美语情景对话 第352期:Thailand and America 泰国和美国

Thailand is so different from where I used to live in America. First of all, in my neighborhood there are many stray dogs, dogs with no home. During the day, they lay around and sleep and at night they fight and make a lot of noise barking and howling. Sometimes they're even dangerous, especially people who ride by on their bikes, sometimes can be bit by these dogs. In America, stray dogs, are sent to the pound. The pound, the dog pound, is like a jail for dogs. Um, also, in front of my house, in front of every house in my neighborhood, there's a fence, or a gate with a lock on it. I don't like it. I think it's a hassle because I have to take out my key, unlock the lock, then drive the car out, stop the car, get out, close the gate and then put the lock on again. In America, it's much more convenient. Usually there's a garage or a closed car park and when you drive up you have a remote control, and it opens, the garage door opens automatically, and in America usually we don't have fences or gates around our front yard. Often there's a gate around the backyard, but nothing in the front. Some of the really expensive houses in Thailand too, around there fence they have broken pieces of glass around the top to keep people who want to climb in from getting in. In Thailand usually to buy food, you go to the outdoor market. It's very different than the clean supermarkets in America because they are lots of different smells and lots of action. You can smell fish, meat, trash, fruit, smoke from the barbeques, curry. Sometimes the smells are not so good. People come there, cook fresh food every day and they'll stay there till they sell all their food. It's very cheap. You can eat for about 2 or 3 U.S. dollars. So it's not as clean and it doesn't smell as nice as a big supermarket in America but I think it's a lot more interesting. It makes the supermarkets in America seem very boring.

泰国和我曾经生活过的美国非常不一样。首先，我家附近有很多流浪狗，无家可归的狗。白天，他们会四处闲逛、睡觉，晚上它们会打架，大声吠叫、嚎叫，制造出很多噪音。有时它们甚至会很危险，尤其是骑车从它们身边经过的人有时会被它们咬。在美国，流浪狗会被送去流浪狗收留所。流浪狗收留所就像狗狗们的监狱。嗯，我家前面，我附近所有人的家前面都有栅栏，或是带锁的大门。我很不喜欢这种东西。我认为那很麻烦，因为我必须要拿出钥匙，开锁以后把车开出来，然后停车、下车，把大门关上，再把锁锁上。而在美国，就要方便得多了。通常房子都会有停车库和非公开的停车场，你要把车开进去的时候就按下遥控器，然后车库的门就会自动打开，而我们美国一般房子不会带栅栏，前院也不会有大门。通常大门是在后院，但是前面什么也没有。泰国有些非常昂贵的房子也有栅栏，栅栏顶部有一些玻璃碎片，用来防止那些想爬进房子的人。在泰国，一般买食物要去露天市场。那里和美国整洁的超市非常不同，因为露天市场有很多种不同的味道，有很多活动。你会闻到鱼味、肉味、垃圾的味道、水果味、烧烤的烟味、还有咖喱的味道。有时那些味道并不是很好。人们每天在那里烹饪新鲜的食物，直到他们卖光所有的食物。那里的食物很便宜。两三美元就够用了。所以露天市场没有美国的大型超市干净，味道也不如大型超市，但是我认为那里的乐趣更多。那使得美国的超市看上去很无趣。

重点讲解：
1. used to do sth.
过去常常；过去曾做某事；
eg. We used to compete on just cost.
我们曾经仅仅在成本上竞争。
eg. Marjorie Baer used to joke about her retirement plans.
玛乔丽贝尔曾经拿她的退休计划开玩笑。
2. first of all
第一；首先；
eg. My aim was first of all to determine what I should do next.
我的目标首先是要确定自己下一步该做什么。
eg. First of all, to try to keep calm at the interview.
首先，面试时要保持镇静。
3. keep sb. from doing sth.
阻止（或防止、阻碍）…做某事；
eg. Embarrassment has kept me from doing all sorts of things.
我总是害怕受窘，什么事都不敢去做。
eg. He kept her from being lonely.
他不让她感到孤独。