第一本劍橋大學高材生的英文口語會話書

Unit1：Teachers教師

此會話使用場景： • 和同學躲在廁所偷聊天時• 和朋友電話哈拉時 • 校園一角巧遇老朋友時

在看看、聽聽這段對話前，先來學學一些老外天天在講的片語吧！這些片語都能在接下來的對話中找到，先瞭解它們的意思，看對話才更容易。這裡教的片語還可以分成俚語、半固定的表達方式、搭配詞三種，這三種有什麼差別呢？到底各代表什麼意思？更詳細的解說可以翻到使用說明看看喔！

▲Idioms 俚語

「俚語」即英文中聊天必講的慣用語。以中文舉例，「你有病喔」、「恭喜發財」等這些常掛在嘴邊但剛學中文的人不見得懂的字句，都屬於這一類。

俚語 還可以說成⋯⋯ 中文意思

rack one’s brains to make a big intellectual effort 絞盡腦汁

what the heck what the hell 這是怎樣啊？（表示強調之意）

be in the same boat to suffer the same way as somebody else 面臨同樣的困境

at least at any rate, in any case 至少

have a point to have a good idea 說得有道理

silver lining something positive that comes out of an unpleasant situation （困境中的）一線希望

tell me about it I agree with you 是不是！有沒有！我超同意的！

bite off more than you can chew to agree to do more than you can handle 貪多嚼不爛

rake in the money to make a lot of money very fast 瘋狂賺錢

▲Semi-fixed expressions 半固定的表達方式

「半固定搭配詞」雖然還沒有進入「俚語」的殿堂（沒有那麼常用），不過也不遠矣，現在也有很多很多人在說囉！

半固定的表達方式 還可以說成⋯⋯ 中文意思

don’t get me started on that don’t ask me about that 別提了！別逼我發表意見！

you’re not the only one you are not alone; me too 不只你啊，我也是

work one’s ass off to work very hard 非常努力地工作

▲Word partnerships 搭配詞

「搭配詞」就是指兩個（或以上）的單字很習慣在一起出現，雖然跟別的單字一起出現也行，但就是覺得癢癢的，好像哪裡不對。以中文舉例，我們會說「卑鄙無恥」，但雖然「惡劣」的意思跟「卑鄙」也蠻像的，我們就是不會說「惡劣無恥」。為什麼？因為習慣嘛！

搭配詞 還可以說成⋯⋯ 中文意思

straightforward

enough pretty easy to understand 夠好懂

the main problem the biggest obstacle 最大的問題

figure out to work out 理解、弄清楚

moan about to complain about 抱怨某事

poor muggins poor me 敝人在下我

work experience previous jobs 工作經驗

agony aunt a personal counselor who gives you advice 替讀者解決煩惱的專欄作家

have to dash to be in a hurry and have to leave immediately 該走了

duty calls you must do something that cannot be avoided 該去工作了

barely started hardly started 剛剛開始

good luck best of luck 祝你好運

tough luck hard cheese 算你衰

a matter of

perspective a matter of how you look at things 視你從哪個角度看而定

a pretty face good looks 漂亮但無腦

Dialogue：電話裡偷說老師壞話

接下來就來聽聽看這段生活會話吧！剛剛學到的片語都有在這段對話中出現。我們將英國腔與美國腔聽起來特別不一樣的單字特別套色標註出來，並在後面附上美式念法的音標。特別是音節尾巴的「r」音，與有 /æ/ 母音的單字，在英美念法中都有很大的不同，邊聽邊對照著看看吧！

Sue: How’s it going with your classes?

Amanda: Don’t get me started on that!

Sue: What’s wrong? Is the course too difficult for my “little 1genius”?

Amanda: No. The textbooks and material we get are 2straightforward enough. However, the main problem is that two of my teachers have very poor English. Most of the time, I have to rack my brains trying to figure out what the heck they’re on about!

Sue: Well, you’re not the only one who is moaning about the quality of the English programmes offered in this 3uni. I reckon you and I are in the same boat!

Amanda: Well, with that scholarship, at least you don’t have to work your ass off to make some cash as poor muggins here does.

Sue: But you’re getting some work experience now, which will help you get a job in the future.

Amanda: Well, you do have a point I guess. You know, you do have a 4knack for finding the silver lining and talking to you is always comforting. You should be a professional agony aunt.

Sue: Tell me about it! Many people have suggested that. I will consider it seriously when my workload is much less. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew.

Amanda: Smart gal, you are! Sorry. Have to dash. Duty calls. My teacher handed out a long reading list yesterday for us to go through and I’ve barely started it.

Sue: Good luck with that and I’m sorry I can’t help you there.

Amanda: I wish my teacher would speak English more like you do, seriously.

Sue: Tough luck. I wish I was a teacher, then I can rake in the money. But anyway off you go and try to be positive. It’s all a matter of perspective.

