【走遍美国精讲笔记】第1课：林登大街46号

ACT 1-1 “我可以给您和您的小男孩拍张照吗？”

【故事梗概】

自由摄影艺术家Richard Stewart，正在为编出自己的影集《走遍美国》到处拍照。今天他在由纽约市曼哈顿区到斯塔滕岛的渡船上工作，回程中遇到了来自加州的一位黑人妇女Martha Vann和她的小儿子Gerald。Richard想要给他们拍照。

Richard: Excuse me. My name is Richard Stewart. I'm a photographer. May I take a picture of you and your little boy?

Mrs.Vann: What's it for?

Richard: It's for a book.

Mrs.Vann: You're writing a book?

Richard: It's a book of pictures. I call it Family Album, U.S.A.

Mrs.Vann: Oh, that's a nice idea. Well, it's fine if you take our picture. I'm Martha Vann.

Richard: Thank you. I appreciate your help. I'm Richard. What's your name?

Gerald: Gerald.

Richard: How old are you, Gerald?

Gerald: Five.

Richard: And where do you live?

Mrs.Vann: We live in California.

Richard: Well, welcome to New York. OK, just a second. I'm almost ready here.

【语言点精讲】

1. Excuse me. My name is Richard Stewart. I'm a photographer.

这是Richard在与陌生人搭讪并介绍自己。

Excuse me 这个短语用来引起对方的注意。相当于汉语的“对不起，劳驾”。

自我介绍时可以先介绍自己的名字，再说明自己的职业。

介绍自己的名字时，可以像Richard一样，说My name is Richard Stewart.

也可以像Mrs. Vann那样，说I'm Martha Vann.

2. May I take a picture of you and your little boy?

May I...是一种很礼貌的征求别人的同意的说法，相当于“我可以...吗？”。

Richard 想要为Mrs. Vann 母子拍照片，他首先要征得当事人的同意，否则闹出肖像权的问题可不是好玩滴~~

3. I appreciate your help.

这是在受别人帮助或听了别人的忠告之后的感谢语。在Richard向Mrs. Vann说明了照片的用途后，Mrs. Vann欣然接受拍照的请求，之后Richard立即向对方表达了感谢。这里也可以说I really appreciate it.

4. Welcome to New York.

Welcome to… 是迎接客人的客套语。Richard与Mrs. Vann母子攀谈几句后得知母子二人来自于California，于是Richard对他们说，欢迎到纽约来。

又例如：Welcome to HJ English.

ACT 1-2 “我可以帮忙吗？”

【故事梗概】

Richard准备为Mrs.Vann母子拍照，他需要使用反光板。这时，一位来自希腊的交换生Alexandra主动提出要帮助他。照片顺利的拍完了。Richard感谢了Alexandra并开始与她交谈。

Richard: OK, Just a second. I'm almost ready here.

Alexadra: Can I help you?

Richard: Oh, please. Hold Gerald's hand, please. Great! Now point to the buildings. Terrific! Give Mommy a kiss,

Gerald. Nice! Thank you, Gerald. And thank you, Mrs Vann.

Mrs.Vann: Oh, my pleasure. We'll be looking for your book.

Richard: Thank you. Good-bye. Bye, Gerald. Thanks again.

Alexandra: Oh, you're welcome.

Richard: Hey, let me take your picture!

Alexandra: Wonderful. Please.

Richard: Are you from New York?

Alexandra: No, I'm from Greece. I'm an exchange student.

Richard: When did you come here?

Alexandra: Three months ago.

Richard: Your English is very good.

Alexandra: Thanks. I studied English in school.

【语言点精讲】

1. Can I help you?

在为别人提供帮助前，我们可以说Can I help you?

也可以说Let me...（让我，允许我），如本文中，Richard对Alexandra说"Hey, let me take your picture!" 但是这种说法没有Can I...的礼貌程度高。

如果我们愿意接受帮助，则可以回答"Oh, please." 或者"Yes, please."。也可以像Alexandra那样很可爱的讲"Wonderful. Please."

2. Great! / Terrific! / Nice!

在拍照的过程中，Mrs.Vann母子每在他的要求下摆一个新的姿势，Richard都会对他们的配合给予肯定。他用到的"Great! Terrific! Nice!" 都是用来表示“太好了，好极了，很好”的意思。

3. We'll be looking for your book.

这里的look for是寻找的意思。

4. My pleasure. / You're welcome.

当别人对你表示感谢时，可以用"My pleasure."或者"You're welcome."来进行回应。

ACT 1-3 “你想来点咖啡吗？”

【故事梗概】

在交谈中，Alexandra 表示希望了解一下Richard 的书。于是Richard向她展示了自己为这本书拍的一些照片。同时，Richard也向她展示了自己家人的照片。

Richard: Your English is very good.

Alexandra: Thanks. I studied English in school.

Richard: Would you like some coffee?

Alexandra: No, thank you. Tell me about your book.

Richard: Oh, it's not finished yet, but I have some of the pictures. Would you like to see them?

Alexandra: Yes, I'd like that.

Richard: Here they are. Family Album, U.S.A.. It's an album of pictures of the United States: the cities, the special places, and the people. And these are pictures of people working: steel workers, bankers, police, street vendors, ambulance drivers, doctors...Oh, this is my father. He's a doctor. This is my mother.

Alexandra: What's her name?

Richard: Ellen. My younger brother, Robbie. He goes to high school. This is my sister Susan. She works for a toy company. Here's my grandfather. He lives in Florida. And this is my wife Marilyn.