这样。
Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。
Gilda: So in Venezuela, they are not introduced like, they don’t introduce to the audience a skill.
吉尔达：委内瑞拉的选美比赛不用展示才艺。
Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。
Gilda: They just go there and do the swimsuit competition and the evening gown.
吉尔达：她们只要进行泳装展示和晚礼服展示。
Aimee: Yeah.
艾米：好。
Gilda: And then, a question.
吉尔达：然后回答问题。
Aimee: Yeah.
艾米：嗯。
Gilda: And then they’re crowned.
吉尔达：然后就可以决定冠军归属了。
Aimee: What kind of question might it be?
艾米：评委一般会问哪类问题?
Gilda: Well, they have many kind of questions but sometimes the questions are really difficult.
吉尔达：有很多种问题，有时问题很难回答。
Aimee: Yeah.
艾米：好。
Gilda: But normally, it’s about life, about world peace, about helping others, philanthropic activities. Yeah, that kind...
吉尔达：通常来说，问题都与生活、世界和平、帮助他人、慈善活动有关。基本是这类问题。
Aimee: Off the top of your head, can you give an example of a question that...?
艾米：现在你能想到一个问题吗?你能举个例子吗?
Gilda: An example?
吉尔达：举例?
Aimee: Yeah.
艾米：对。
Gilda: Like once, a girl was asked what’s the difference between forgive and asking for permission. Like she had to explain what’s the difference when you as for a permission and when you ask for forgiveness.
吉尔达：有一次，一个女孩被问到原谅和请求许可的区别。她必须要解释请求许可和请求原谅的区别。
Aimee: Oh so, it’s like a grammar question?
艾米：哦，这是语法问题吗?
Gilda: Some sort of. The thing is that she fainted.
吉尔达：差不多吧。当时那个女孩晕倒了。
Aimee: She fainted?
艾米：她晕倒了?
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: No.
艾米：不是吧。
Gilda: She couldn’t answer. It was too much. And because, they’re young. I mean, we’re talking about girls 17, 18 years old, students. They were wearing lots of things. They’re nervous. They’re in front of millions of people and...
吉尔达：她无法回答这个问题。对她来说太难了。那是因为，她还太年轻。我们现在说的是十七八的女学生。她们佩戴的饰物很多。她们很紧张。她们要面对数百万人……
Aimee: It’s a lot of pressure.
艾米：压力非常大。
Gilda: Yeah. And yeah, maybe you say like, ’Oh, that’s an easy question.’ But at that particular moment, it might not be easy.
吉尔达：对，你可能会说，“哦，那个问题很简单。”但实际上在那个特定的时刻，那个问题可能并不简单。
Aimee: Yeah, of course.
艾米：对，当然了。
Gilda: And plus, they don’t eat because they need to fit in their dress.
吉尔达：而且她们还没有吃东西，因为她们要确保穿进紧身的裙子里。
Aimee: Oh my goodness.
艾米：哦，我的天哪。
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: That just sounds so intense.
艾米：听起来非常紧张。
Gilda: It is. It’s like a marathon or something.
吉尔达：没错。就像马拉松一样。
选美比赛
Aimee: Hey, Gilda. I heard that beauty pageants are really popular in Venezuela.
艾米：嗨，吉尔达。我听说选美比赛在委内瑞拉很受欢迎。
Gilda: Yes, they are. They are a huge thing in Venezuela. Everybody loves beauty pageants. It’s like the Super Bowl in America, for Venezuelans it’s beauty pageants.
吉尔达：对，没错。选美比赛在委内瑞拉是重大活动。所有人都喜爱选美比赛。对委内瑞拉来说，选美比赛就像美国的超级碗。
Aimee: Really?
艾米：真的吗?
Gilda: The Miss Venezuela, that’s how they call it.
吉尔达：选美冠军被称为委内瑞拉小姐。
Aimee: Oh my goodness.
艾米：哦，我的天哪。
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: Okay. So from what age are children...?
艾米：好。那从几岁开始?
Gilda: It’s like almost 90 percent of Venezuelan girls dream of being once in the, in this beauty pageants because once they got in, they get all some sort of surgery and, you know, they make them really, really look beautiful. And then after that they get jobs like models or actress. You know, Venezuela is also into soap operas.
吉尔达：委内瑞拉几乎90%的女孩都梦想参加选美比赛，因为参加比赛以后，她们可以接受整容手术，可以变得非常漂亮。然后，她们就能从事模特或演员之类的工作。你知道，委内瑞拉的肥皂剧也很流行。
Aimee: Right.
艾米：好。
Gilda: So most of them want to be an actress one day.
吉尔达：所以，大部分女孩都想当演员。
Aimee: That’s so specific though, isn’t it? A model or an actress. Ninety percent of the population—of the girls?
艾米：那太明确了，不是吗?模特或演员。90%的女孩?
Gilda: Yeah. Well, it’s because of the economic situation. So it’s easy money, in a way.
吉尔达：对。这是因为委内瑞拉的经济形势。从某种程度上来说，这些行业比较好赚钱。
Aimee: Right.
艾米：好。
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：对。
Aimee: How about boys? Are boys interested in it?
艾米：那男孩呢?男孩对选美感兴趣吗?