Amanda: Since when have you become so 5philosophical?

Sue: Well. It just goes to show that I have more 6depth than you thought. I’m not just a pretty face, you know!

妳的課上得怎樣？

★How’s it going可改說：How are you getting on

別提了！

美式念法 started [stArt0d]

★get me started on可改說：ask me about

怎麼了嗎？課程對我的「小天才」來說太難了嗎？

美式念法 course [kors]

★wrong可改說：the matter

★genius可改說：Einstein

不是啦。課本和課堂材料都很直接好懂，但主要的問題是有兩個老師英文超爛。大部分的時候，我都在絞盡腦汁猜他們到底在講什麼！

★textbooks可改說：course books

★material可改說：handouts

★straightforward enough可改說：easy to understand

★main problem可改說：big headache

★poor可改說：bad

★what the heck可改說：what on earth

唉，妳不是唯一一個抱怨這所大學英文課程品質的人。我看妳我是同病相憐啊！

★moaning可改說：complaining

★quality可改說：standard

★reckon可改說：think

欸，起碼妳有獎學金，不像在下我必須拚命工作賺錢。

美式念法 work [w"k]

★at least可改說：at any rate

★ass可改說：butt

★cash可改說：dosh

但妳現在就在累積工作經驗，對以後找工作很有幫助呢。

妳說得也有道理。妳知道嗎，妳總是能在鳥事中看到好事，每次跟妳聊都讓我舒服很多。妳應該去當替人家解決煩惱的專欄作家才對。

美式念法 talking [tCk0H]

★knack可改說：talent

是不是！很多人都有這樣建議過我耶。等我工作量少一點，我再來認真考慮一下。我不想自己攬一堆做不完的工作。

★Tell me about it可改說：I agree with you

★bite off more than I can chew可改說：take on more than I can manage

妳真是聰明啊！抱歉，我要閃人了，還有功課要做。昨天老師發了一大堆東西要我們念，我才剛剛開始呢。

美式念法 calls [kClz]

barely ['bGrl0]

★dash可改說：run

★handed out可改說：gave out

★barely可改說：hardly

祝妳好運啦，這我可不能幫妳忙。

美式念法 can’t [k$nt]

★Good luck可改說：Best of luck

我真希望我們老師的英文講得比較像妳這樣，說真的。

算妳衰啦。我真希望我是老師，那我就能賺一堆錢了。總之，妳趕快走吧，樂觀點。態度決定一切嘛。

美式念法 positive ['pAz3t0v]

matter ['m$tQ]

★Tough luck可改說：Hard cheese

★be positivie可改說：look on the bright side

★perspective可改說：how you look at it

妳哪時變得這麼哲學了？

哈，這證明我比妳想的更有深度啊！別以為我只是空有臉蛋，沒有腦子。

美式念法 thought [LCt]

★I have more depth可改說：there’s more to me

劍橋高材生的單字補給站

1genius ['dIinj3s] n. a very intelligent person 天才

2straightforward [`stret'fCrwQd] adj. plain and simple 簡單易懂的

3uni ['jun0] n. university 大學

4knack [n$k] n. gift, ability, talent 才能

5 philosophical [`f0l3'sAf0k3l] adj. meeting trouble with levelheaded detachment 達觀的、哲學的

6depth [dGpL] n. complexity of thought 深奧，深刻

Test your knowledge練習做做看

連連看：

連連看，左邊（1.∼8.）和右邊（a.∼h.）的說法，哪個和哪個意思相近呢？

1 rack one’s brains

2 be in the same boat

3 tell me about it

4 bite off more than you can chew

5 rake in the money

6 don’t get me started on that

7 work one’s ass off

8 have a point

a to suffer the same way as somebody else

b to make a big intellectual effort

c to work very hard

d to make a lot of money very fast

e I agree with you

f don’t ask me about that

g to have a good idea

h to agree to do more than you have time for

填填看：

將下面的詞語填入空格中，完成句子。

straightforward enough the main problem figure out moaning about

poor muggins at least work experience agony aunt

duty calls barely started good luck tough luck

1 I wish you with that.

2 I wish you would stop the food in the canteen.

3 I have this essay to write and I’ve it.

4 I spent a lot of time trying to the problem. But now I have the answer!

5 Well, the job seems to me.

6 Thanks for that advice. You should be an .

7 is that I just don’t have enough money to live on.

8 I’d love to stay but . I need to get back to work.

Unit1：Teachers教師

此會話使用場景： • 和同學躲在廁所偷聊天時• 和朋友電話哈拉時 • 校園一角巧遇老朋友時

在看看、聽聽這段對話前，先來學學一些老外天天在講的片語吧！這些片語都能在接下來的對話中找到，先瞭解它們的意思，看對話才更容易。這裡教的片語還可以分成俚語、半固定的表達方式、搭配詞三種，這三種有什麼差別呢？到底各代表什麼意思？更詳細的解說可以翻到使用說明看看喔！

▲Idioms 俚語

「俚語」即英文中聊天必講的慣用語。以中文舉例，「你有病喔」、「恭喜發財」等這些常掛在嘴邊但剛學中文的人不見得懂的字句...

