美語情景對話 第1141期:And the winner is ... ? 冠軍花落誰家
Aimee: So why do you think Britain never wins? Is it because their songs are always terrible?
艾米：你爲什麼認爲英國從來沒有獲得過冠軍？是因爲英國選手的歌曲很糟糕嗎？Katie: Well, I mean, I disagree as a British person. I think the songs are always awesome, of course.
凱蒂：作爲英國人，我當然不同意這種說法。我認爲歌曲很棒。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。
Katie: But usually, how people win Eurovision is when you want to vote for a country, you have to ring up. And people always vote for the countries that are next door to them.
凱蒂：但是，通常要想獲得歐洲歌唱大賽的冠軍，就要得到投票，觀衆要爲一個國家投票，要打電話投票。而人們通常會爲鄰國的選手投票。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。Katie: So countries that are close to them. So the UK really only has Ireland next door.
凱蒂：他們會投票給離自己國家近的選手。而英國的鄰國只有愛爾蘭。Aimee: Yeah.
艾米： 對。Katie: So we only really ever get votes from Ireland.
凱蒂：所以我們只能得到愛爾蘭觀衆的投票。Aimee: Right.
艾米：好。Katie: We're not close to any other countries.
凱蒂：我們和其他國家離得都很遠。Aimee: Not friendly.
艾米：不太友好。Katie: Not friendly.
凱蒂：不友好。Aimee: Yeah. I guess that's it.
艾米：嗯，我想這就是原因。Katie: Yeah.
凱蒂：對。Aimee: It's not physical closeness, it's like emotional closeness as well, isn't it?
艾米：不只是距離遠，情感親近度也不高，對吧？Katie: We're not either. We're not physically close or emotionally close to any countries in Europe, so.
凱蒂：沒錯。不只是距離遠，我們同歐洲其他國家的情感親密度也很低。Aimee: That's true.
艾米：這是事實。Katie: We don't get any points.
凱蒂：我們得不到投票。Aimee: So which countries typically manage to get a lot of votes then?
艾米：那通常哪些國家能得到大量投票？Katie: Countries that are in the middle, that have countries all around them. So like Austria has lots of countries surrounding it. Germany has lots of countries surrounding it. Yeah. England just doesn't have a chance of winning. The UK will never win Eurovision song contest ever again.
凱蒂：位於歐洲中部地區的國家，這些國家有很多鄰國。比如奧地利和德國。英國沒有獲勝的機會。英國永遠不會再次獲得歐洲歌唱大賽冠軍了。Aimee: Unless they change their foreign policy, perhaps.
艾米：除非他們改變外交政策，也許這個方法有用。Katie: Or unless we just move the entire country in the middle of Europe.
凱蒂：或者除非他們把整個國家搬到歐洲中部去。Aimee: Well, that's not going to happen, isn't it?
艾米：嗯，這是不可能發生的，對吧？Katie: We can dream. We can dream.
凱蒂：我們可以夢想。我們可以夢想。Aimee: So it's not possible to vote for your own country?
艾米：不能給自己的國家投票嗎？Katie: No. You can't vote for your own country. You have to vote for any other country except for yours.
凱蒂：不能。你不能給自己的國家投票。你必須給除了自己國家以外的其他國家投票。Aimee: Oh, I see.
艾米：哦，我明白了。Katie: Otherwise, Russia would just win it every time. Russia is so big.
凱蒂：否則每次獲勝的都會是俄羅斯了。因爲俄羅斯是一個非常大的國家。Aimee: That's true. I didn't think about that. It has a massive population. So how does it work exactly? You're sitting at home. You're watching the TV, and then you have to pick up the phone and call, is that it?
艾米：沒錯。我沒有想到這點。俄羅斯是人口大國。那具體怎麼操作？你坐在家裏，在電視上看比賽，然後拿起電話投票，是這樣嗎？Katie: Yeah. When everyone sung their song, they will show you telephone numbers for each country.
凱蒂：對。在所有選手都演唱完之後，他們會告訴你每個國家的投票電話。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。Katie: And you have to choose the country that you liked the best.
凱蒂：你要選出你最喜歡的國家。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：嗯。Katie: And then you call that number, and that counts as one vote for that country.
凱蒂：然後撥打電話，這樣那個國家就會得一票。Aimee: Right.
