美語情景對話 第280期:Music 音樂

Michael: OK, so then. Hi! I'm Michael. I'm from Toronto.

邁克爾：好，現在。你好！我是邁克爾。我來自多倫多。

Simon: Yeah, Hi! I'm Simon from Vancouver.

西蒙：嗯，你好！我叫西蒙，來自溫哥華。

Michael: Simon!

邁克爾：西蒙！

Simon: That's right!

西蒙：沒錯。

Michael: So, are you francophone?

邁克爾：那你的母語是法語嗎？

Simon: No, I'm not Francophone. That's a common mistake that other Canadians make. My parents were German so they use the German pronunciation of Simon, which is Simon

西蒙：不，我並不說法語。這是其他加拿大人都會犯的錯誤。我父母來自德國，他們用德語的發音念西蒙，唸作西蒙。

Michael: Oh, really

邁克爾：哦，真的嗎？

Simon: Yeah!

西蒙：對！

Michael: OK, so the German and the French are.

邁克爾：好，那德語和法語。

Simon: Pretty similar. Ah, similar! Ah, yeah, Spanish, French, German. Pretty much only English has the Simon pronunciation of that, that name.

西蒙：很相似。對，很相似！對，西班牙語、法語、德語。這些語言對西蒙這個名字的發音都和英語很像。

Michael: OK, so you're from Vancouver.

邁克爾：好，你來自溫哥華。

Simon: Yeah, that's right.

西蒙：對，沒錯。

Michael: I'm from Toronto but some of my favorite music came from Vancouver. Ah, I'm not quite sure, you look quite young, you may not have ever seen DOA play.

邁克爾：我來自多倫多，不過我最喜歡的音樂是溫哥華的音樂。我並不是很確定，你看起來很年輕，你可能從來沒看過DOA的表演。

Simon: I'm very familiar with DOA. Actually, I'm older than I look. I'm 33, so I come from the DOA generation.

西蒙：我很瞭解DOA。實際上，我比我看上去的年紀要大，我今年33歲，正好經歷了DOA的那個年代。

Michael: Excellent, so did you go to the Commodore Ballroom?

邁克爾：太棒了，那你去過海軍准將舞廳嗎？

Simon: That's right, and I've actually seen DOA at the Commodore and almost got hit in the head by a beer can that they throw out during their concerts. They like to throw beer cans into the crowd.

西蒙：去過，實際上我在海軍准將舞廳看過DOA的表演，而且頭還被一個啤酒罐打中了，那是他們在演唱會進行中扔下來的。他們喜歡向觀衆扔啤酒罐。

Michael: Well, I saw DOA at the university of Windsor where I went to do my undergraduate degree, and it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. It was great.

邁克爾：嗯，我在溫莎大學看過DOA的表演，我在那裏唸的本科，那是我看過的最棒的演出之一。太棒了。

Simon: Yeah! I mean when I was in high school, they were already old, so but uh, they kept rocking'.

西蒙：沒錯！我是說我上高中時，他們的年紀已經很大了，但是他們依然在做搖滾樂。

Michael: So how about the, do you know, how long have you been in Japan? Do you go back and have you seen any new bands in Vancouver.

邁克爾：那你知道……你來日本多長時間了？你有回過家嗎，有沒有看過溫哥華新晉樂隊的表演？

Simon: Ah, well, I've been in Japan just over a year so not that long. I did go back one time but we didn't see any concerts and the commodore has changed since those days of DOA.

西蒙：啊，我剛來日本一年的時間，並不是很長。我回過一次家，但是我們沒去看演唱會，而在DOA那個年代過後，海軍准將舞廳已經變了。

Michael: OK, just to show you how out of it I've become, but I've just recently discovered Nickel Back which is from Vancouver as well and also a band that I don't think die hard DOA fans would like cause it's pretty conventional rock I guess, but I like them.

