美語(yǔ)三級(jí)跳: 012A 開車 初級(jí)課程
家住洛杉磯的Phil想趁周末來躺自駕游，去賭城拉斯維加斯享受一番。不過，他得先租輛車。
Professor: Winnie, have you ever gone to Las Vegas?
去過一次。Professor Bowman, 如果我是租車公司老板，一定不愿意把車租給去賭城的人，因?yàn)樗麄兛赡軙?huì)連車一起輸?shù)?
Phil: Hello, I'd like to rent a car please.
Employee: OK, how long do you need it for?
Phil: I just need it for the weekend.
Employee: Alright, how far will you drive the car?
Phil: Umm ... I'm not sure. How far away is Las Vegas?
看來，Phil準(zhǔn)備周末打個(gè)來回。不過，租車公司的店員為什么要問Phil去哪兒呢？這關(guān)她什么事？
Professor: Winnie, sometimes if you drive a long distance, it will cost you more money to rent the car.
??？在租車時(shí)，如果開得遠(yuǎn)就要多交錢？那么，從洛杉磯到拉斯維加斯算不算遠(yuǎn)呢？
Professor: Well, Phil doesn't know how far he has to drive, so he asks the attendant how far away Las Vegas is.
Employee: Las Vegas is about 260 miles from here. Is that where you're going?
Phil: Yes, so I need a nice car so that I look really cool.
Employee: I see .... well would you like a car with a sunroof?
Phil: A sunroof? That's not cool enough. I need a convertible.
Professor: So Winnie, what kind of car does Phil want to drive to Las Vegas.
他想開一輛酷酷的車！去拉斯維加斯這種花花世界當(dāng)然得開輛好車了!
Professor: Yes, and what kind of car does the rental company employee say he might like?
店員建議Phil租一輛有sunroof - 天窗的車，可他覺得這還不夠酷，他要一輛convertible - 敞篷車! 真希望他能把我也帶上!
Employee: Yes, we have a nice red convertible for an extra 40 dollars per day.
Phil: Alright, are there any other taxes or fees?
Employee: Not if you remember to fill the car with gas before you return it.
Phil: Hmm ... well, this sounds like a pretty good deal.
看來扮酷也是有代價(jià)的！ 敞篷車每天的租金比普通車高出40美元...不過，想到開著敞篷車，在風(fēng)中馳騁的感覺，這筆錢，咬咬牙，值了！
Professor: Maybe ... but then you wouldn't look very cool if your hair is all messed up by the wind and all the bugs splattered on your face.
Professor Bowman，你怎么總要破壞氣氛！
Professor: Okay, Winnie. So, what does Phil have to do before he returns the car?
店員說，他在還車前要把油加滿。除此之外，就沒有其它的taxes or fees--稅和費(fèi)用了。Phil覺得這是個(gè)good deal，很值，看來他就打算租這輛敞篷車了！
Professor: Well, not so fast. Let's see what happens.
Phil: Actually, I have one more question. Is the car a manual or an automatic?
Employee: It's a manual. Is that alright?
Phil: No, I can only drive an automatic.
Employee: Well I'm sorry, but all of our convertibles are manuals.
Professor: Well Winnie, do you know what the difference between a manual and an automatic car is?
當(dāng)然知道，manual transmission就是手動(dòng)換檔，人工換檔，相反的，an automatic transmission是自動(dòng)換檔的車?？上?，這里所有的敞篷車都是manual的，而Phil只會(huì)開automatic。
Phil: Oh no ... all your convertibles are manuals? Well, do you have any other cool cars?
Employee: Not really. Our cars are economical, not cool.
Phil: Well too bad ... Maybe my friend Tom will let me borrow his convertible.
Employee: I'm sorry we couldn't help you.
Professor: Winnie, do you know what an economical car is?
Economical, e-c-o-n-o-m-i-c-a-l是“經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)惠”的意思，所以economical car就是經(jīng)濟(jì)型轎車嘍!
Professor: That's right! So Phil wants to borrow his friend Tom's convertible. That will be very "economical" for him, and he will look cool.
嗯，這的確是個(gè)省錢又扮酷的好主意！就是不知道Tom愿不愿意把自己的敞篷車借給Phil。
Professor: Well, we will have to listen next time to find out!
這次的美語(yǔ)三級(jí)跳就播送到這里。