As an experienced English professor, one of the problems that I often notice in textbooks is that the subjects covered are so—how should I say it—unpractical. I wouldn’t say that they’re useless, no. It’s just that though they work very well in a classroom setting, you can’t really expect to use what you learn in these textbooks elsewhere.

擔任英文教授多年，我常在英文課本中發現一個問題，就是裡面的題材都⋯⋯怎麼講，就是不太實用。不是說課本沒用喔，只是雖然在教室裡上這些題材很OK，但離開教室就不太能把課本上的這一套搬出來用。

Let’s say, for example, that you run into an English native speaker while waiting for the elevator (or waiting for the bus, or waiting in line to buy xiaolongbao, whichever you prefer). Do you tell them about the very touching story you read on your textbook about how someone’s elderly mother supported him through all sorts of hardships? You don’t.

怎麼說呢？舉例來講，如果你在等電梯、等公車、排隊買小籠包等等時遇到一個英文母語人士，你會跟他說你在課本上讀到一個很感人的故事，主角的老媽媽努力工作支持他讀書嗎？不會吧。

And let’s say, for example, that you and said English native speaker eventually become friends. You meet up for brunch. As you both attack your egg benedicts with your forks, do you describe the inspiring article you saw on your textbook about how some really successful business man manages his time? You don’t.

再舉例來講，想像一下你和那個英文母語人士後來變成朋友，一起去吃早午餐。當你們舉起叉子準備要好好吃一頓班尼迪克蛋時，你會跟他說你在課本上看到一篇很有啟發性的文章，關於一個成功的商業鉅子如何進行時間管理嗎？也不會吧。

What I’m saying isn’t that textbooks are not useful. Not at all. Textbooks are really great for learning English. The point I’m trying to make is that no matter in what language, you don’t make friends by talking like a textbook. Therefore, while you do need your textbook to learn English, you also need something else to help with your daily English conversations. And it is my aim to make this book a helpful guide that can serve as that “something else”.

所以啦，我要說的不是「課本不實用」，一點都不是這樣。課本很實用的，對於學英文真的很有幫助。我要講的重點是，無論你是用哪種語言，你都不會用課本上的內容來交朋友。你還是需要一些「別的東西」來幫你搞定日常生活聊天用的會話，而我寫這本書就是希望它能成為這個「別的東西」。

In this book, you will find conversations on only the sort of subjects you talk about between friends (gossip, roommates, relationships, parties, things like that). And the conversations won’t be the stiff kind you find in textbooks—instead, I did my best to make the dialogues flow smoothly and use down-to-earth vocabulary and sentence structures. Because, to be quite honest, you just don’t use complicated English sentence structures while chatting with friends. I also enjoyed making the conversations as “English” as possible, for my goal in mind is to give you all a good idea on what to expect if you make a British friend or happen to travel to the UK. We English have our own unique sense of humour, somewhat different from the Americans. See? We even spell humour differently!

在這本書中，你所學到的會話都是和朋友們會聊的話題（八卦、室友、人際關係、開趴等等），而對話中的句子也不會像課本裡面那樣感覺硬梆梆。我盡力讓這些句子念起來很順、很平易近人、也不會有很難很恐怖的單字和句型，因為說真的，跟朋友聊天的時候，誰會用很難的英文句型啊？我也盡力把這些會話寫得很「英國」，因為我想讓大家感受一下，如果交個英國朋友、或去英國旅行，大概會遇到怎樣的事情。我們英國人的幽默感跟美國人就是有那麼一點點不一樣，就連我們拼「幽默」（humour）的方式都跟他們不一樣喔。

However, I understand that some of you prefer to go the American way, so I very nicely picked out for you the words that are pronounced differently in British English and American English, and provided the correct pronunciation in American English, so that you wouldn’t be too lost when listening to the very authentically British recording in the MP3 that comes with this book. I also made sure to put ample practice sections throughout the book and introduce key vocabulary, idioms, phrases, expressions and word partnerships, so as to make your learning experience not only fun but also fulfilling. You can refer to the following section, “User’s Guide”, for more detailed descriptions on how to use this book and find the things you need efficiently.