Gilda: No, not really. There are more into probably sports; baseball, becoming a police officer or...
吉尔达：不感兴趣。男孩一般更喜欢棒球等运动，或是想成为警察。
Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：嗯。
Aimee: So what happens if, you know, if 90 percent of the population, as you said, are so keen on beauty pageants, and then they want to become a model or an actress, what happens to those who cannot make it?
艾米：那如果像你刚才说的那样，有90%的女孩热衷于选美比赛，她们想成为模特或演员，那如果她们没有做到会怎样?
Gilda: Well, some of them will have probably a sort of frustrated life, some of them. Yeah. Some of them might change their mind once they, you know, grow up. Think of something different. But like, I work in a high school and most of the first year junior high school students, girls, they wear a lot of make-up. And they want to become one day, Miss Venezuela. Yeah.
吉尔达：有些女孩的人生可能会有些坎坷。有些女孩在长大以后可能会改变想法。考虑其他事情。我在高中工作，大部分初一女生都会化妆。她们希望有一天能成为委内瑞拉小姐。
Aimee: Wow. Wow. Do you find – or what’s your opinion about that? What do you think?
艾米：哇哦。你怎么看这种现象?你有什么想法?
Gilda: Well, I’m not supporting that. But since the country has so many crowns, there are many different pageants like Miss International, Universe, Miss World, Miss South America. There are so many. And Miss Venezuela has won a lot of crowns. So every time they get a new crown, it’s a huge thing for the country. So they got the attention of everybody. So as a teacher, I don’t support it. But it’s kind of like something nice, you know, for the country. You’re getting something.
吉尔达：我并不支持这种做法。但是，因为委内瑞拉赢得了很多选美冠军，比如国际小姐、环球小姐、世界小姐、南美小姐等比赛。选美比赛非常多。委内瑞拉小姐赢得了很多国际选美比赛的桂冠。每次她们赢得冠军，对委内瑞拉来说都是大事。她们会获得所有人的关注。作为老师，我并不支持这种做法。不过，这对国家来说是好事。因为国家获得了荣誉。
Aimee: So it sounds like it’s a big source of national pride, would you say so?
艾米：听起来这是国家荣誉的主要来源，对吧?
Gilda: Exactly. Yes, yes. That’s the way it is. Yeah.
吉尔达：没错。对。的确是这样。
Aimee: Interesting.
艾米：有意思。
Gilda: So many people stay at home when they’re broadcasting the Miss Venezuela.
吉尔达：在委内瑞拉小姐比赛期间，很多人都不去上班，在家收看比赛。
Aimee: Hmm.
艾米：嗯。
Gilda: Yeah.
吉尔达：对。
生活方式的不同选择
Sarah: All right, Adam. So we’re going to talk about lifestyle choices. First question for you is would you rather have a roommate or live alone?
萨拉：好，亚当。我们来谈谈生活方式的选择。第一个问题是，你喜欢和室友合住还是自己一个人住?
Adam: I’ve had some really good experiences with roommates, but right now I live alone. And I really enjoy to have my own space and I like to keep it a certain way. I’m kind of a clean person, so I probably choose to live alone.
亚当：我以前和室友合住时过得很不错，不过现在我一个人住。我很享受有自己空间的生活，我想保持下去。我是一个爱干净的人，所以我可能会选择一个人生活。
Sarah: Okay. That leads me to my next question which is house or apartment. So if you choose to live alone, would you like a house or an apartment?
萨拉：好。这引出了我的第二个问题，即房子还是公寓。如果你选择独自生活，那你喜欢住在房子里还是公寓里?
Adam: I’d love to live in a house. Right now I live in an apartment and it’s okay. But yeah, I really like the outdoors, and like to have a yard or a small garden or something would be great. So I love, like, privacy. I like to play my music really loud or something, so in a house maybe I could do that. And in an apartment, it’s a bit difficult.
亚当：我喜欢住在房子里。现在我住在公寓，还不错。不过我喜欢户外，我想有个院子或是小花园，那样就太棒了。我喜欢不受干扰的状态。我喜欢大声播放音乐，住在房子里就可以这样做。可是在公寓里有些困难。
Sarah: So a house usually means a pretty big commitment of like where you’re living. So if you could have a house anywhere where would it be?
萨拉：住房子意味着要长时间居住在一个地方。如果你有房子的话，你希望房子在哪里?
Adam: Maybe in my hometown. It would be nice to have a house in Seattle. But I am not a person that likes to be tied down so much, so that would be kind of tricky for me. Apartments are also nice too because you don’t have the upkeep and the responsibility that you might have with a house. So that is nice. I wish I could just have a house and just move it with me wherever I go.
亚当：也许是我的家乡。如果能在西雅图有一座房子就太好了。不过我是一个不喜欢被束缚的人，所以这对我来说有些难。公寓也很好，因为不像房子那样要保养和承担责任。所以公寓很好。我希望我能有一座房子，不管我去哪里，都可以和我一起移动。
Sarah: So if you could move that house anywhere, would it be like a town or a city, like what do you prefer?
萨拉：如果你能移动房子去任何地方，那你喜欢生活在城镇还是城市里?
Adam: I’d definitely live outside of the city, but close enough to where I could commute within like 20 minutes, 30 minutes to be able to go shopping and do my everyday life. But I like peace and quiet and nature, so definitely outside of the hustle and bustle of the big city.
