【英语趣味课堂】她梦想中的家-Her Dream House

Curtis: All right. So Spencer if you could design your dream home, what would it be like?

 

Spencer: I know exactly what it would be like. It would be all wood, old-style beach house on the ocean and on the sand. So it would have ocean front porches¹ all the way around. The biggest thing is the porches because I don't really care about having, you know, massive² extra rooms for guests or whatever like I want to be able to be outside. Like being outside is big for me.

 

I love screened-in porches as well. So that and a library. I'm a huge kind of book nerd, so I would love to have just a library with lots of different shelves and, you know, a couple of desks for studying. That's the dream home for me. What about you?

 

Curtis: Actually, I'm wondering about the outside. Would you paint the house or would you just leave it the natural wood color?

 

Spencer: I want a natural color. There's an island south that's all kind of pastel Easter egg looking colors and it's too much for me. Also too like all the beach houses in LA, they're all kind of too tacky for me. Like I don't know. I like kind of the old look kind of traditional style.

 

dream home

 

Curtis: Do you think you would use natural wood on it or a different material? I know that the beaches are really tough on the siding and paneling³.

 

Spencer: That is true.

 

Curtis: Okay. What would th e kitchen be like in your dream house?

 

Spencer: I'm not much of a cook but I hope that my future husband is. So I would like to have a big kitchen for him. Lots of table space. I want one of those islands, you know, in the center of a kitchen where there's a marble countertop that has, you know, a couple of sinks and the ability to kind of put multiple⁴ different parts of vegetables or fruits out and about while you're cooking and preparing.

 

Yeah. I'd also like kind of a bar counter space as well so that people kind of pull up a chair and maybe help cook or maybe just be there for company while you're cooking.

 

Curtis: And how about your living room, do you have any ideas for that?

 

Spencer: Living room mainly just comfort. My parents had a living room in their house but it was all just really nice antique⁵ furniture and we were never allowed to go there. So it's kind of like what's the point of having a room in a house that you never go into?

 

So I would like a living room, yes, maybe with a fireplace⁶ and some antique furniture but nothing too nice that, you know, my child or my dog were to come in from outside could really like mess up.

 

Curtis: And how about your yard, do you have any ideas for a yard around your house?

 

Spencer: I want a lot of dogs. So I would like a big yard that they could be able to run around in, as well as if I have children, like have enough room for them to be able to, you know, slip and slide. So, you know, one of my best friends back home she had a yard that had a creek⁷ in it. And that was so much fun like growing up being able to like catch different, you know, creepy-crawlies in the stream as well as have a messy or muddy day if we wanted to.

 

Curtis: And how about the bathroom?

 

Spencer: I want a massive bathroom actually. You know, my favorite shower in the world has like five or six different faucets⁸ and it's just massive. That gives you space. I'm kind of a clumsy⁹ person, so if I fall down I don't want to be able to, you know – I don't want to hit my head on anything.

 

I also like a big Jacuzzi bathtub. My grandparents have this really, really, big old porcelain¹¹ tub¹⁰ that I swear like five people could fit into. So I'd really like to be able to have a big bathtub.

 

Curtis: Okay. Thank you.

 

[End of Transcript]

重点词汇：

 

Learn vocabulary from the lesson below.

 

is big for

 

Being outside is big for me.

 

When something is 'big for you' then it is very important for you. Notice the following:

 

Living in nature is big for me.

Having the Internet is big for me.

Note: You can say 'huge for me' and the meaning is the same.

 

siding

 

The beaches are really tough on the siding and paneling.

 

The siding (or paneling) is the outside material that covers a house or building. Notice the following:

 

I love houses with wood siding.

I hate houses with metal siding.

pull up a chair

 

Please pull up a chair and join us.

 

When people ask you to 'pull up a chair, they are asking you to join them. Notice the following:

 

Don't be a stranger. Pull up a chair.

Hey, so nice to see you. Pull up a chair and join us.

mess up

 

I want cheap furniture you cannot mess up.

 

When you mess something up, you damage it or make a mistake doing it. Notice the following:

 

I mess up dinner. It tastes terrible.

When you fill out the form, try not to mess up.

slip and slide

 

There is a slip and slide in the yard.

 

A slip and slide is a plastic sheet (slide) with water on in that you run and slide down. Notice the following:

 

He broke his arm on a slip and slide.

We played on a slip and slide at the BBQ.

porcelain

 

My grandparents have this really, really, big old porcelain tub

 

Porcelain is very fine ceramic¹² material usually seen on nice cups or bowls. Notice the following:

 

She has fine procelain dishes.

We drank out of nice porcelain cups.

Note: tub means bathtub.

1 porches   

n.门廊( porch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He courted the summer girls on boarding-house porches. 他在公寓凉台上跟夏天来度假的青年女客吊膀子。 来自辞典例句
• First floor depth of a house six, around are the porches. 底层进深六间，前后为廊。 来自互联网

2 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

3 paneling   

（总称）嵌板； 镶板； 嵌板板材； 嵌板细工

参考例句：

• The unusual paneling on the walls caught our attention. 墙上不寻常的镶板引起了我们的注意。
• The guide drew our attention too the magnificent carved paneling. 导游把我们的注意力引向华丽的雕刻镶木上。

4 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

5 antique   

adj.古时的，古代的；n.古物，古器，古玩

参考例句：

• The Sunday antique market is a happy hunting ground for collectors.周日的古董市场是收藏家的淘物乐园。
• I saw the vase in the window of an antique shop.我在一家古玩店的橱窗里看见了这个花瓶。

6 fireplace   

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

• The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。
• I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 faucets   

n.水龙头( faucet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Water faucets shall be chrome-plated type with ball valve. 水龙头外表为铬镀层。 来自互联网
• The plumber came that afternoon and fixed the faucets in some minutes. 当天下午，管子工来了，几分钟内便把水龙头安装好。 来自互联网

9 clumsy   

adj.笨手笨脚；不圆滑的，缺乏技巧的

参考例句：

• He is clumsy with his hands.他的一双手很笨。
• Its body looks heavy and clumsy when it has eaten its fill.它步态蹒跚，吃饱了的身体更显得笨拙可笑。

10 tub   

n.桶，塑料杯，纸杯；盆，洗澡盆，浴缸

参考例句：

• The girl washed clothes in a tub.那女孩把衣服放在木盆里洗。
• The tub needs fixing too.It leaks.浴盆也得修了。它漏。

11 porcelain   

n.瓷；adj.瓷的，瓷制的

参考例句：

• These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。
• The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。

12 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。