纽约英语口语网新版
流行美语
第 140 课:boonies / country bumpkin

Larry和李华两人正开着车,准备到乡下的一个农场去骑马。今天李华会学到两个常用语:boonies和country bumpkin.

(Car driving on country road)

LH: Larry,我们要去的那个农场到底还有多远啊?

LL: Unfortunately, it's way out in the boonies. It will take at least two hours to get there.

LH: 两个小时?我的天啊!还要那么久啊?我在车上已经坐的腰酸背痛了。对了,你说这个农场在boonies, 那是一个小镇的名字吗?

LL: No, boonies is a slang term for any place that is very far from any major city or town.

LH: 噢,boonies就是指离城市很远的乡下地方,也就是很偏僻的地方,我们中文里说那些地方是“前不着村,后不搭店”。

LL: This farm is in the boonies, but I've heard that it's very beautiful and that they have really nice horses.

LH: 哇,那儿风景很好,还有很好的马,真是太棒了!要到这样的地方去,车开多远都无所谓!

LL: Yeah, I'm kind of excited about going horseback riding, too.

LH: 嘿,说真的,Larry,幸好我给我们两个人准备了午餐,要不你想,在那种地方 - in the boonies - 大概连麦当劳都没有噢!

LL: I'm not sure that's such a bad thing, Li Hua.

LH: 我知道,像麦当劳这种快餐店的东西还是少吃为妙。不过我的意思是,在那么偏僻的地方恐怕很难找到吃午饭的餐馆吧。嘿!Larry,你看,那片田野好美噢!

LL: Yes, it is. It's really nice to get out of the city once in a while. I especially like driving on country roads. There's hardly any traffic out in the boonies.

LH: 就是啊!在乡下开车,既能欣赏景色,享受新鲜的空气,又不必担心塞车。我已经好一会儿没看到其他车了。偶然出一次城真让人心情开朗。

LH: Larry, 你觉不觉得那个在农场工作的女孩和城市女孩很不一样?她的穿着很朴素,脸上也没有化装,一点都没有特意打扮的样子。

LL: Yeah, she was definitely a country bumpkin. Were you able to understand her? She had a bit of a country accent.

LH: 嗯,我是有点听不太懂她说的话;她有一点乡村口音。你说她是个country bumpkin,那是什么意思?

LL: A country bumpkin is someone who is from the countryside. The term usually refers to someone who is relatively simple and unsophisticated.

LH: Bumpkin就是生活在农村那些很纯朴的人。那Larry,你有没有在城市里碰过从农村来的人?

LL: Sometimes. The other day, there was a guy on the subway who was such a country bumpkin that he couldn't figure out how to buy a ticket. He said that he'd never been on a subway before!

LH: 那人又没有乘过地铁,第一次当然不知道怎么买地铁票喽!我刚来美国的时候,我也不知道怎么买地铁票啊!

LL: That's true. Hey, Li Hua, do you know any country bumpkins?

LH: 我有一个住在乡下的表姐。她和我那些住在大都市里的亲戚很不一样。我想她应该算是个country bumpkin吧!

LL: I have an uncle who owns a farm in Idaho. He's really a country bumpkin. He hates the city and he prefers to wear jeans and a cowboy hat. I think he'd rather ride a horse than the subway.

LH: 我还不知道你有个叔叔在爱达荷州。他还有个农场,真有意思!说不定,下回我们可以去你叔叔那儿玩,过过农村生活,做个country bumpkin!

今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是boonies,指的是离都市很远的农村。另一个常用语是:country bumpkin 是形容生活在农村的那些很纯朴的人。