不過，我知道你們有些人是美國派，所以我精心挑出了英國腔英文和美國腔英文念起來不一樣的地方，並附上美式英文的正確發音，這樣聽本書附上的純英國腔錄音MP3時，你才不會心慌慌。我也在書中加入不少練習題、還有關鍵單字、慣用語、片語、表達方式和搭配詞，讓你的學習過程不但好玩，而且也很充實。想搞清楚這本書怎麼用最快最有效率也最實在，你可以翻到後面的「使用說明」看個更清楚。

Before I leave you all to wade through my book, I would like you to remember one more important thing: to learn to speak English, you have to, well, speak. Practice is the key to successful learning, and I believe that if you practise one dialogue a day, you’ll soon be amazed at how your English has grown. Your confidence in speaking will be sky-high and when a wild foreigner appears you will have plenty to talk about!

最後，我還要提醒大家一件重要的事：要會講英文，你就得⋯⋯講英文。要多練習才會學得快嘛！我相信，如果你一天練習一段對話，你很快就會發現你的英文能力成長之快速的，連你自己都嚇一跳！如果路上忽然有外國人冒出來，你跟他就有源源不絕的話題可以說，而且你更會擁有滿滿的自信！

Happy speaking!

快去聊吧！

Nick Stirk

2014.10

As an experienced English professor, one of the problems that I often notice in textbooks is that the subjects covered are so—how should I say it—unpractical. I wouldn’t say that they’re useless, no. It’s just that though they work very well in a classroom setting, you can’t really expect to use what you learn in these textbooks elsewhere.

擔任英文教授多年，我常在英文課本中發現一個問題，就是裡面的題材都⋯⋯怎麼講，就是不太實用。不是說課本沒用喔，只是雖然在教室裡上這些題材很OK，但離開教室就不...

目錄
Chapter1
Studies學業
▲Unit 1 Teachers 教師
▲Unit 2 Courses 學科
▲Unit 3 Assignments 作業
▲Unit 4 Majors 主修
▲Unit 5 Exams 考試

Chapter2
Leisure休閒時光
▲Unit 6 Sleep 睡覺
▲Unit 7 Student union 學生會
▲Unit 8 Holidays 假日
▲Unit 9 Parties 派對
▲Unit 10 Shopping 購物

Chapter3
Campus love校園愛情
▲Unit 11 Loneliness 孤獨
▲Unit 12 Dating 約會
▲Unit 13 Relationships 戀愛關係
▲Unit 14 Cheating 出軌
▲Unit 15 Breaking up 分手

Chapter4
Buildings建築
▲Unit 16 Dorms 宿舍
▲Unit 17 Canteen 餐廳
▲Unit 18 Library 圖書館
▲Unit 19 Teaching buildings 教學大樓
▲Unit 20 Gym 體育館

Chapter5
English英語
▲Unit 21 Speaking 口語
▲Unit 22 Listening 聽力
▲Unit 23 Reading 閱讀
▲Unit 24 Writing 寫作
▲Unit 25 English Corners 「英語角」.


Chapter6
Campus life校園生活
▲Unit 26 Bicycles 自行車
▲Unit 27 Military training 軍訓
▲Unit 28 Gossip 八卦
▲Unit 29 Computer games 電腦遊戲
▲Unit 30 Stress 壓力

Chapter7
Finance財務
▲Unit 31 Budgets 預算
▲Unit 32 Part-time jobs 打工
▲Unit 33 Borrowing money 借錢
▲Unit 34 Finding a job 找工作
▲Unit 35 Future plans 規劃未來

Chapter8
Food and drink飲食
▲Unit 36 Eating habits 飲食習慣
▲Unit 37 Vegetarian 素食者
▲Unit 38 Muslim food 清真食品
▲Unit 39 Eating snacks 吃零食
▲Unit 40 Chinese food 中餐

Chapter9
Entertainment娛樂
▲Unit 41 TV series 電視劇
▲Unit 42 Gambling 賭博
▲Unit 43 Dancing 跳舞
▲Unit 44 Board games 棋盤遊戲
▲Unit 45 Movies 電影

Chapter10
Sports運動
▲Unit 46 Football 足球
▲Unit 47 Sports 運動
▲Unit 48 Chinese football 中國足球
▲Unit 49 Cricket 板球
▲Unit 50 Working out in the gym 健身

目錄
Chapter1
Studies學業
▲Unit 1 Teachers 教師
▲Unit 2 Courses 學科
▲Unit 3 Assignments 作業
▲Unit 4 Majors 主修
▲Unit 5 Exams 考試

Chapter2
Leisure休閒時光
▲Unit 6 Sleep 睡覺
▲Unit 7 Student union 學生會
▲Unit 8 Holidays 假日
▲Unit 9 Parties 派對
▲Unit 10 Shopping 購物

Chapter3
Campus love校園愛情
▲Unit 11 Loneliness 孤獨
▲Unit 12 Dating 約會
▲Unit 13 Relationships 戀愛關係
▲Unit 14 Cheating 出軌
▲Unit 15 Breaking up 分手

Chapter4
Buildings建築
▲U...