亚当：我当然喜欢生活在郊区了，不过我希望附近有能购物的地方，我每天的通勤时间不超过20或30分钟。我喜欢宁静、安静、自然的地方，所以我要远离大城市的喧嚣。
Sarah: So how about pets? Would you like to have a pet or not have anything or one live in your house?
萨拉：那养宠物呢?你想养宠物吗?还是不想在房子里养宠物?
Adam: I love animals. I have always wanted to have a dog or really, any sort of pet. But I move so much that it makes having a pet difficult. So I’ve never really had one although if I ever do settle down somewhere, I would absolutely get maybe several pets. I love, I love animals.
亚当：我喜欢动物。我一直很想养只狗，或是其它宠物。不过因为我搬家很频繁，所以很难养宠物。我从来没养过宠物，不过如果有一天我安定下来，我肯定会养宠物。我很喜欢动物。
Sarah: Nice. Thanks.
萨拉：很好。谢谢你。
超级碗派对
Todd: Hey Katie. I’m having a party, Super Bowl party at my house on Sunday in a couple of weeks. Would you like to come over?
托德：嗨，凯蒂。几周以后的一个周日我要在家里办超级碗派对。你想不想来玩?
Katie: Okay. But I have absolutely no idea what a Super Bowl is.
凯蒂：好啊。可是我完全不知道什么是超级碗。
Todd: Well, you know, the Super Bowl is a big sporting event and we have it once a year. But it’s okay if you don’t know anything about American football because actually, the Super Bowl is kind of like our unofficial holiday.
托德：嗯，超级碗是一年一度的体育盛事。你不知道美式橄榄球也没关系，超级碗比赛那天就像我们的非正式假期一样。
Katie: Okay.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: Yeah. So what happens is, is everybody comes over to somebody’s house, and you have a big party and you watch the game but nobody really watches the game. There’s lots of other stuff going on so it’s should be good.
托德：嗯。在那天，大家会聚到一个朋友的家里，开派对，观看比赛，不过实际上没有人在看比赛。因为有很多其他的事情可以做，很好玩。
Katie: Do you have like Super Bowl food that you eat?
凯蒂：有那种超级碗食物吗?
Todd: Exactly. Exactly. So it’s kind of like a big feast. So we’ll have, you know, like hamburgers and stuff we’ll barbecue. And we’ll have lots of like chips and dip and stuff like that. So you don’t have to bring any food but it’s potluck. So if you do want to bring something, yeah, I would recommend it.
托德：当然有了。就像盛大的宴会一样。我们会准备汉堡包和烧烤。还有很多薯片和沾酱之类的小吃。你不用带食物，不过这是百乐餐。所以，如果你想带吃的过来，我会建议你带一些。
Katie: Do you have to be like a supporter of one of the teams in the final?
凯蒂：那一定要是其中一支决赛队伍的支持者吗?
Todd: No. And actually, the game is not for a couple of weeks so we don’t know who the two final teams are going to be.
托德：不用。实际上，比赛在几周以后才会进行，所以现在我们也不知道哪两个球队会进入决赛。
Katie: All right.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: They still have to decide, but actually, there’s a bunch of things that have nothing to do with football on the Super Bowl that you’ll probably like. The first is, they have the halftime show. You may have heard about the Super Bowl halftime show.
托德：他们还要进行角逐，其实超级碗比赛还有很多与橄榄球无关的活动，你可能会喜欢的。首先是中场表演。你可能听说过超级碗中场秀。
Katie: Okay.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: You like music, right?
托德：你喜欢音乐，对吧?
Katie: I love music.
凯蒂：我热爱音乐。
Todd: Right. So they always have a really big musical act. And actually this year, I don’t remember who it is. I’ll have to check but it’s usually somebody like Bruno Mars or U2 or somebody like that.
托德：好。当天会有大型的音乐表演。我不记得今年的嘉宾是谁了。我会去查一下，不过基本上是像布鲁诺·马尔斯和U2乐队这样的歌手。
Katie: I think last year, it was Katie Perry, was it not?
凯蒂：去年的嘉宾是凯蒂·佩里吧?
Todd: It might have been. Yeah. But it’s always a really, really big person. Another thing that’s really cool about the Super Bowl is the commercials. So the commercials, you know, the companies spend a lot of money on the commercials, and they’re usually really good. So the commercials—the people are often more into the commercials than the game.
托德：可能是吧。通常超级碗中场秀会请大牌歌手。超级碗另一个很酷的地方就是广告。各家公司会在广告上砸很多钱，所以广告效果非常好。人们对广告的兴趣甚至胜过比赛。
Katie: Okay.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: Especially if one team is kind of – if it’s a lopsided win. So yeah, so the commercials are fun.
托德：尤其是当一支球队以大比分获胜时。广告很有趣。
Katie: What kind of commercials do they have?
Todd: You know, like companies like Pepsi or Coke or like really big name companies.
托德：一般是像百事可乐或是可口可乐这样的著名公司。
Katie: So the really big ones.
凯蒂：大型公司。
Todd: Yeah. They’ll spend like millions and millions of dollars. These are usually the most expensive commercials because it’s one local game and one local audience. Like the World Cup is a more watched event but the commercials are regional for all the different countries, whereas the Super Bowl, the commercials are just for Americans.
