By Charlie Morgan
李薇 译注
Some people love to get back to nature, going camping, hiking or fishing. They enjoy being with trees and animals. How about you? Have you tried fishing before? First, you need to learn how to swim, or make sure you go someplace with a lifeguard!
A: If it’s a nice day tomorrow, I’ll have a barbecue[1]. Care to join me?
B: Sorry, if the weather’s good, my husband and I will go fishing.
A: That sounds good. I’ve never tried fishing. Where’ll you go?
B: I’m not sure. My husband likes fishing. This will be my first time. I think we’ll go to a lake and fish from a boat. They stock it with fish.
A: So, you’ll be sure to catch something. That sounds like a nice thing to do.
B: Well, if you’re free, please join us. We’d be happy to have you along. We can spend a few hours getting back to nature and enjoying the fresh air.
A: Thanks, but I can’t spend a few hours without a washroom. I drink a lot of coffee.
B: Don’t worry, if you need the washroom, just go behind a tree. And they have port-a-potties everywhere.
A: Great. If I could swim, I would come, but I’m afraid I’ll drown.
B: No sweat[2], if the boat capsizes, you’ll have on a life jacket and there’ll be a lifeguard.
A: Yes, but I don’t have a fishing pole[3]. If I had fishing gear, I’d join you.
B: Relax, if you don’t have any equipment, you can rent it there. They have everything you need. They even have electronic fish finders[4].
A: That sounds cool. But, I’m squeamish. If I didn’t have to touch worms or bait a hook, I’d come, but that’s part of fishing.[5]
B: That’s okay, if you don’t want to do that; I’ll do it for you. It doesn’t bother me. I can clean your fish for you, if you like.
A: Thanks. If you really want me to come, I’d be happy to. But, are you sure I won’t be disturbing you? Like they say, two’s company, three’s a crowd!
B: That’s why I want you to come. If I have to spend 4 hours alone talking with my husband, we’ll start to argue for sure!
Vocabulary
1. barbecue: 烧烤野餐会。
2. no sweat: 〈美俚〉不用担心。
3. fishing pole: 钓竿。
4. fish finder: 鱼(群)探测器，能够帮助钓鱼者发现鱼儿的位置。
5. bait: 置饵于(钩上、陷阱中等);hook: 挂钩，吊钩。
Exercise
1. care to a. join us when we go
2. stock b. two people are good together, three are too many
3. have sb. along c. wear
4. get back to nature d. enjoy away from city, such as in parks or
countryside
5. spend a few hours e. temporary toilet outside
6. port-a-potty f. someone who works to help swimmers who are in
trouble or danger
7. capsize g. business puts fish in lake for customers to take
8. have on h. boat turns upside down in water
9. life jacket i. don’t like to see or touch disgusting things
10. lifeguard j. good idea! Fun!
11. gear k. use some time
12. cool l. Would you like to...?
13. squeamish m. wear this to stay up in water in emergency
14. doesn’t bother me n. things that are used in this sport or hobby
15. two’s company, three’s a crowd o. some people don’t like it, I’m okay
Answers: 1?l, 2?g, 3?a, 4?d, 5?k, 6?e, 7?h, 8?c, 9?m, 10?f, 11?n, 12?j, 13?i, 14?o, 15?b
Usage Tips
1. 很多爱好，比如野营和钓鱼，都需要装备和用具，英语中，我们用gear一词来表达这个意思。像曲棍球和滑冰这样的体育运动，也需要配以gear。 equipment是其同义词，它除了也能用于这些爱好与运动之外，还可用于某些职业，比如消防员，他们的gear有绳索、特制手套和特制工具等等。 gear一词还常见于球友(歌友)俱乐部用语之中，举例如下：If you love Manchester United, you can buy their gear: such as shirts, posters...
2. care有很多种用法。在本文中，care用来表示的意思是“Would you like...?”如：(Would you) care for some coffee? 或 (Would you) care to join me? 另外，它也可用于否定句中，如：I don’t care for that music. 这句话的含义即为：I don’t like it。
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