邁克爾：好，我來跟你說說我有多落伍吧，我最近纔剛剛發現五分錢這支來自溫哥華的樂隊，我認爲DOA樂隊的死忠歌迷不會喜歡他們，因爲我認爲他們的搖滾太傳統了，不過我喜歡他們。

Simon: Yeah, I don't. I mean, they've got catchy tunes that many people like, for example my girlfriend who's Japanese loves Nickle Back, but I didn't even know they were from Vancouver. You know, they're just I thought there were from the Prairies or something like that. Yeah, there not cool enough.

西蒙：嗯，我不喜歡。我是說，他們歌曲的旋律朗朗上口，贏得了許多人的喜愛，這其中就包括我的女友，她是日本人，她非常喜歡五分錢樂隊，不過我甚至不知道他們是來自溫哥華的。你知道，我以爲他們是來自北美那邊的呢。嗯，我認爲他們不夠酷。

Michael: They're not cool enough.

邁克爾：他們不夠酷。

Simon: I think their music is crap.

西蒙：我認爲他們的音樂不怎麼好。

Michael: Do you really?

邁克爾：你真的這麼認爲嗎？

Simon: Yeah, it's, I mean they sound the same as any number of bands, you know.

西蒙：對，是的。我是說，他們的音樂聽起來和其他無數的樂隊一樣，你知道的。

Michael: OK, can you think of any group from Vancouver that is cool? A new band!

邁克爾：好，那你認爲哪個來自溫哥華的樂隊很酷呢？新樂隊！

Simon: A new band. Well, you've caught me at a time because I'm in Japan and so new music doesn't really resonate here. Is that the correct word to say?

西蒙：新樂隊。嗯，這可真難住我了，我現在在日本，所以新的音樂在這裏沒有產生共鳴。是應該這麼來形容吧？

Michael: Well, what's your definition of new then? Is it like a minute old?

邁克爾：嗯，那你對新事物的定義是什麼？就像一分鐘前？

Simon: I can't say, you know, you stumped me on new music. Yeah, how bout you? Do you want to tell me about some music that you're listening to now?

西蒙：我說不清楚，你知道，新音樂真的難住我了。那你覺得呢？你想跟我談談你現在聽的音樂嗎？

Michael: Oh, you see, once you become middle-aged you start listening to a lot of stuff that you listened to when you were in high school or you actually find yourself nauseatingly wanting to hear things that you hated when you were in high school and it brings back memories, like I can actually say that I enjoy doing a lesson where I have to play ABBA for my students, whereas I hated it when I was a kid. When I was in high school if you put an ABBA record on I probably would have punched you.

邁克爾：哦，你知道，一旦你步入中年，你就會開始聽你在高中時聽的那些音樂，或者你會發現自己想聽那些你在高中時討厭的歌曲，那些歌曲會帶來回憶，我可以肯定地說，我現在非常享受在講課中給學生們放ABBA的歌曲，可是我小時候非常討厭那些歌。我在高中的時候，如果你放ABBA的唱片，我可能會打你。

Simon: Oh, sure as and ESL teacher, we both have to play, you know, cheesy ballads and things like that for our students because that's what they like. Yeah. OK, let's get back to the music. You know, they're probably already old, yeah, if you want good solid Rock, I mean, the next best thing was The White Stripes a few years ago and their still quite good.

西蒙：哦，和非母語英語課程的老師一樣，我們都要給學生放一些庸俗的歌謠類的音樂，因爲學生們就喜歡這種。嗯，好，咱們回到音樂話題吧。你知道，他們可能已經老了，如果你想聽真正好的搖滾樂隊，之後涌現出來的最好的樂隊就是幾年前出道的白色條紋樂隊，當然他們現在也很棒。

Michael: And they're from Vancouver?

邁克爾：他們也來自溫哥華嗎？

Simon: No, they're from somewhere in the states. But they play, you know, really edgy sort of classical style rock for the modern age. I don't know, for the 2000, yeah.