托德：对。他们会在广告上花费数百万美元。虽然这只是本土比赛，观众也都是本国居民，可是这超级碗广告却是最贵的广告。世界杯的观众更多，而广告也是各国广告商都有，可是超级碗只是美国公司的广告之争。
Katie: Yeah.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: So yeah, these are usually the most expensive commercials like around the world. So they’re usually really well done.
托德：超级碗广告是世界上最贵的广告。当然效果也非常好。
Katie: Is it just American teams in the Super Bowl?
凯蒂：超级碗只有美国橄榄球队参加?
Todd: Yes, it’s very, you know, Americanized name, I’d say. But, you know, like I said, the game is really not that important. But there is one way that you can make money.
托德：对，这是美国化的比赛。我刚才说过，比赛并不是那么重要。不过有一种可以挣钱的方法。
Katie: Okay. I’m interested.
凯蒂：好。我很感兴趣。
Todd: So what happens is, we have like a pool and you can draw numbers. And like you don’t have to know anything about football but you can have like, you know, draw numbers for the first person to score a touchdown, or the first player to get a penalty or things like that. And you just fill out the chart and then if your player gets that, then you can get money. So you have to contribute. You have to pay like 10 bucks to play. But then it’s in the pool and then you could win money at different points during the game.
托德：我们用共用资金，你要写数字。你不用了解橄榄球，你可以写上你认为会第一个达阵得分的球员的号码，或者你认为会第一个获得点球的球员号码。你只需要填个表，如果你猜对了，那你就可以获得奖金。当然，你要先押钱。你要拿10美元出来押注。这笔钱会放到奖金里，你可以在比赛期间赢取奖金。
Katie: Have you ever won at the Super Bowl before?
凯蒂：之前的超级碗比赛你们赢过钱吗?
Todd: Yeah. It’s kind of like how it works out where everybody wins a little money and everybody loses a little money. So, you know, gambling technically is illegal but...
托德：赢过。基本上所有人都会赢点儿钱，也会输点儿钱。严格来说，赌钱是违法行为，不过……
Katie: Of course.
凯蒂：当然了。
Todd: Yeah. But it’s like just one of those things that everybody does.
托德：嗯。不过大家都这么做。
Katie: It’s not for big money.
凯蒂：不是为了赢大钱。
Todd: No.
托德：对。
Katie: Just a little bit of money.
凯蒂：只是一小笔钱。
Todd: Just a little bit of money.
托德：只是一点钱。
Katie: So it’s okay.
凯蒂：那没什么问题。
Todd: Just to have fun. Yeah. So, and then, once I find out what teams are in the finals then I’ll tell you about the colors. And it’s usually best that you choose one team that you’re going to support.
托德：只是为了好玩。我知道进入决赛的球队以后，我会告诉你球队颜色。你最好选择一个你要支持的队。
Katie: Okay.
凯蒂：好的。
Todd: So I’ll fill you in about who the teams are later and all that.
托德：稍后我会告诉你进入决赛的球队。
Katie: Right.
凯蒂：好。
Todd: So are you willing to come?
托德：你想来玩吗?
Katie: Yeah. Sounds like fun.
凯蒂：好啊。听上去很有趣。
Todd: Okay, cool.
托德：好。
Katie: I’m in.
凯蒂：我参加。
Todd: All right. So it’s going to be at my house at 3:00. So if you can show up around 2:00-ish.
托德：好的。派对在我家举行，时间是下午3点。你可以2点左右过来。
Katie: Should I bring some food?
凯蒂：我需要带吃的吗?
Todd: You can. Like you can bring some type of maybe salad or like a bean dish or something like that if you like. But we’ll – like the main food, we’ll provide. We’ll have pizza. We’ll have burgers. Oh, and it’s BYOB.
托德：你可以带。你可以带点儿沙拉或是豆类食物。我们会提供主食。我们有批萨和汉堡包。哦，你要自备酒水。
Katie: Okay.
凯蒂：好的。
Todd: So if you want to drink, you have to bring your own alcohol.
托德：如果你想喝酒，你要自己带酒来。
Katie: All right.
凯蒂：好的。
Todd: But we will have some beers and stuff. Do you drink?
托德：不过我们有啤酒。你喝酒吗?
Katie: Sometimes.
凯蒂：偶尔喝。
Todd: Okay. Cool.
托德：好。
Katie: Like tenths of the time.
凯蒂：我很少喝。
Todd: All right. So see you there. Glad you can come.
托德：好。到时候见。你能来我很高兴。
Katie: No worries.
凯蒂：不客气。
刷牙和剃须
Todd: Okay. So Meg, this week we’re talking about just grooming habits and stuff. So let’s go now to like out teeth. Now, the dentist says you should floss every day. Do you floss every day?
托德：好。梅格，这周我们来讨论装扮习惯。我们先来说牙齿。牙医说应该每天都用牙线。那你会每天用牙线吗?
Meg: Now, I do actually. I’m pretty consistent with it because a couple years back I had some cavity issues that I didn’t want to go through again. And I wasn’t good about flossing before that but the dentist said that if I flossed and used mouthwash regularly, probably it could be avoided. And so ever since then, really every day, I do it.
