1、十天美国口语突破教程第一天 Making Friends When making new friends, there are usually three parts to the conversation you will have with your new friend. The first is the greeting. In this part, you and your new friend will greet each other and tell each other your names. The second part is the conversation. Some
2、times the conversation is small talk and some times the conversation is about important matters, such as business. “Small talk“ is an American slang term. It means that the conversation is about matters that are not very important. When conversing with your new friend, it is customary to give inform
3、ation about your family, your work, or you will talk about any matter that is important to you and your new friend. The third part of the conversation is the leave-taking. In this part, you tell your new friend that you are happy to meet him and that you must end the conversation.In this conversatio
4、n, Thinh will introduce himself and his wife to Jim, their new neighbor.-Thinh: Hello.Jim: Oh, hi there!Thinh: Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thinh Nguyen and this is my wife, Lan Quong.Jim: Pleased to meet you. My name is Jim Peters. Did you just move in next door?Lan: Yes, we did.
5、 Have you lived here long?Jim: Me? I guess so. Ive lived here for about 6 years now. Have you lived in America very long?Thinh: No. Not really. When we left Vietnam and came to America we lived with a cousin in Dallas for 2 years. Where do you work, Jim?Jim: I teach mathematics at Willow Springs com
6、munity college. What do you do?Thinh: I am a mechanic at Allied Diesel. I repair truck engines.Jim: What about you, Lan?Lan: I am a nurses assistant at Whitfield County hospital.Jim: Well, Thinh and Lan, it was good to meet you. I have to go now. Im teaching a class this evening and I need to get to
7、 the college.Thinh: It was good to meet you, too, Jim.Lan: Yes, it was good to meet you.Jim: See you around!Thinh and Lan: Good-bye, Jim!-New words and Expressions“Allow me to introduce myself.“ - This phrase is used when you want to tell your new friend that you are going to tell him your name.“Ple
8、ased to meet you.“- This phrase is used after you and your new friend have told each other your names.“Did you just move in next door?“, “Where do you work?“, “Have you lived here long?“- These are some phrases that people use to make “small talk.“ These phrases are used when you ask your friend for
9、 basic information about himself. These phrases help new friends to get to know about each others lives.“It was good to meet you.“- This phrase is usually used when you are ending the conversation. A person who uses this phrase will be considered polite by his new friend.第二天 Apartment Hunting Bill i
10、s looking for a new apartment. He just moved to a new city in order to start studying at a university. He is at a Rental Agency in the new city.-Agent: Hi! Welcome to Rental Property Management. How may I help you?Bill: Hi, yes. Im interested in renting a two-bedroom apartment.Agent: Okay. If you ha
11、ve a seat, one of our rental agents will be with you in a moment.Bill: Thank you.Associate: Hi, my name is Ann Smith.Bill: Hi, Im Bill Harrington.Ann: Hi, Mr. Harrington. So that we will be able to match your needs better, I would like to ask you a few questions before I show you what we have availa
12、ble. First, what price range were you interested in?Bill: Somewhere between $400-$450 a month.Ann: Okay. Did you have a specific location in mind?Bill: Well, I would like to live somewhere near the university. Or at least on a bus line.Ann: And when would you like to move in?Bill: On the first of th
13、e month.Ann: Okay. Are there any other amenities which you would like to have? For example, a dishwasher, a balcony, a swimming pool or central air conditioning?Bill: I would definitely like to have a dishwasher, and with summers like these, central air! A balcony is not that important. Oh, yes, and
14、 two bathrooms would be nice.Ann: Okay. Here are photos of the apartments we have available which fit your preferences.Bill: Thank you. This one on Broadway Avenue looks nice. I would like to see that one. And the one on Main Street.Ann: Sure. Let me get the keys and we will go look at them. If you
15、choose to rent one of them, we will need a damage deposit of $250. You will be responsible for all the utilities. You can sign a lease today, if you like.Bill: Great! Thank you.第三天 At the Library Librarian: Can I help you?Natalie: Yes. I am a bit confused. My sociology class is supposed to read a ch
16、apter in a book called Sociology and the Modern Age. According to the syllabus, the book is in the library, but I havent been able to find it.Librarian: Do you have your syllabus with you? May I see it?Natalie: Yes, uhI put it in the front of my sociology notebook. Oh, here it is.Librarian: Let me s
