美语咖啡屋 Lesson 46: Life After Peace Corps

Jen & Sharrin, Life After Peace Corps¹

Y: 大家好，我是杨晨，欢迎您到美语咖啡屋！

J: Hello everyone! I'm Jody! Welcome to American Cafe! Hey Yang Chen, what's that you're reading?

Y: 噢！没什么啦！

J: Let me see.

Y:哎呀，你快还给我！

J: The Peace Corps?

Y: 是啊，我正在看一些关于和平队的材料。

J: You're thinking of joining the Peace Corps？

Y: 哎，你干吗那么惊讶呢？

J: Well, I'm not surprised ...Yang Chen, it's really hard work.

Y: 那又怎么样？

J: Don't forget it's volunteer work.

Y: So? 我本来就经常做义工啊！再说了，我现在觉得生活有点平淡，想找点刺激，我想去冒险。

J: Everyone wants excitement and adventure. But before you sign that contract², let's talk to our friends Jen & Sharrin. They were Peace Corps volunteers for one year in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa.

Y: 噢，对! Jen和Sharrin曾经参加和平队，到过科特迪瓦。咦？可是她们为什么只在那儿待了一年呢？

J: Well, they ran into a little problem in Cote d'Ivoire ... something about an attempted coup³ d'etat.

Y: 啊？是真的政变啊？

J: A real coup.

Y:哇，是不是就好像电影里演的那样，有军队，还有人打枪什么的。

J: Soldiers, guns - the whole nine yards. Not really what you would call a safe environment.

Y: 听起来好像很可怕噢！

J: In fact, Jen and Sharrin were evacuated⁴ to the neighboring country of Ghana.

Y: 真的啊？她们后来还被疏散到加纳。

J: First let's hear from Jen.

实录1: Jen: There was an attempted coup d'etat in Cote d'Ivoire. Peace Corps, of course, took us out. It wasn't a safe environment. So, we were evacuated to a neighboring country - Ghana. From there we waited about two weeks to see if it would blow over. It turned out it wasn't safe enough. So from there we closed out our service for Peace Corp.

Y: Jen说她们当时撤到加纳，还在那儿待了两个星期，因为她们不知道动乱会不会blow over. Blow over我想在这里，就是结束或者消失的意思，是吧？

J: Exactly. After two weeks the danger did not blow over. So, Jen & Sharrin closed out their service with the Peace Corps.

Y: 噢，所以这样她们就提前结束了在和平队的服务。

J: That's right. You know, according⁵ to Jen, trouble would pop up frequently⁶ and then be fine the next day. But this time trouble popped up and did not blow over. Again here's Jen.

实录2: Jen: Problems would pop up but they would be fine the next day. So everyone thought it'd be fine the next day. When I left, I don't know what Sharrin thought, but when I left I thought I'd be returning back. So, I thought for sure I'd be back later on to say "Bye" for good or just to return and finish my service.

Y: Jen刚才说她们当时匆匆忙忙就离开了，而且呢，她还以为她们很快就能再回到科特迪瓦呢。

J: Actually, for both Jen and Sharrin the hardest part of being evacuated was not being able to say goodbye to people and having a lack of closure. You know, a definite⁷ ending. Now, let's hear from Sharrin.

实录3: Sharrin: I think it was really hard just because I had all these plans and everything for what I was going to be doing. And I didn't say goodbye really to anybody; so, there was a definite lack of closure. And I think that was the hardest part of the evacuation - was just no closure at all.

Y: 就是啊！她们在当地一定交了很多朋友，就这样匆匆忙忙离开，没有来得及和这些朋友说再见。我想她们当时心里一定很难过。看来，参加和平队也不是一件那么容易的事。

J: Aw come on! Where's your sense of adventure? I know the attempted coup, the evacuation, not being able to say goodbye to friends - all that would be hard but ...

Y: 等一等，等一等，Jody,我是很喜欢冒险啦！可是这又是要政变，又是要逃难什么的，我可受不了。

J: But think of the all the great memories that comes from being in the Peace Corps. Now let's hear from Sharrin and Jen talk about the rewards⁸.

实录4: Sharrin: I think for me it was just the hospitality⁹ and the welcoming of the people in the different communities we lived in. Jen: The hospitality was a big thing, but for me it was also really amazing to be able to go through a training period and become conversational¹⁰ in the language and to become independent.

Y: 怎么样？Jody，咱俩一起去好不好？

J: Yang Chen, joining the Peace Corps is a big decision. You really should think about it a little bit more.

Y: Okay, okay，我会仔细的考虑的。不过我确实是佩服Jen和Sharrin.

J: I admire them as well. Thanks for joining us today at American Cafe.

Y: 谢谢您收听美语咖啡屋，我们下次节目再见！

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 contract   

n.合同，契约，婚约；v.使缩短，感染，订约

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• I'm under contract to teach here for one year.我按照聘约要在这里教一年书。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 according   

adj.按照，根据

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。

6 frequently   

adv.常常，屡次，经常地，频繁地

参考例句：

• Please write to me frequently.请经常给我来信。
• I like that you should call on me frequently.我喜欢你经常来拜访我。

7 definite   

adj.明确的，肯定的，确定的，限定的

参考例句：

• It's definite that he will come to help us.他肯定会来帮助我们。
• We demand a definite answer.我们要求明确的答案。

8 rewards   

n.报酬( reward的名词复数 )；报答；赏金；酬金v.酬谢，奖赏( reward的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They are now reaping the rewards of all their hard work. 现在，他们的全部辛劳都得到了回报。
• He harvested rewards in fame and wealth for his successful experiment. 他因试验成功而名利双收。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hospitality   

n.好客，殷勤；adj.（气候等）宜人，适宜

参考例句：

• He welcomed you to enjoy his hospitality.他欢迎你去做客。
• Thank you for your kind hospitality.谢谢你的盛情款待。

10 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。