英语博客(A cup of English):062 Sunnies, tramping

　　Beginners.
It's very interesting going to another country and experiencing the culture, even if the people from that country speak the same language. Among English speaking nations, there are well known differences. Our accents are different, of course, and even expressions that we use are quite different from one country to the next. I picked up a few expressions when I was in New Zealand. 'Sunnies' is the name they give to sunglasses, which I think is very cute and cheery. Also, if you like to go hiking or walking, they call it 'tramping'. The word gives the action a different feeling. If you think about it, a tramp¹ is a homeless person who wanders around, so 'tramping around' gives a feeling of being free and unattached. Well, I am interpreting² the expression from the point of view of an English person. A person from the U.S, Ireland, or Scotland, might have a different interpretation³. Another thing that I found out which is not an expression, but a physical fact, is that the water in the bath or shower goes down the plughole the opposite way compared to countries in the Northern hemisphere⁴. How curious! Up here in the U.S it goes down the plughole in an anticockwise direction. In New Zealand, I noticed that in the shower, it goes down in a clockwise⁵ direction. It's one of the little differences that makes us all interesting.
Grammar notes.
Useful expressions: even if.., among, from one....to the next, to pick up, a tramp, point of view.
Exs: Even if we go to the city, we won't have enough time to see everything.
Among my neighbors, Mary is the most friendly.
They passed the evidence from one member of the jury⁶ to the next.
From what he had said, I picked up that he didn't like me.
There is a tramp living under the bridge next to the park.
Well, I understand your point of view, Sir, but I do not agree.
Advanced.
My time in New Zealand was very short, but, in that time, I picked up on the tremendous friendliness⁷ of the Kiwis, as the New Zealanders are known. They are a very laid back nation, not rushed and stressed. They are also very polite, and have endearing expressions. "No worries," is a common expression that is used in many circumstances, such as when you ask for something, or as a way of saying "You're welcome". While I was there, I listened carefully to try to see what it is about the Kiwi accent that makes it different from the English one. One main difference in pronunciation is in short words that have the letter 'E' as the main vowel⁸, such as 'yes', 'bet', 'egg', 'pest', 'leg', and 'rest'. The vowel is pronounced like an 'I', so the words sound like 'yis', 'bit', 'igg', 'pist', 'lig', and 'rist'. Also, words with the long 'I' sound like 'I', 'I'll', 'sky', 'fly' etc sound like they have an 'O' next to the 'I'. So, a sentence like, "Yes, I'll eat the rest of the egg," is pronounced, "Yis, oil eat the rist of the igg."  I was quite proud of myself for making that observation; I had never before been able to speak like a Kiwi or an Australian. Now, I can goof⁹ around at home and speak in a Kiwi accent to my family. It makes you wonder why different accents develop in the first place, doesn't it?
Grammar notes.
Useful expressions: in that time, to goof around, to make an observation.
Exs: I lived in Spain for a year, and in that time I ate lots of delicious food.
My children insist on goofing¹⁰ around in the supermarket.
That student is very good at making observations, even about the teacher making mistakes!
*Verbs in pluperfect:
I had never eaten caviar before. I tried it at her birthday, and hated it.
He had never been polite, so when he said "Please", I was surprised.
We had driven on the left all our lives in New Zealand, but then we moved to France and had to drive on the right.

1 tramp   

n.流浪者，步行，跋涉；v.步行，跋涉

参考例句：

• She wants to go for a tramp in the country.她想去乡间远足。
• A tramp came to the door and asked for food.一个流浪汉来到门前讨饭吃。

2 interpreting   

v.解释( interpret的现在分词 )；理解；把…理解为；演绎（按自己的感觉演奏音乐或表现角色）

参考例句：

• The girl is interpreting for foreign visitors. 那女孩在替外宾当口译。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The drawing procedure is reviewed before interpreting this figure. 在解释这个图以前，先复习一下画图的方法。 来自辞典例句

3 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

4 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

5 clockwise   

adj./adv.顺时针方向的

参考例句：

• Please turn the key in a clockwise direction.请顺时针转动钥匙。
• Gently swing your right arm in a clockwise direction.按顺时针方向轻轻摆动右臂。

6 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

7 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

8 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

9 goof   

v.弄糟；闲混；n.呆瓜

参考例句：

• We goofed last week at the end of our interview with singer Annie Ross.上周我们采访歌手安妮·罗斯，结果到快结束时犯了个愚蠢的错误。
• You will never be good students so long as you goof around.如果你们成天游手好闲，就永远也成不了好学生。

10 goofing   

v.弄糟( goof的现在分词 )；混；打发时间；出大错

参考例句：

• He should have been studying instead of goofing around last night. 他昨晚应该念书，不应该混。 来自走遍美国快乐40招
• Why don't you just admit you're goofing off? 偷了懒就偷了赖，还不爽爽快快承认？ 来自辞典例句