17、ee. Oh yes. Your professor has placed this book on reserve. That means you cannot find it on the shelves in its usual place. You need to go to a special room called the reserve room. Its down the hall and to the right.Natalie: Im sorry - I still dont understand what you mean by on reserve.Librarian:
18、 You see, your professor wants every one in the class to read the chapter. If one student removes the book from the library, it is likely that none of the other students will have the opportunity to read it. So, your professor has insured that all students have the opportunity to read it by placing
19、it on reserve.Natalie: So, will I be able to find this book?Librarian: Yes, when a book is on reserve, a student can go to the reserve room and ask the reserve librarian for the book. The student can have the book for a few hours, and he or she MUST read it in the library during that time. That way,
20、 the book stays in the library, and all students have a chance to read it.Natalie: Okay. Thank you. I understand now.Librarian: Will there be anything else?Natalie: No! I am on my way to the reserve room. Thanks again!-Words and Expression1.syllabusUsually, an instructor hands out the syllabus on th
21、e first day of class.If you are not sure when an assignment is due, check the syllabus.I need to buy all the books the instructor has listed on the syllabus.According to the syllabus, we have a quiz next week.2.on reserveAll the librarys books by M. Douglas White are on reserve for students in Chemi
22、stry 341.Prof: Id like to place these books on reserve for my physics class.Librarian: Certainly. Fill out this form, and Ill inform the librarian in the reserve room.I need to spend a few hours in the library to read a textbook my instructor has placed on reserve.Im sorry. You are not allowed to ta
23、ke this book from the library. It is on reserve, so you must read it here.3.to be) on ones way (to)The incredible acting of Maya Thurston in her last three movies has caught the attention of movie lovers everywhere. Maya is on her way to becoming a star.I saw Rita on her way to school. It was rainin
24、g and she was carrying an umbrella.Wife: Henry, if you dont leave now youll be late for the train.HUSBAND: Dont worry, hon. Im on my way!If you are on your way to the grocery store, could you stop at the pharmacy next door and buy some aspirin?第四天 Asking for the Way Visitor: Can you tell me how to r
25、each the bank please?Policeman: Which bank? There are two: the Allied Irish Bank and the Bank of Ireland.Visitor: I have an AIB pass card and I want to withdraw money from the bank.Policeman: You need to go to the Allied Irish Bank which is near the local shopping centre, Dunnes Stores.Visitor: How
26、do I get there. I have no knowledge of this area.Policeman: Cross the road and turn left at the other side. Walk along the footpath until you reach the traffic lights. You will see a shopping centre on the right hand side. Walk across the road and turn right after the shopping centre. Keep going str
27、aight for about 100m and the bank is to your left.Visitor: It sounds very complicated. How far is it from here?Policeman: Its not so complicated. Its about five minutes walk from here. I can draw a map for you if you wish.Visitor:Oh, I would really appreciate that . By the way will I be going North
28、or South ?Policeman: You will be going northwards. You are now in the the Western part of the city and the Allied Irish Bank is situated in the North East. Heres a rough sketch of the area.第五天 A VISIT TO THE ADVISOR In this conversation, an international student has been asked to see her advisor. Th
29、e advisor has something very important to discuss with the student.-Student: You wanted to see me?Advisor: Thats right. We need to have a serious talk.Student: About what?Advisor: Your attendance-or rather, lack of it.Student: OK, so Ive ditched class a few times . . .Advisor: A few times? Ive been
30、told youve missed six out of eight times in two different classes! Thats really setting yourself up to fail.Student: Oh, come on. Those classes are really boring!Advisor: But theyre also required, so that doesnt matter. Youre about to be in big trouble.Student: Whats the big deal about missing some
31、classes?Advisor: The big deal is that youre here on a student visa.Student: So?Advisor: So if you dont attend class regularly, you wont be a full-time student-which your visa requires. Youll be out of status.Student: What are you gonna do? Turn me in to the Immigration Police?Advisor: Oh, of course
32、Ill have to report you if you continue missing your class, but Im going to do something else first.Student: Like what?Advisor: Like faxing your father.-Notes on Vocabulary1. ditched class: intentionally missed class2. setting yourself up to fail: doing (yourself) what is necessary to cause failure3.
