实战口语情景对话 第336期:Train Ride 坐火车

 　　Adrienne: I understand you recently rode a train from Milwaukee to Minneapolis. Was this the first time you ever rode a train?

　　埃德里安娜：我知道你刚刚乘火车从密尔沃基去了明尼阿波利斯。这是你第一次坐火车吗？

　　Vivian: No, I have been on a train many times as a young person but recently in the past 3 or 4 years I have ridden a train again several times. There was a period of time in my life that I did not ride the train, and I thoroughly¹ enjoyed every minute of it.

　　薇薇安：不是，我年轻的时候坐过很多次火车，最近3、4年我也坐过几次火车。我有一段时间没有坐火车，不过我非常享受坐火车的时间。

　　Adrienne: How is it different riding the train now then it was back when you were younger?

　　埃德里安娜：现在坐火车和你年轻时坐火车有什么不一样吗？

　　Vivian: When I was younger they had a different set of train people. Back then, you weren't served meals at your seat. You had, if they had a dining car, if they had a dining car, you could go into the dining car and eat but some trains, especially on short distances, like when I lived in Jaffy, Missouri, it was halfway² between Memphis and St. Louis. Those were short routes³ and they did not have dining cars. On this trip that we just got back from yesterday, we had our, we were in the lower⁴ car because it's a handicap⁵ car. My sister is handicapped⁶, and they brought us a menu, and they brought us a full dinner, including salad and dessert and coffee or tea, whatever we would like to drink.

　　薇薇安：我年轻的时候，有许多不同的列车员。那时坐火车饭菜不是送到座位上。如果火车上有餐车，如果有餐车的话，你可以去餐车吃东西，但是有些火车，尤其是那些短途火车，就像我住在密苏里州的嘉菲，那里位于孟菲斯市和圣路易斯市中间，那些短途火车就没有餐车。而昨天我们刚刚坐火车回来，我们坐在了下层车厢，那里是残疾人车厢。我妹妹是残疾人，列车员给我们拿了菜单，他们给我们送来了晚餐，包括沙拉、甜点、咖啡和茶，有我们想喝的任何饮料。

　　Adrienne: How was the food on the train? Was it better than plain food?

　　埃德里安娜：火车上的食物怎么样？比家常菜好吗？

　　Vivian: Oh, much better. Much better. It was fixed⁷. The chef's did a fantastic job and I understand that it is cooked on the train. It may not be all cooked on the train but it certainly is prepared and the salads are prepared on the train so that you don't get these package food tastes.

　　薇薇安：好多了。好很多。火车上的食物是固定的。厨师做得非常棒，我知道那是在火车上烹饪的食物。可能不是全部都在火车上烹饪完成，不过那些沙拉肯定是在火车上准备的，所以没有那种包装食品的味道。

　　Adrienne: That sounds fun though.

　　埃德里安娜：听起来很有乐趣。

　　Vivian: Oh, it was great fun! We enjoyed every minute of it.

　　薇薇安：非常有意思！我非常享受坐火车时的每分每秒。

1 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

2 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

3 routes   

n.路( route的名词复数 )；（公共汽车和列车等的）常规路线；途径；渠道

参考例句：

• Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes. 驾车者被告知需另寻其他路线。
• The company plans to run trains on key intercity routes. 公司计划在主要城际路线上开通火车。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

5 handicap   

n.障碍（身体或智力方面的），缺陷；vt.妨碍

参考例句：

• Losing our best player was a handicap to the team.失去最棒的运动员对我队不利。
• His physical handicap prevented him from standing.因为他身体残废，无法站立。

6 handicapped   

a.残疾的，有智力缺陷的

参考例句：

• a visually handicapped child 弱视儿童
• mentally and physically handicapped 身心俱残

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。