艾米：好。Katie: And then the country that gets the most votes gets 12 points.
凱蒂：得到最多票數的國家計12分。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。Katie: And then the next country down gets 10 points and then 8 points, all the way down to 1 point.
凱蒂：排名第二的國家得到10分，排名第三的得8分，排在後面的國家依次遞減1分。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。Katie: But a lot of countries in Eurovision sometimes get 0 points for the entire show.
凱蒂：但是許多國家會在歐洲歌唱大賽中得0分。Aimee: Oh dear.
艾米：天哪。Katie: The UK often gets 0 points.
凱蒂：英國就經常得0分。Aimee: Do they?
艾米：是嗎？Katie: Yes.
凱蒂：對。Aimee: That's embarrassing, isn't it?
艾米：這很難爲情，對吧？Katie: Very embarrassing. Very embarrassing.
凱蒂：非常難堪，太尷尬了。Aimee: And what is the hosting language?
艾米：那主持人用什麼語言？Katie: Well, they always speak in English. And usually, the host country will also speak in their language. So if it's France, they'll speak in French. If it's Germany, they'll speak in German. But when they are announcing the points, they'll speak in English and French.
凱蒂：他們說英語。通常主辦國也會用母語。如果是在法國主辦，那他們就說法語。如果在德國舉辦，那他們就說德語。不過在宣佈得分時，他們會說英語和法語。Aimee: English and French only?
艾米：只用英語和法語？Katie: Yeah.
凱蒂：對。Aimee: Oh that's interesting. And I assume that each individual country who's watching the show has their own presenters speaking in their native languages though.
艾米：哦，這很有意思。我想每個國家都會有本國的主持人，用母語解說。Katie: Yes. Yes.
凱蒂：對，沒錯。Aimee: To help translate everything.
艾米：幫助翻譯。Katie: They have their own commentators who will talk throughout the entire show and explain everything.
凱蒂：對，每個國家都有本國的解說，對整場比賽進行解釋。Aimee: Okay. Wow. It's such a massive scale, isn't it?
艾米：好。哇哦，這真是一場規模龐大的比賽，對吧？Katie: Yeah.
凱蒂：對。Aimee: Really huge.
艾米：非常盛大。Katie: It's the best event of the year. My favorite thing ever.
凱蒂：這是一年當中最好的比賽。也是我最喜歡的比賽。Aimee: So since you can't vote for the UK, then who do you normally vote for?
艾米：你不能給英國投票，那你通常爲哪個國家投票？Katie: Well, I normally vote for the country that I thought was the most interesting, which is how I think you should vote in Eurovision. Seeing that it's a singing competition then I think it should be judged on who is singing the best or has the best song or who has the most exciting outfit.
凱蒂：通常我會投票給我認爲表演最具吸引力的國家，我認爲在歐洲歌唱大賽中，就應該這樣投票。既然這是歌唱比賽，那就應該以哪位選手唱得最好來評判，或者看誰的歌曲最好，或者是誰的服裝最令人激動。Aimee: Okay.
艾米：好。Katie: But yeah, it changes every – it depends on who I think was the best.
凱蒂：所以每年我會給不同的國家投票，這取決於我認爲誰是最棒的。Aimee: Right. That sounds like a good, fair strategy.
艾米：好。聽起來這是很公平的策略。Katie: I think so. I think the rest of Europe should do that as well.
凱蒂：我也是這麼認爲的。我認爲歐洲其他地方也應該這樣做。Aimee: Yes. I guess they should.
艾米：對。我也認爲他們應該這樣做。
譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載
重點講解：
1. ring up 打電話；
例句：Relatives ring up constantly, not always for the best motives, I might add.
親戚們不斷打電話過來，不客氣地說，他們並非全都出於最好的動機。
2. be close to 近的；接近的；
例句：My hometown is close to the sea.
我的家鄉臨近大海。
3. in the middle of 中部；中央；中間；
例句：He came to a sudden halt in the middle of the raod.
他在馬路當中突然停了下來。
4. depend on 取決(於)；有賴(於)；
例句：It might sound very obvious, but how much you enjoy your trip will depend on your choice of travelling companion.
雖然這有點老生常談，但你在旅遊中享受樂趣的程度將取決於你所選擇的旅伴。
