ACT 3 -1 這是很了不起的經(jīng)歷！
【故事梗概】
Grandpa 在 John Marchetta先生的辦公室里接受面試。Marchetta 先生瀏覽了Grandpa的簡(jiǎn)歷，給了他很高的評(píng)價(jià)。
Grandpa: Hi. I’m Malcolm Stewart.
Marchetta: John Marchetta. Sit down, sit down.
Grandpa: Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.
Marchetta: She says a lot of wonderful things about you too, Mr. Stewart.
Grandpa: That’s always nice to hear, Mr. Marchetta.
Marchetta: Call me John. May I call you Malcolm? Let’s talk business.
Grandpa: That’s music to my ears.
Marchetta: I understand you used to be in the construction business.
Grandpa: Yup. Forty-three years. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.
Marchetta: That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.
Grandpa: Thank you. Yup. Forty-three years. Half that time in my own construction company. Big jobs -- factories, shopping malls. That kind of thing.
Marchetta: Then you retired.
Grandpa: Yes. After my wife died, and I felt I should spend more time with my children and grandchildren. I lived in Florida, and they lived in New York.
Marchetta: I understand. My daughter, Cami lives in New York. I like being near her.
【語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)精講】
1. Susan has told me a great deal about you. She says you’re quite a man.
Susan跟我說(shuō)了不少有關(guān)你的事，她說(shuō)你是個(gè)很了不起的人。
a great deal: 很多。也可以說(shuō) a great deal of sth. , 但后面的名詞只能是不可數(shù)的。
You’re quite a man. 你真是個(gè)了不起的人。
2. Call me John．
叫我John好了。在對(duì)方稱自己為某先生或用其它尊稱時(shí)，欲使對(duì)方直呼己名以示親近，常這樣說(shuō)。也可以: “John to you．”
3. Let’s talk business.
talk business: 談工作, 談生意。這是個(gè)慣用語(yǔ)，talk 在這里用作及物動(dòng)詞。
類似的不帶介詞，以talk為及物動(dòng)詞的用法還有: talk politics/sport（談?wù)撜?體育），talk shop（說(shuō)行話，談本行業(yè)或本職工作的事），talk sense/nonsense，talk nonsense/rubbish（說(shuō)胡話，胡說(shuō)八道）等。
4. That’s music to my ears.
正合我意。正是我想聽的。
5. I understand you used to be in the construction business.
我聽說(shuō)你過(guò)去是在建筑業(yè)工作的。
I understand: 在這里的意思是“我聽說(shuō)，我知道這樣的信息”。
used to do: 過(guò)去曾做過(guò)某事。用來(lái)談?wù)撨^(guò)去的經(jīng)歷。
6. Here’s a brief description of forty-three years of on-the-job training.
這兒有一份材科，簡(jiǎn)短地記錄了我四十三年的工作經(jīng)歷。
a brief description: 簡(jiǎn)單的敘述。這里指簡(jiǎn)歷。
on-the-job training: 指工作經(jīng)歷。美國(guó)人很重視實(shí)際工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)，所以他們把工作經(jīng)歷稱為“工作時(shí)的培訓(xùn)”。
7. That is some history! You’re a valuable asset, Malcolm. Very valuable.
這是很了不起的經(jīng)歷！你是個(gè)很寶貴的人才，Malcolm，非常寶貴。
some: 了不起的，相當(dāng)于“a wonderful…”。這是一種非正式用法。
asset: 資產(chǎn), 財(cái)富, 人才。
8. I like being near her.
我喜歡離她近一點(diǎn)。
這里like后面接-ing形式，表示“經(jīng)常或總是或習(xí)慣性地”喜歡某事。