梅格：我的确在这样做。我现在在按照牙医的要求去做，因为几年以前我长了蛀牙，我不想再经历一次。我以前不常用牙线，不过牙医说，如果我定期用牙线和漱口水，可以预防蛀牙。所以从那时起，我就开始每天用牙线了。
Todd: Well that’s good.
托德：嗯，这很好。
Meg: Yeah. What about you?
梅格：对。你呢?
Todd: Well the dentist always says you should floss more. I’m pretty good about every other day. And then every now and then I’ll get it on a binge, like, ’Oh I’m going to floss every meal like I’m supposed to,’ but I’m pretty good. I brush my teeth twice a day. I know some people at work, I see them brushing after lunch. Are you one of those people that brushes their teeth three times a day?
托德：牙医经常说，要多用牙线。我隔一天用一次牙线。我偶尔会大吃一顿，然后我会想：“我吃完饭就要用牙线，我就应该这样做”，不过我还好。我每天刷两次牙。我看到有同事午饭后也刷牙。你是那种每天刷三次牙的人吗?
Meg: No, I do twice a day also. Do you do morning and night?
梅格：不是，我也是每天刷两次牙。你是早晚刷牙吧?
Todd: Yeah. And actually, my dentist told me don’t do it three times a day because if you do it too much, it could do damage to your gums. Plus, he said I was brushing my teeth too hard. So I was pushing my gums back.
托德：对。其实，我的牙医告诉我，不要一天刷三次牙，因为刷牙次数太多，会对牙龈造成损害。另外，他说我刷牙的时候太用力了。所以我的牙龈有些萎缩。
Meg: Yeah. I actually had the exact same experience. Earlier this year, I went to the dentist because I felt like I maybe had some cavities because I had sensitivity in my teeth, and I was also brushing too hard because I was working, so I really want them to be so clean. And so my gums also were receding a little bit.
梅格：嗯。我也有相同的经历。今年早些时候我去看了牙医，因为我感觉我可能长了蛀牙，我的牙齿变得非常敏感，我刷牙也很使劲，因为我希望把牙齿刷干净。我的牙龈也有些萎缩。
Todd: Yeah, and so painful when it happens. You realize you have to reverse it, you know.
托德：嗯，这会很疼的。你意识到要去改变。
Meg: Yeah.
梅格：对。
Todd: So what about the tongue scraper? Do you do little tongue scraper thing?
托德：那刮舌器呢?你会用刮舌器刮舌苔吗?
Meg: I don’t have like a tongue scraper. I just kind of use my toothbrush and just brush it a little bit I guess. Do you use a tongue scraper?
梅格：我不喜欢用刮舌器。我一般就用牙刷稍微刮一下舌苔。你用刮舌器吗?
Todd: I have one. I use it sometimes.
托德：我有一个刮舌器。我偶尔会用。
Meg: Well how does it work? What does it do?
梅格：那要怎么用?那有作用吗?
Todd: It’s just you’re raking leaves. You just put it in your mouth and you just scrape your tongue. And you do get some stuff that comes off of it and you’re like, ’Oh wow.’ But yeah.
托德：就像扫落叶一样。把刮舌器放进嘴里，然后刮舌头。你的确可以刮下来一些东西，你会因为惊奇而发出“哇哦”的惊呼。就是这样。
Meg: That sounds kind of gross actually.
梅格：那听上去有点儿恶心。
Todd: It is a little bit gross, yeah.
托德：是有些恶心。
Meg: But good for your mouth.
梅格：不过对口腔有好处。
Todd: Yes, definitely good. Definitely good. So then the other thing I guess we can talk about is a shaving now. So I’m the guy, so I have the facial hair.
托德：对，绝对有好处。当然有好处。我想现在我们可以来谈谈刮胡子。我是男人，所以我会长胡子。
Meg: Right.
梅格：嗯。
Todd: But I’m pretty lucky. I only have to shave maybe twice a week.
托德：不过我非常幸运。我一周刮两次胡子就可以。
Meg: Oh really?
梅格：哦，真的吗?
Todd: I can get away with it, yeah.
托德：嗯，我可以摆脱这种困扰。
Meg: Yeah.
梅格：好。
Todd: Yeah. I don’t have the full on manly beard thing that comes out, so.
托德：嗯，我不会长那种浓密的胡子。
Meg: Yeah, yeah. Some people have to shave like twice a day, so that seems like it would be inconvenient.
梅格：好。有些人一天要刮两次胡子，看起来那很麻烦。
Todd: Yeah. So do you – I guess because you’re a woman, do you have to do the legs thing?
托德：对。你是女性，那你要刮腿毛吗?
Meg: Yes, yes. I do shave my legs pretty much every time I take a shower.
梅格：对。我每次洗澡的时候都会刮腿毛。
Todd: Really?
托德：真的吗?
Meg: Yeah.
梅格：对。
Todd: How annoying?
托德：很烦人吗?
Meg: Yeah. Well yeah, it is annoying. I actually really don’t like it. I wish I didn’t have to do it. And I mean, I guess I could choose to stop, but I’d rather do it. So yeah.
梅格：对，很烦人。实际上我不喜欢刮腿毛。我希望我不用刮腿毛。我的意思是，也许我可以选择不刮腿毛，可是我宁愿去做。就是这样。
Todd: Wow.
