CRI实用英语课堂 Unit 68 Wearing Braces II 戴牙套（下）

Part 2 At the Orthodontist's II  在牙医诊所（下）

Dialogue Script 2  对话原文 2 

Tim: Here I am! The guy that looks like an idiot!
Mom: Now don't be so silly. Lots of young people like you have braces¹.
Tim: That doesn't make me feel better, Mom.
Mom: What did Dr. Andrews say?
Tim: She said I have to keep them super clean. And I have to see her every two weeks.
Mom: Will you need a retainer after they come off?
Tim: She's not sure about that yet. It depends on how well the teeth move.
Mom: How long will you have to wear the braces?
Tim: Probably for two years. Two very long years.
Mom: You'll see. You'll thank us when you're older.
Tim: It's hard to look that far ahead, Mom. No girl will want to date me now.
Mom: If a girl won't date you because of braces, then she isn't the right girl for you.
Tim: A girl might have dated me if I had gotten the see-through braces, Mom!
Mom: Those ones are a rip-off, Tim! And they aren't invisible or anything like that.

讲解：

1. 对话中，Tim从牙医诊所回到了家，很不满意，觉得戴上牙套的自己就像个傻瓜。妈妈安慰他说，别傻了，很多像Tim一样的年轻人都在戴牙套。Don't be silly.就是告诉别人不要犯傻，不要想那么多了。比如说，Don't be silly! He's not coming back! 别傻了，他不会回来了。

2. Tim听了妈妈的话，并没有觉得好受多少，大家都戴牙套并不等于戴牙套就很好看。妈妈又问Andrews医生是怎么说的。医生说Tim必须让牙套保持超级干净。还有就是他每两周都要去一次牙医诊所复查。

3. And I have to see her every two weeks.当中的see her并不是说去看望她，而是去她的诊所看病。就像我们平时说的see a doctor表面上看是“去看望医生”，其实是说“去医院看病”。那么在牙套拿下来之后Tim还需要戴固定器吗？固定器的说法是retainer。在戴牙套的疗程结束之后，会继续戴一阵子固定器，来固定牙齿的位置。

4. 医生也不确定Tim到底用不用戴固定器，这要看牙齿移动的情况而定。那么Tim的牙套到底要戴多久呢？也许会戴两年，这两年对Tim来说，将会是非常漫长的。妈妈说到时候Tim就会知道戴牙套的好处了，那时他非常感谢他们。但是谁能看得那么长远呢？It's hard to look that far ahead.

5. Tim怕戴上牙套之后就没有女生愿意跟他约会了。妈妈说如果一个女孩因为你戴牙套就不跟你约会，那么这个女孩就不是适合你的女生。Tim觉得如果他戴的是透明牙套，女生说不定就愿意跟他约会了。

6. see-through表示“透明的”。妈妈告诉Tim说那些所谓透明的牙套都是骗人的东西，而且不是真的一点都看不到。Those ones are a rip-off当中的 rip-off 是一个俚语词汇，表示“骗人的、骗钱的东西”。比如说，10 Dollars for a cup of coffee! What a rip-off! 一杯咖啡要10美元！真是宰人！还有一个俚语是 rip sb off，表示“欺骗某人，特别是欺骗某人的钱财”。比如说，The old man tried to rip me off. 那个老头想骗我的钱。

 

Part 3 Brace-face 铁面人 

Dialogue Script 1  对话原文 1 

Mom: Hey, Tim! How was your first day at school?
Tim: I have a new nickname... "brace-face".
Mom: "Brace-face"? Ah, that ain't so bad! Kids used to call me worse names than that!
Tim: You're just trying to cheer me up.
Mom: No! We used to call kids with braces "metal mouths." Ha-ha!
Tim: Yeah, well, they call me that too, Mom.
Mom: Oh, I'm sorry! But who cares! They're only names. I know you're tougher than that!
Tim: I just always feel so stupid. I'm afraid to smile.
Mom: It would be a shame if you stopped smiling for the next two years.
Tim: I feel like a little kid.
Mom: Just trust us on this one. One day you;ll be able to look back at this and laugh.
Tim: Right. I'll be laughing with tears in my eyes because it's so sad.
Mom: Ha! Sometimes you're funny when you're silly. If you ever need a date, I'm always available.
Tim: Yeah, thanks, Mom.

讲解：

1. 今天是Tim开学的第一天，他感觉怎么样呢？Tim有了一个新外号，brace-face，就是“铁面人”，或者叫“牙套男”也行。nickname是指“外号，绰号”，比如说，As he was always cheerful he had he nickname "Smiler". 因为他总是乐呵呵的，所以他的外号叫“乐乐”。

2. nickname 还可以表示“爱称，昵称”，举个例子，Harold's nickname was Harry². Harold的昵称是Harry。 nickname跟name一样，也可以作为动词，意思是“给别人起外号”，比如说，He was nicknamed Fatty because he was so skinny! 因为他很瘦，所以给他起个外号叫“胖子”！

3. 妈妈说，“铁面人”这个绰号已经不错了，她小时候还有过更糟糕的外号呢，Tim不相信，说妈妈只是哄他开心罢了。cheer sb up 表示“让某人更高兴或者更快活”，比如说，He made faces to cheer up his sister. 他做鬼脸逗妹妹笑。

4. cheer up 也可以单独使用，表示“高兴起来，振作起来”，比如说，You seem to need cheering up. 你似乎需要振作起来。cheer up 还有一个比喻的用法，表示“为某物增添光彩”，比如说，The flowers always cheer the room up. 房间里一有花就满室增辉。