西蒙：不，他們來自美國的某個地方。不過你知道，他們演繹的歌曲都是震撼的現代古典風格搖滾，我說不太清楚，大概是指2000年吧。

Michael: I'm reading this book now about the so called Cam-Rock Renaissance, during the period 1985 to 1995. Bands like DOA of course, we've already mentioned, also from Vancouver, Skinny Puppy, would probably.

邁克爾：我正在讀一本關於Cam-搖滾復興的書，是指1985到1995年這個時期。當然，像我們剛纔提到過的DOA樂隊，還有同樣來自溫哥華的Skinny Puppy樂隊都屬於這個時期。

Simon: Skinny puppy! There's a name I haven't heard in awhile.

西蒙：Skinny Puppy樂隊！那真是太久沒聽到的樂隊了。

Michael: Yep, and The Tragically Hip.

邁克爾：對，還有Tragically Hip樂隊。

Simon: Overplayed group.

西蒙：被誇大的樂隊。

Michael: Overplayed! Tragically Hip is probably the most popular group in Canada, though.

邁克爾：被誇大？Tragically Hip樂隊可是加拿大最受歡迎的樂隊。

Simon: Yeah, I lived with a techno DJ in university, so we often had parties at our house and he would play his new stuff that he was very proud of, you know, acid jazz, hip-hop beats, and all kind of weird stuff, but good, and he had a rule because people kept on coming up to him and saying, "Can you play 'The Hip' man?" and he always said, "They'll be no 'Hip' played at this house!"

西蒙：嗯，上大學時我和一名電子樂DJ住在一起，我們經常在房子裏舉辦派對，他會播放他準備的新音樂，他對此感到非常自豪，你知道，像迷幻爵士、嘻哈節奏，還有其他各種奇怪的音樂類型，不過那很好，他有個規定，因爲人們一直跟他說“你能播放‘The Tragically Hip’的音樂嗎？”他總是回答，“這所房子裏不會放The Tragically Hip的音樂！”

Michael: That sounds like something I did when I was DJing in bar. Everyone would ask me to play Guns n' Roses and I absolutely despised them. I even went to the extent of buying one of the waitresses their album so that she would never request them again, but unfortunately I didn't have enough money to buy everyone the album and I found myself playing them sometimes two or three times, and the same song two or three times. It wasn't my place. I couldn't make the rule your friend made.

邁克爾：這聽起來像我在酒吧裏當DJ時做過的事情。所有人都讓我放槍炮玫瑰的歌，而我很看不起他們。我甚至給一個女服務員買了他們的專輯，這樣她就再也不會要求我放他們的歌了，不幸的是，我沒有那麼多錢給所有人買專輯，所以我有時會放他們的歌，大概放過兩三次吧，一首歌放兩三次。那不是我說得算的地方。我不能像你朋友那樣定規定。

Simon: Yeah, I could hear the recurring theme. Play GNR man!

西蒙：嗯，我好像能聽到所有人重複地在說。放槍炮玫瑰的歌吧！

Michael: Yeah!

邁克爾：對！

Simon: Well, let's wrap up that, this conversation.

西蒙：嗯，咱們結束這個對話吧。

重點講解：
1. throw out
扔掉，丟掉；
eg. Molly had left her apartment to throw out the rubbish.
莫莉離開她的房間去倒垃圾。
eg. Throw out a minnow to catch a whale.
棄小引大。
2. the same as
與…相似；與…一樣；
eg. Our job today is the same as before.
今天的活兒跟往常一樣。
eg. She felt just the same as he did.
她和他的感受相同。
3. to the extent of
（表示強調）到…的地步，到…的程度；
eg. He is in debt to the extent of 10,000 dollars.
他負債已達一萬美元。
eg. Public censure puts her under great pressure to the extent of breaking down.
物議讓她倍感壓力，精神幾乎崩潰。
4. wrap up
圓滿完成，圓滿結束（工作、協議等）；
eg. Let's wrap up the job and go home.
我們收工回家吧。
eg. Things will wrap up when everybody's ready for that to happen.
當我們都準備好了時候，事情就該了結了。