英语中级口语-Lesson 2 Au Pair Girl

Text B
Maria had decided that as soon as she had finished school she would become an au pair girl in London. Two of her friends had already spent a year with a family in Kensington, and told her they had had an interesting time and had managed to learn a lot of English. She was advised by her Head Teacher to get her parents’ consent and to make all the necessary arrangements prior to her departure: have enough money for her return fare, know exactly what kind of a family she was going to live with and what they expected of her.
She would have to help Mrs Hutchinson in the house - washing up, making the beds, laying the table, dusting the rooms, answering the door, taking telephone messages, shopping and running errands. She would be guaranteed three evenings a week free and could attend English classes either from eleven till one in the morning or from half past one till four in the afternoon. She would receive 3 a week pocket money. Maria was delighted with the conditions and thought that they were fair. She also liked the look of the family, as Mrs Hutchinson had thoughtfully enclosed a photograph with her letter.
Related Words and Expressions
enlarge one’s scope of knowledge broaden one’s mind get a deeper understanding of… know…better put the blame on sb. blame sb. For sth. be blamed for fault-finding get along with…
Phrases
come from compare… with… get used to sth. spend some time with sb. prior to sth. expect sth. of sb. be employed on the terms make the beds lay the table be delighted with
Shortly after her eighteenth birthday Maria received a letter from Mrs Hutchinson, the wife of an advertising executive, stating the terms on which she would be employed. The Hutchinsons lived in a house in Chelsea. They had three children; two boys, aged fourteen and ten, both at boarding schools, the elder at a Public School in the Midlands and the younger at a Preparatory School in Surrey; the youngest child was a girl aged eight, and she went to the French Lycee in South Kensington. During term time Maria would have to take the girl to school in the morning and fetch her in the afternoon.
Gretel hasn’t been in England long and everything is strange to her. She often compares life in London with life in Vienna. Some things are nicer in London; other things are not so nice. For instance, the shops are bigger in London than in Vienna and there is greater variety. But it's more expensive to enjoy yourself in London. It's expensive to have a meal at a restaurant or to go to a theatre.
It was better than working on the land, then, and if it still existed now, I reckon I'd rather see any of my daughters be a goodhousemaid or a well-trained parlour maid than a dolled-up shop-assistant or a factory worker. But folks are too proud to work for other folks, now. even if it's to their own advantage, though as far as I can see you are still working for other folks , whatever you're doing. Big houses didn't want little girls of eleven, even as kitchen maids, so the first few ycars had to be put in somewhere else, before you got even that amount of promotion.
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
Notes
au pair girl: 为了学习语言，不取报酬，吃住在雇 主家，为雇主看管孩子、做家务的女孩子 Vienna: 维也纳 greater variety: 品种繁多 porridge: 粥 bacon: 咸火腿片，培根 toast: 烤面包片 marmalade: 橘子酱
Head Teacher: 校长(也作Head Master, Principal等) prior to her departure: 在她离开前 return fare: 往返车票 Advertising executive: 广告商 the terms on which she would be employed: 她被雇佣 的条件 Public School in the Midlands: 英格兰中部地区一所公立 学校 Preparatory School: 英国的私立小学 the French Lycee: 法国中学 during term time: 在上课期间 running errands: 跑腿办事 pocket money: 零花钱
Related Picture
enjoy one’s breakfast cornflakes fried eggs plate soup bowl a polo-necked sweater wear one’s hair loose shoulder-length hair tie one’s hair up in a loose bun have the side parting hair style hand…to… hold… in one’s hand be in a bad mood
Sayings
A cheerful look makes a dish a feast. A good presence is a letter of recommendation. It is hard to please all.
Additional Information
It was nothing for a girl to be sent away to service when she was eleven years old. That meant leaving the family as she had never been parted from for a day in her life before, and going to some place miles away to be treated like a dog. I've got nothing against girls going into good service. In my opinion, good service in a properly run big house was a wonderful training for a lot of girls who never would have seen anything different all the days of their lives if they hadn’t gone.
easy-going agreeable and amiable gentle and considerable be quick with one’s hands lazybones dawdle along loaf about a disabled person a paralytic be good at
Lesson 2 Au Pair Girl
Text A
Gretel comes from Austria. She is eighteen years old. She is going to stay with the Clark family for a year. Gretel has come to England because she wants to improve her English. She works as an au pair girl. She helps Mrs Clark in the house and attends English classes regularly in her spare time.
Gretel has got used to many things already, but she can’t get used to breakfast in England. “You English eat so much in the morning,” she often says. “Fruit juice, porridge, bacon and egg, tea, toast and marmalade! How can you face all that food so early in the day?”