5. 妈妈小时候那些戴牙套的小孩子都会被称为“大钢牙”，metal mouth。妈妈没想到的是Tim的同学也这样叫他。妈妈安慰Tim说，没关系，这些只是名字而已，不要那么介意，Tim足够坚强可以应付得来。

6. Tim一直觉得戴牙套很傻，也一直不敢笑，但是如果他接下来两年都不笑的话，可就太糟糕了。Tim此时感觉自己就像个小孩子，那么无助。妈妈说这件事听他们的准没错，有朝一日Tim会笑着回顾这段时间的。trust sb on sth 表示“相信某人对某事的判断。

7. 这里 look back at/on sth and laugh 表示“笑看往事”。当你面对不愉快的事情的时候，与其一直耿耿于怀，不如换个角度想，等到事过境迁的时候，或许这会是一段很有意思的回忆。这时候就可以用look back at/on sth and laugh这个句式了。我们来用一段对话作例子，---We'll look back at this and laugh one day. ---I hope so, because I just want to cry now. ---有朝一日我们回想起这件事的时候会觉得很好笑。---但愿如此，因为现在我只想哭。还有，---In ten years, you'll look back at your childhood dairies and laugh. ---My kids might think they're funny, too. ---十年后，你会笑着看你小时候写的日记。---我的孩子说不定也会觉得很好笑。

8. Tim还是很悲观，他说，没错，到时候我会笑中还有泪，因为回想起来实在是太悲哀了。妈妈开玩笑说Tim犯起傻气来还真可爱。还大方地说，无论Tim什么时候需要约会对象，她都有空奉陪。这可让Tim哭笑不得，只好道谢。

Dialogue Script 2  对话原文 2

Tim: Mom! My teeth are killing³ me. And the skin inside my mouth is all cut up.
Mom: Did Dr. Andrews say that was normal?
Tim: Yeah. I spit up blood sometimes, too. It's gross. The tightening⁴ today was torture!
Mom: The doctor told me the tightening is the worst part because it forces the teeth to move.
Tim: She said I could put some wax pieces on the braces to smooth them out.
Mom: Give it a whirl then, I'm sure it'll help.
(Later)
Tim: Gross! Look at this meat and lettuces⁵ from my burger today!
Mom: Where? I don't see any?
Tim: In my teeth! See! There's always guck hiding in there.
Mom: Just pick it out.
Tim: Sometimes, it comes flying out by itself! Even worse, sometimes it's when I'm talking to people - even girls!
Mom: Maybe you can carry a net in front of your face?
Tim: Ha! Sure, Mom!
Mom: At least I make you smile again...finally!

讲解：

1.Tim的牙齿很疼，嘴里的皮肉都被割破了。My teeth are killing me.当中的 kill 不是“杀死某人”的意思，而是指“令人疼痛”。我们还可以说My back/head/finger...is killing me. 我的背/脑袋/手指头等身体部位疼死了。

2. 妈妈很心疼Tim，问Andrews医生是怎么说的呢？她认为这种现象是正常的吗？带牙套难免会磨破口腔里的皮肤，所以这种现象还是正常的。有时候Tim还会吐血，spit up blood。

3. 关于spit还有一个在口语中比较常用的用法，就是 spit it out，表示“有什么事情就痛快说出来，别婆婆妈妈的”。例如，What exactly are you trying to say? Come on, just spit it out! 你到底要跟我说什么？你就爽快点说出来吧。Tim说吐血很恶心，It's gross. gross这个词在口语中表示“让人厌恶的，恶心的”。

4. 今天Tim又去了牙科诊所把牙套绑紧，差点没把他疼死，真是一场酷刑，The tightening today was torture!。妈妈也听医生说因为绑紧牙套是在强迫牙齿移动，所以说是最难受的部分了。

5. 医生告诉Tim可以在牙套上放一些蜡块，让牙套平滑一点。wax piece 就是指“蜡块”，一种像粘土的软蜡，戴牙套的患者可以取一小块覆盖在牙套锐利的地方，来防止割破口腔。

6. 妈妈说，既然医生这么说了，就试试吧，Give it a whirl then。whirl当名词的时候，可以当“混乱，旋转”，但在Give it a whirl这个口语用法中，就是“尝试”的意思。我们用一个对话来作例子，---Here, let's give this game a whirl. ---All right. Here goes nothing. ---来，咱们来试试这种游戏。---好啊，反正没什么损失。还有，---You mind if I test-drive your motorcycle? ---Give her a whirl. ---介意我试骑一下你的摩托车吗？---骑骑看吧。

7. Tim照镜子看自己的牙套，觉得好恶心，上面还有今天吃的汉堡里面的肉和莴苣。牙齿里面总是有些黏黏的东西。There's always guck hiding in there. guck表示“黏滑讨厌的东西”。

8. 妈妈说没关系，挑出来就好了。Tim说有时候这些黏黏的东西还会自己飞出来，更糟糕的是，有时候是在他跟别人说话的时候，甚至是和女孩子说话的时候，这下可糗大了。妈妈建议说，也许Tim可以在脸的前面挂一张网，这样说话的时候就不怕东西喷出来了。Tim大笑起来，觉得老妈真可爱，竟然想到这个点子。妈妈也松了一口气，她终于又让Tim开口笑起来了，真不容易。

 

1 braces   

n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃，因为支架全松了。
• You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带，就用不着吊带了。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 lettuces   

n.莴苣，生菜（ lettuce的名词复数 ）；生菜叶

参考例句：

• My lettuces have gone to seed. 我种的莴苣已结子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Are these lettuces home-grown or did you buy them in the market? 这些生菜是自家种的呢，还是你在市场上买的？ 来自辞典例句