ESL Podcast 898 – People of Different Ages

 　　Gloria: I’m surprised at the variety of people on this tour.

　　Andy: Oh, yeah? I hadn’t noticed.

　　Gloria: Well, we’ll be spending the next two weeks with these people so I thought I’d get to know some of them.

　　Andy: That’s nice.

　　Gloria: Did you see that thirty-something couple with a toddler and an infant¹? I’m really surprised they’re on this tour.

　　Andy: I’m sure they know what they’re doing.

　　Gloria: And how about that group of seniors? Some of them look like they’re in the mid- to late- seventies.

　　Andy: They seem pretty spry to me.

　　Gloria: But what really surprises me is that group of middle-aged² couples with their tween and teenage children. They’ll be a handful³.

　　Andy: They seemed pretty well behaved to me.

　　Gloria: And did you notice that woman in her early-forties and the forty-ish man each traveling alone? She seemed nice, but he didn’t seem too friendly.

　　Andy: Maybe he’s using his time to size up everybody like you are.

　　Gloria: Well, I wish there were more young adults in this group. I like talking to young people.

　　Andy: I think there will be plenty of people for you to talk to these two weeks when you’re not sightseeing.

1 infant   

n.婴儿，幼儿；adj.婴儿的；幼稚的，初期的

参考例句：

• Tourism was then still in its infant stage.旅游业当时还处在初创阶段。
• I also need an infant's food for my baby.我要买些婴儿食品给我的孩子。

2 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

3 handful   

n.一把；少量，少数，一小撮

参考例句：

• We invited 30 people, but only a handful came.我们邀请了30人，但是只到了几个人。
• He pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.他从口袋里掏出一把硬币。