托德：哇哦。
Meg: Usually every time I take a shower because then if you’re wearing a skirt or shorts, it’s visible. So yeah, I’m just trying to be careful.
梅格：因为穿短裙或短裤的时候会看到，所以我每次洗澡的时候会刮腿毛。我会尽量小心一些。
Todd: Wow. Honestly from a guy’s perspective, when I look and I think about women shaving basically their calves below their knees, it looks like it’d be very easy to cut yourself because your legs are kind of hard, do you know what I mean?
托德：哇哦。说实话，从男性的角度来看，我看到或者说想到女生刮膝盖下面的小腿的毛时，我认为你们很容易划伤自己，因为我认为腿上的毛很难刮，你懂我的意思吗?
Meg: Yeah. Yeah. I think for the calves, it’s not so bad because it’s kind of a straight – it’s more smooth, but the knee part, you have to be careful.
梅格：我明白。其实小腿的毛不太难刮，因为小腿是直的，而且也更光滑，但是在刮膝盖上的毛时一定要小心。
Todd: Right, yeah.
托德：对。
Meg: Because it’s like a shape, and the ankles and feet.
梅格：因为膝盖的形状所以有些困难，而且脚踝和脚上的毛也很难刮。
Todd: Yeah. That’s like for guys our problem is right under the chin and then the Adam’s apple. The Adam’s apple is brutal because you kind of have to go around it, so it’s very easy to cut yourself.
托德：对。就好像我们男人，下巴下面和喉结位置的胡子很难刮。喉结上的胡子很难刮，因为你要围绕喉结刮，所以很容易会划伤自己。
Meg: Yeah. Do you use an electric razor?
梅格：嗯。你用电动剃须刀吗?
Todd: No, I should. I’m very environmentally unfriendly. I use those plastic razors because they’re just so easy.
托德：不，我不用。我是一个非常环保的人。我用塑料刮胡刀，很方便。
Meg: Yeah.
梅格：好。
Todd: And actually, I kind of get away with it because of the gym I go to. They offer it. They have free razors in the men’s room. So I just do it there, save a few bucks.
托德：实际上，我可以不买刮胡刀，因为我去的那家健身房提供剃须刀。男性更衣室里有供免费使用的剃须刀。所以我一般都在那里刮胡子，这可以省几美元。
Meg: Yeah, might as well.
梅格：嗯，不错。
Todd: Yeah, interesting. Well anyway, I guess we’re somewhat healthy.
托德：嗯，很有意思。总之，我想我们都很健康。
Meg: Yeah. We’re clean at least.
梅格：嗯，至少我们很整洁。
Todd: Exactly.
托德：没错。
淋浴时间表
Todd: So Meg, I have an interesting question for you.
托德：梅格，我想问你一个有意思的问题。
Meg: Okay.
梅格：好。
Todd: So the other day I was talking with a friend and she asked me about, you know, showers like how many showers do I take a day. And I think I had mentioned I take three showers a day, that’s why that came up. And she thought that was absurd that nobody should take three showers a day.
托德：那天我和一个朋友聊天，她问我一天洗几次澡?我记得我之前提到过，我一天洗三次澡，这就引出了今天的话题。她认为那很荒唐，没必要一天洗三次澡。
Meg: Yeah. It seems a little crazy to me.
梅格：嗯。对我来说那是有些疯狂。
Todd: That’s odd. Like, you know, I thought that was kind of the norm actually these days.
托德：这太奇怪了。我认为这在现在来说很正常啊。
Meg: Really?
梅格：真的吗?
Todd: Yeah, because you take a shower when you wake up. Then most people go to the gym. You take a shower when you’re done at the gym, which is usually mid-afternoon or early evening. And then I usually take a shower before I go to bed.
托德：对，你看，起床以后冲个澡。接下来大部分人都会去健身房。健身之后会再冲个澡，这基本上是中午或傍晚了。然后我会在上床睡觉前再冲个澡。
Meg: I don’t think I have ever known anyone who’s taken three showers a day.
梅格：我想我不认识一天洗三次澡的人。
Todd: Really?
托德：真的吗?
Meg: Do people that you know take three showers a day?
梅格：你认识的人中有一天洗三次澡的吗?
Todd: I think I just assumed that all of my friends kind of did the same thing because they are guys and they also play sports. So they also take a shower – so yeah, when they wake up, before they go to bed and after they work out.
托德：我认为我所有的朋友都和我一样，因为他们也做运动。所以他们也会在起床以后、健身之后还有睡觉前冲澡。
Meg: Yeah. Well, I guess sports or working out definitely makes a difference. I might totally frighten you with the showers that I take because I do not shower three times a day. Typically, I shower once every two days.
梅格：好。运动或是健身的人可能与其他人不同吧。我想我洗澡的情况可能会吓到你，我并不是一天洗三次澡。通常来说，我两天洗一次澡。
Todd: Really?
托德：真的吗?
Meg: Yeah, because especially with my skin, it gets pretty dried out if I’m showering so often with the soap and the water and everything. So I have to be careful with that. But if I’d played sports or something where I got sweaty, I’m definitely taking a shower after that, an extra shower. But yeah, I’ve never taken three showers in one day I don’t think.
