作者:小雅和英美友人
◆ 用英文給寶寶講,為什麼會堵車?
◆ 如何解釋「堵車時大家為什麼鳴笛」?
◆ 車道變少、變窄,英文怎麼說?
Child: Why are we going so slow?
寶寶:咱們怎麼開得這麼慢啊?
Mom: Because there's a traffic jam.
媽媽:因為堵車了。
Nothing to worry about.
別著急。
Child: What's a traffic jam?
寶寶:什麼是堵車啊?
Mom: It's when there's lots of cars all trying to get somewhere at the same time,
媽媽:就是所有的車在同一時間都想去同一個地方,
在there be句型中,複數名詞前應該用there are,但是母語者更愛用there is,這是一個典型的語法不對,但已被人們廣泛接受的用法。
but there's too many cars on the road,
但是路上的車太多了,
so everyone goes very slowly
所以大家都開慢了,
Slow既可以做形容詞,也可以做副詞,所以,開得慢、走得慢的「慢」,既可以用slow(見文章第1句),也可以用slowly。
until things clear up.
直到情況好轉。
Child: So, traffic means cars?
寶寶:所以說,交通就是汽車的意思?
Mom: Yes, and trucks and other vehicles around us.
媽媽:嗯,還包括卡車和我們周圍的其他車輛。
See over there?
看見那兒了嗎?
That street over there gets smaller
那條路變窄了,
變窄也可以用get narrower。
-- it loses lanes as you drive along,
開過去的時候車道變少了,
so it's bottle-necking all the cars
它就成了瓶頸,
as they try to merge and get into fewer lanes together.
因為所有的車都要一起匯入更少的車道裡。
Child: Oh, okay.
寶寶:哦,好的。
(Cars honking 汽車鳴笛)
Child: Why is everyone honking so much?
寶寶:大家為什麼老按喇叭呢?
Mom: Well some people are trying to signal to others to move over
媽媽:嗯,有些人想提醒別人趕緊走,
or letting someone get in line.
或者讓他們排隊。
Other people just honk because the slow traffic makes them angry!
還有些人按喇叭就是因為行駛緩慢的路況讓他們很生氣!
People also honk to get someone else's attention,
按喇叭還能引起別人的注意,
otherwise they might hit them.
不然該撞到他們了。
Child: We stopped!
寶寶:咱們停了!
Mom: Yes, looks like traffic is at a stand-still.
媽媽:是的,看起來完全不動了。
Just don't worry!
別擔心!
The best thing to do during a traffic jam is to stay calm
堵車的時候最應該做的就是保持冷靜,
and drive safely.
安全駕駛。
Child: But why is everyone driving here at one time?
寶寶:但是為什麼大家在同一時間開到這裡呢?
Mom: Good question!
媽媽:問得好!
We just happen to be driving through during rush hour.
我們只是碰巧在尖峰時段開到了這裡。
早高峰叫morning rush hour,晚高峰叫evening rush hour。
Child: Rush hour?
寶寶:尖峰時段?
Mom: Rush hour is the time of day that everyone is trying to get to work or school in the morning and going home later in the evening.
媽媽;尖峰時段就是一天中,早上大家都去上班上學,晚上都回家的時段。
Traffic is just a part of daily life!
交通是每日生活的一部分!
Child: Oh.
寶寶:哦。
Mom: We should be home in about 15 minutes.
媽媽:咱們再有15分鐘就該到家了。
It's just a few streets down,
其實就差幾條街了,
but the bumper-to-bumper traffic really makes a difference in time!
但是遇到這種排隊的情況,用時就會差好多!
Bumper是汽車的保險槓,bumper-to-bumper指車頭接著車尾,相當於中文的「排隊」。
Look, we're moving again.
看,咱們又動了。
We'll be there in no time!
咱們很快就到了!
更多交通相關親子英文,可以點擊下方連結,購買書籍,學習第22章 過馬路和第23章 坐汽車。
#2020生機大會#