33、 . . . so that doesnt matter: . . . so that isnt important.4. Whats the big deal about missing some classes?: Whats so important about missing some classes?5. out of status: not meeting the requirements to keep your visa status-Notes on Usage1. You wanted to see me?The student changes a statement to
34、 a question by using question (rising) intonation, not by using an auxiliary verb (did).People often use this kind of question in conversational language to suggest that they think a statement may not be true or accurate. (The student means something like “Is it true that you wanted to see me?“ By u
35、sing this kind of question, the student also suggests that she thinks theres no real reason for the advisor to want to see her.)2. About what?“Reduced“ questions are also very common in conversational language. The full form would be something like “What do we need to have a serious talk about?“ or
36、“About what do we need to have a serious talk?“3. Your attendance-or rather lack of it“Reduced“ answers are much more common than full answers in conversational language. The advisor means “We need to have a serious talk about your attendance-or rather, your lack of attendance.“4. OK, so . . .Both O
37、K and so are used very frequently in conversational language. Here, the student uses “OK, so . . .“ to show that she admits that shes missed class a few times.5. A few times?A “reduced“ answer; the advisor means something like “What do you mean by a few times?“ By using “a few times,“ the student su
38、ggests that she hasnt missed class enough times to cause a problem. By questioning “a few times“ (shown by the advisors emphasis on “few“), the advisor is saying that there have been many absences, not just a few.6. Oh, come on.This expression is used to show that what has just been said is unreason
39、able or illogical. The student doesnt understand why missing some boring classes is setting herself up to fail.7. So?This one-word question is used when one doesnt understand the relationship or consequence that follows from what has just been said. (The student means she doesnt understand the relat
40、ionship between missing classes and her student visa.)8. gonnaThere are many “relaxed“ pronunciations of commonly used phrases (for example, “hasta“ or “hafta“ for has to or have to, “wanna“ for want to, “woulda/coulda/shoulda/mighta“ for wouldve/couldve/shouldve/mightve). These forms are very commo
41、n in spoken English, but theyre not acceptable in most written work.9. Turn me in to . . . ?A “reduced“ question: “Are you going to turn me in to . . . ?“10. Like what?A “reduced“ question: “What will the something else be like?“ (“What kind of thing are you going to do?“11. Like faxing your fatherA
42、 “reduced“ answer: “Im going to do something like faxing your father.“ (The advisor plans to send a fax to the students father to tell the father that the student hasnt been attending class.)第六天 Shopping in America INTRODUCTIONConversation A is a typical conversation about shopping in the United Sta
43、tes. Masahiro is an international student who has just arrived from Japan, and Anna and Will are introducing him to the shopping scenario in America.Conversation AAnna: As I was telling you, Masa, where you shop depends largely on what you need. So, if you want to buy an answering machine or a CD-pl
44、ayer, your best bet would probably be an appliance store such as Radio ShackWill: Yup! Or Circuit City. I like Best Buy the best, though.Masahiro: Why?Will: Coz they usually have the best deals. They have sales on their TVs and CD-players every once in a while.Anna: Hum. Ill bet they send you their
45、glossy ads loaded with so-called “SALES“!Masahiro: (laughs)Anna: Well, I still think the CD-player I bought from them was a rip off.Will: Ill admit some of their items are high-priced, but at least the shoppers guaranteed quality. There are very few places that have such a wide selection.Masahiro: I
46、 need to buy disks, at least two disk holders, note cards, transparencies, and that kind of stuff.Will: For office supplies, I suggest Office Max.Anna: Or Comp USA. One good thing about living in a campus town, though, is that you can easily get that stuff at any of the bookstores. No doubt they do
47、overcharge. I try to get around that by shopping around.Masahiro: Shopping around?Anna: Yes. That simply means you go to different stores, check out the prices of items you need and purchase them from the store(s) with the lowest price or prices.Masahiro: I see. Sounds very practical.Will: And time-
48、consuming, too!Masahiro: Where is Office Max located?Anna: Theres one in the mall, so we can stop by there this afternoon.Masahiro: Great! Thanks.Will: Hey, Masa. Just so you know, you can always run to the discount stores whenever youre out of something you need right away. There are several around campus.Anna: Thats right. And they carry pretty much everything a student needs. Pop, pasta, eggs, hair spray . .
