Eztalk美语【252】It’s very “in”these days. 最近这可流行得很呢。

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Wen and Nikki leave the salon

Wen:How do I look? I love these braids. They’re fun!
Nikki:They look great! Hey, are you hungry? I know a good Ethiopian restaurant-Meskerem.
Wen:An Ethiopian restaurant? Whoa! I always think of starving people in Ethiopia.
Nikki:It’s very “in”these days. Some of the places are really expensive.
Wen:That’s so ironic! Well, what’s it like? Is it your traditional food?
Nikki:No. Africans and African-Americans are different in many ways. Our food’s different, too.
Ethiopian
埃塞俄比亚的。Ethiopia (n.) 埃塞俄比亚。Meskerem (n.)是一家著名的埃塞俄比亚餐厅,位在华盛顿特区
Ethiopian cuisine is delicious.
埃塞俄比亚美食很好吃。

ironic (a.)
讽刺的
Isn’t it ironic that George W. Bush, a former alcoholic, became president?
曾经是酗酒狂的小布什变成总统,可真是讽刺,不是吗?

starving (a.)
饥饿的
A: Pass some more food over—Im starving!
再多递点食物过来——我饿死了!
B: Take it easy. Eating so quickly is bad for your health.
吃慢点。吃太快有碍健康。

African (a.)
非洲的。African-American是指「非裔美国人」,是对美国黑人的正式说法
African drumming is highly sophisticated.
非洲鼓非常地复杂。

小雯和妮琪离开美容院

小雯:我看起来如何?我好喜欢这些辫子。它们好有趣!
妮琪:看起来太棒了!嘿,你饿不饿?我知道一家好吃的埃塞俄比亚餐厅──玛斯克林餐厅。
小雯:埃塞俄比亚餐厅?哇!我都会联想到埃塞俄比亚的饥民。
妮琪:最近这可流行得很呢。有些地方还很贵。
小雯:这真是太讽刺了!是什么样的食物?是你们的传统食物吗?
妮琪:不是。非洲人和非裔美国人在许多方面是不一样的。我们的食物也不一样。

Eztalk美语【251】I was born with a relaxer. 我的头发天生就很顺。

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Nikki:It’s faster to drop the “are” in some phrases. Like “you cool”, “you crazy”…
Wen:Word. So what are my options here? Can I get a relaxer?
Nikki:Wen, relaxers “relax” the curls, so they turn into straight hair.
Wen:Oh. Ha-ha. Then I was born with a relaxer. Hmm…can I have an Afro? [Nikki shakes her head] How about a perm?
Nikki:Boring! How about braids? They won’t last long, but they’ll last through some booty-shakin’.
Wen:Aight. I’m down.

drop (v.)
省略,丢弃
Drop your shoes and come out and dance.
把鞋脱了出来跳舞吧。

phrase (n.)
措辞,说法
Taiwanese people put lots of English phrases into their speech.
台湾人在演讲中加入许多词组。

option (n.)
选择
Not everyone has the option of studying at Harvard.
不是所有人都可以选择哈佛。

Afro (n.)
麦克风头。是一种黑人发型,这种发型十分膨卷,烫这种发型的人,整颗头看起来就像麦克风的形状
I want an Afro just like yours.
我要跟你一模一样的的麦克风头。

妮琪:因为在一些句子里,把are省略会比较快。像you cool、you crazy……
小雯:西底。那现在我有什么选择?我可以抹一些顺发剂吗?
妮琪:小雯,顺发剂是要「顺」卷发的,让卷发变直。
小雯:喔。哈哈。那我的头发天生就很顺。嗯……我可不可以弄个麦克风头?(妮琪摇摇头)那将头发烫卷好不好?
妮琪:没创意!扎个黑人辫如何?这种发型不会持续太久,但可以维持到舞会结束。
小雯:厚啦(好啦)。没问题!

Eztalk美语【250】Get your hair done 给头发做造型

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At the salon

Nikki:OK. Do you want a trim, or do you want to get your hair done?
Wen:[Pointing to a customer] Can I get my hair done like his? His girlfriend has the same hair, and she’s white.
Nikki:Like that Rastafarian over there? You mean dreadlocks? You crazy! That’ll take way too long.
Wen:What kind of style are you getting done? Can we match?
Nikki:I’m gonna get a relaxer, then flip the ends up like Halle.
Wen:Can I get a relaxer, too? And why did you say, “You crazy” instead of “You ou’re crazy”?

get someone’s hair done
给头发做造型
I’m going to get my hair done at seven tonight.
我今晚七点要去做头发。

dreadlocks (n.)
常用复数)雷鬼烫,黑人卷。是一种常见的黑人发型;braids (n.) 辫子。辫子也是黑人常有的发型
Dreadlocks are really hard to wash.
雷鬼烫真的很难洗头。

trim (n.)
修剪。perm (n.)(头发)烫卷。
A: How can I help you today?
今天需要什么服务吗?
B: I’d like a light trim and a perm.
我要稍稍修一下跟烫发。

Rastafarian
拉斯塔教的祟拜者。「拉斯塔教」Rasta源自牙买加,视埃塞俄比亚已故皇帝Haile Selassie为上帝,此教的信徒有一些特征,像是留长卷发、穿宽松的衣服,雷鬼乐也是Rastafarian最具代表性的事物之一
Why do Rastafarians grow their hair in dreadlocks?
为何拉斯塔法利安的祟拜者头发长出来就是雷鬼烫。

relaxer (n.)
顺发剂。由于黑人的头发生来卷曲,若要将头发顺直,就可以抹这类美发剂
I’m going to buy some relaxer for my hair.
我要买些顺发剂来弄我的头发。

flip (v.)
翻动。这里的flip the ends up是指「将发尾弄翘」。Halle 这里是指荷莉贝瑞(Halle Berry),她是第一个夺得奥斯卡影后的黑人女演员
Feminism flipped traditional ideas about the family upside down.
女权运动颠覆了传统的家庭观念

在美容院

妮琪:那你要修头发,还是要做造型呢?
小雯:(指着一位客人)我可以弄得像他一样吗?他的女朋友也是同样的发型,而且她是白人。
妮琪:像那个拉斯塔教祟拜者?你是说雷鬼烫?你疯啦!那要花好多时间。
小雯:那你要弄什么样的发型?我们可不可以搭配一下?
妮琪:我要抹些顺发剂,然后将发尾弄翘,像荷莉贝瑞一样。
小雯:我也可以抹些顺发剂吗?还有为什么你说You crazy,而不是You’re crazy?