梅格：对，因为我的皮肤，如果我用香皂洗澡太频繁，那皮肤就会变得非常干。所以我必须要注意。不过如果我去运动了，或者出汗了，那之后我肯定是要洗澡的。不过我从来没有一天洗过三次澡。
Todd: Well so you – even when it’s hot in summer, you just do it once every two days?
托德：即使夏天非常热的时候，你也是两天洗一次澡?
Meg: If I get sweaty, then maybe more than that. But I don’t sweat very easily, so I usually don’t have to worry about it.
梅格：如果我出汗了，那我洗澡的次数就会增加。不过我不太容易出汗，所以我不用为此感到担心。
Todd: Oh wow. No I think it must be what your skin gets conditioned to because one of the reasons why I always take a shower is not that I feel dirty. It’s like I feel like my skin gets itchy unless I take a shower.
托德：哇哦。我认为一定是你的皮肤已经习惯了，因为我经常洗澡的其中一个原因并不是我感觉很脏。如果我觉得我的皮肤很痒，那缓解的方法就是去洗澡。
Meg: Yeah. Yeah. And it might be because – well and I think there’s a difference too with where I lived in America and living here in Japan like the humidity is different. And so my skin gets more dry here actually. It has the opposite effect. So I had to be more careful here maybe than I did in America.
梅格：好，好。我认为生活在美国和日本也有很大不同，因为湿度不一样。在这里我的皮肤就会变得很干。会产生相反的效果。所以相比于在美国时的情况，我在这里要更小心。
Todd: Yeah, that’s true. So what about – so washing your hair, you wash your hair every two days?
托德：嗯，没错。那洗头发呢，你两天洗一次头?
Meg: Yes. I wash my hair every two days, use conditioner maybe once a week. My hair would also get super dried out. I don’t know if you can see it, but it’s a little frizzy right now.
梅格：对。我两天洗一次头，一周用一次护发素。我的头发也很容易变干。我不知道你能不能看到，我的头发现在就有些卷曲。
Todd: Yeah.
托德：嗯。
Meg: So that’s how naturally is my hair type, too. So maybe your hair type handles well getting showered, washed three times a day?
梅格：我的发质就是这样。也许你的发质可以适应一天洗三次?
Todd: Yeah. I mean, well for one, I wash my hair usually twice a day, sometimes just once. But always after I work out, I have to wash my hair. But one thing I never, ever do is use conditioner. And I don’t understand why people use conditioner on their hair.
托德：嗯。其实我一天洗两次头，有时只洗一次。一般我在健身之后一定要洗头。不过我从来不用护发素。我不明白人们为什么要在头发上涂护发素。
Meg: Well, short hair maybe you don’t have to worry about it as much.
梅格：嗯，可能短发不用太担心。
Todd: Okay.
托德：好。
Meg: But with longer hair, and especially earlier this year, I had hair quite a bit longer than this even and the ends get dried out very easily. And they don’t replace like the hair oils because it’s coming from the roots. And so you have to add some extra moisture into the hair if you want it to stay looking decent. So yeah, probably more important to condition long hair than short hair.
梅格：但是长发的话，尤其像我今年初的时候头发比现在还长，所以发尾很容易变得很干。头发出油与这个无关，因为头发会油是因为头皮出油。所以，如果你想头发看起来很体面，那就要给头发增加水分。可能相比短发来说，长发护理更重要。
Todd: Okay. Yeah, because I’ve never understood why people use conditioner because when I use it, it just makes my hair seem waxy.
托德：好。我在用护发素的时候，完全不理解人们为什么要用这种东西，它只会让我的头发看上去像蜡一样。
Meg: Maybe you’re using too much conditioner or not washing it all out.
梅格：也许你的护发素涂太多了，没有完全冲洗干净。
Todd: Maybe. I don’t know. I have to learn how to wash my hair. Okay, cool.
托德：可能吧。我也不知道。我要学习一下如何洗头发。好，很好。
Meg: Yeah.
梅格：嗯。
性格的力量
Abidemi: So Rory, in the last conversation we were talking about changing your personality and you never said what you thought of that.
阿比德米：罗瑞，上次我们讨论了改变个性，可是你没有说你的想法。
Rory: Well, I think, I think when you learn a language often your personality does change. I notice with my students that they often seem quite different when they speak English to when they speak Japanese. I’m not sure if that’s a language thing or a cultural thing. But I mean you speak more than one language.
罗瑞：我认为，在学习其他语言以后，你的个性就会发生改变。我注意到，我的学生在说英语和日语时完全不同。我不确定这是否与语言或文化有关。我知道，你不只会一种语言。
Abidemi: Yes, I do.
阿比德米：没错。
Rory: Do you think your personality is different in each language?
罗瑞：你在说不同语言时性格有不同吗?
Abidemi: That’s a really good question. Just thinking of it right now, I think maybe for me it’s more a question of the culture because I think when I am in an environment where I’m expected to be more extroverted, I tend to try to live up to that.
阿比德米：这是一个非常好的问题。就目前来说，我认为这是文化问题，因为当我在一个应该更外向的环境中时，我会尽量达到这一预期。
Rory: Right.
