ACT 3 -1 这是很了不起的经历!
【故事梗概】
Grandpa 在 John Marchetta先生的办公室里接受面试。Marchetta 先生浏览了Grandpa的简历,给了他很高的评价。
Grandpa: Hi. I’m Malcolm Stewart.
Marchetta: John Marchetta. Sit down, sit down.
Grandpa: Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.
Marchetta: She says a lot of wonderful things about you too, Mr. Stewart.
Grandpa: That’s always nice to hear, Mr. Marchetta.
Marchetta: Call me John. May I call you Malcolm? Let’s talk business.
Grandpa: That’s music to my ears.
Marchetta: I understand you used to be in the construction business.
Grandpa: Yup. Forty-three years. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.
Marchetta: That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.
Grandpa: Thank you. Yup. Forty-three years. Half that time in my own construction company. Big jobs -- factories, shopping malls. That kind of thing.
Marchetta: Then you retired.
Grandpa: Yes. After my wife died, and I felt I should spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I lived in Florida, and they lived in New York.
Marchetta: I understand. My daughter, Cami lives in New York. I like being near her.
【语言点精讲】
1. Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.
Susan跟我说了不少有关你的事,她说你是个很了不起的人。
a great deal: 很多。也可以说 a great deal of sth. , 但后面的名词只能是不可数的。
You’re quite a man. 你真是个了不起的人。
2. Call me John.
叫我John好了。在对方称自己为某先生或用其它尊称时,欲使对方直呼己名以示亲近,常这样说。也可以: “John to you.”
3. Let’s talk business.
talk business: 谈工作, 谈生意。这是个惯用语,talk 在这里用作及物动词。
类似的不带介词,以talk为及物动词的用法还有: talk politics/sport(谈论政治/体育),talk shop(说行话,谈本行业或本职工作的事),talk sense/nonsense,talk nonsense/rubbish(说胡话,胡说八道)等。
4. That’s music to my ears.
正合我意。正是我想听的。
5. I understand you used to be in the construction business.
我听说你过去是在建筑业工作的。
I understand: 在这里的意思是“我听说,我知道这样的信息”。
used to do: 过去曾做过某事。用来谈论过去的经历。
6. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.
这儿有一份材科,简短地记录了我四十三年的工作经历。
a brief description: 简单的叙述。这里指简历。
on-the-job training: 指工作经历。美国人很重视实际工作经验,所以他们把工作经历称为“工作时的培训”。
7. That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.
这是很了不起的经历!你是个很宝贵的人才,Malcolm,非常宝贵。
some: 了不起的,相当于“a wonderful…”。这是一种非正式用法。
asset: 资产, 财富, 人才。
8. I like being near her.
我喜欢离她近一点。
这里like后面接-ing形式,表示“经常或总是或习惯性地”喜欢某事。