罗瑞：好。
Abidemi: I tend to try to be more cheerful, more open, more friendly or friendlier, I should say. But when I’m somewhere where I know that it’s expected of me to be quieter, I do tend to become more quiet.
阿比德米：我会尽量更开朗、更开放、更友好。但是当我在应该更安静的环境中时，我会保持安静。
Rory: Right.
罗瑞：好。
Abidemi: So I don’t know. That’s a really good question.
阿比德米：我也不太清楚。不过这是个好问题。
Rory: And do you think there might be something in languages which make them like a more extroverted language or a more introverted language? Like I think about Italians – maybe it’s a stereotype of Italians, but they seem to be very extroverted and the language seems to help them in that extroversion.
罗瑞：在你看来，是不是语言中的某些东西让人们的性格发生了变化?比如更外向的语言或更内向的语言?我认为意大利人，也许这是人们对意大利人的刻板印象，不过意大利人看起来非常外向，而且看起来意大利语助推了意大利人的外向性格。
Abidemi: That’s true. That’s very true. That’s a good question because I’m just trying to think of culture and languages in general, and there’s that debate of how cultures and languages are intertwined. Is it the culture that came first or is it the language that made the culture the way it is. So I don’t know. I really don’t know. But I would love to read more research and find out.
阿比德米：没错。的确是这样。这是一个很好的问题，我在从总体上来考虑文化和语言，人们在辩论文化和语言是如何互相交织在一起的。是先有文化还是语言塑造了文化?我也不知道。虽然我不知道，但是我很想阅读更多研究，找出答案。
Rory: Yeah. I mean, I noticed since I moved to Asia, to countries like Japan and Korea, the people do seem more introverted and the language also seems more introverted. So I wonder if the language or like you say, I wonder which came first, the language or the culture?
罗瑞：嗯。我搬到亚洲以后发现，日本和韩国等国家的民众看起来更内向，他们的语言也更内向。就像你说的，我也想知道是先有语言还是先有文化?
Abidemi: And I think to add on to that, when I think of Asian students that I’ve noticed speaking English, which to some people is a more extroverted language, they always seem more confident.
阿比德米：除此之外，我注意到，因为英语是偏外向的语言，所以亚洲学生在说英语时，看上去也更自信。
Rory: Yeah.
罗瑞：对。
Abidemi: They seem friendlier. They seem more open to talking about themselves, their family life. But when you talk to them in their native language, it seems like they revert back to their cultural norms which would probably be less...
阿比德米：他们看上去更友好。更愿意谈论自己的情况和家庭生活。但是当你用他们的母语和他们谈话时，他们会回归他们的文化规范，不太愿意谈太多。
Rory: Right, yes.
罗瑞：对，没错。
Abidemi: Yeah, so maybe there is something there.
阿比德米：对，也许有值得研究的东西。
Rory: Yeah. And I guess the culture over here in Asian countries is people are less likely to share information. There’s less – I mean, in the West especially recently, there’s quite a pressure on you to be more open.
罗瑞：对。我认为这是亚洲国家的文化，人们不太愿意共享信息。在西方国家尤其是最近，人们面临着很大压力，要越来越开放。
Abidemi: That’s true.
阿比德米：没错。
Rory: Whereas maybe in Korea, Japan and China, people are more closed and just have different boundaries.
罗瑞：可是在韩国、日本和中国等国，人们更为封闭，有不同的界限。
Abidemi: I’m just trying to think of African countries, like being a Nigerian myself, we’ve had the issue of colonization and where the Western British culture is valorized. So coming from that aspect, I wonder before how we were. Were we more introverted? Because in a lot of ways we’re very similar to Asian cultures and Asian values. We have a lot of that as well. But now it’s true that being able to speak English and express yourself in a more Western way is a lot. It weighs a lot. It means a lot, so people really enjoy that. People really take their value from that.
阿比德米：我在想非洲国家的情况，我是尼日利亚人，我们有殖民问题，政府推行西方国家英国的文化。所以从这方面来看，我想知道我们以前是什么样子的。我们更内向吗?因为我们的很多生活方式和亚洲国家以及亚洲价值观更相似。我们也有很多亚洲的文化。但是现在我们说英语，用更西方的方式表达自己。现在西方的文化更盛行。人们很喜欢。人们从西方文化中获取价值观。
Rory: Right.
罗瑞：好。
Abidemi: So yeah, I think it’s a really interesting topic.
阿比德米：我认为这是一个值得深思的话题。
Rory: Because I mean people often see England or British people as a bit introverted and a bit quiet, a bit cold and yet we share the same language as America. And people tend to think that people from North America are quite brash and extroverted.
罗瑞：人们通常认为英国人更内向，很安静，有点冷漠，可是我们和美国说同样的语言。人们倾向于认为北美人很傲慢，更外向。
Abidemi: That’s true.
阿比德米：没错。
Rory: So like I said it’s more cultural than language-based.
罗瑞：所以我认为相对于语言基础来说，这更像是文化问题。
Abidemi: Yeah, maybe. Maybe we’ve come to a solution then.
阿比德米：可能吧。也许我们可以得出结论了。
Rory: Okay.
罗瑞：好。
Abidemi: We’ve found it. It is the culture more than the language then. Okay.
阿比德米：我们找到答案了。结论就是这不只是语言问题，更是文化问题。