十几个小时飞行的劳顿,再加上时差的问题,我都分不清今天到底是几号了,再看看手表上的时间,还没调过来呢。朋友们,你们能告诉我今天的时间吗?呵呵,还是回家再说吧,反正现在是Steve在开车,一切都交给他了,我先靠在座位上打个盹儿休息一下。
What's the date today? 今天是几号?
还可以这样问日期:
·Could you please tell me the date? 你能告诉我日期吗?
·What day is it? 今天星期几?
看看日历才知道呢:
·Let me check my calendar. 让我看看日历啊。
想一想啊:
·Today?It's Sunday. 今天?是星期天。
calendar['kælɪndə(r)] n. 日历
Today is Sunday, October 3rd. 今天是星期天,10月3号。
以下几种说法有点儿像绕口令:
·The date is Sunday, October 3rd. 日期是10月3号,星期天。
·The date today is October 3rd, and it's a Sunday. 今天的日期是10月3号,还是星期天呢。
·It's Sunday, October 3rd today. 今天是星期天,10月3号。
别人告诉你了,该表达谢意:
·Okay, thank you. 好的,谢谢你。
What time is it? 现在几点了?
询问别人时间:
·Could I have the time? 能告诉我时间吗?
·Do you know what time it is? 你知道现在是几点了吗?
·Excuse me, what's the time? 打扰一下,现在几点了?
·May I ask the time? 我可以问一下时间吗?
对方会详细地告诉你:
·My watch says it's a little past 4. But it tends to be slow. 我手表上是四点多一点,不过手表慢了。
It's 4:15. 现在是四点一刻。
同一个时间的不同表达:
·The time is a quarter after 4. 时间是四点一刻。
·It's 15 minutes after 4. 现在是四点一刻。
·It's a little past 4 o'clock. 现在是四点过一点。
直接说声谢谢:
·Thank you very much. 多谢你啊。
quarter['kwɔːtə(r)] n. 一刻钟,四分之一
The clock is three minutes slow. 这表慢了3分钟。
手表上的时间对不对:
·The clock is three minutes behind. 这表慢了3分钟。
·The clock is three minutes fast. 这表快了3分钟。
·My watch always keeps good time. 我的表一向很准的。
我还不知道呢,多谢了:
·Thanks for telling me. 谢谢你告诉我。
keep good time (钟、表)走得准
I work at 5. 我五点上班。
言外之意就是让对方提醒你了:
·I have to go to work at 5 o'clock. 我五点钟就得去上班了。
·My shift starts at 5 today. 我今天是五点开始轮班。
·I need to be at work by 5. 我五点钟就要工作了。
给予建议:
·You should set an alarm on your phone so you can leave on time. 你应该在手机上定一下闹钟,这样你才能准时走。
shift[ʃɪft] n. 轮班,轮班工作时间
set an alarm 定闹钟
I have classes tomorrow, but they end at noon. 我明天有课,不过中午就结束了。
同样的表达:
·My classes end at noon tomorrow. 我明天的课中午就结束了。
·I have some classes tomorrow. They're over at noon, though. 我明天有课,不过中午就结束了。
那还有时间做其他的事:
·We should do something afterwards. 那之后我们该做些事情啊。
还有半天自由支配的时间,还不错:
·That doesn't sound too bad. 那听起来还不是太坏。
D=Debra=黛布拉 K=Kevin=凯文
D: Where were you yesterday, man?
D: 伙计,你昨天在哪儿呢?
K: What do you mean?
K: 你什么意思?
D: I thought we were coming over at 4 o'clock.
D: 我原以为我们4点钟就该过来了。
K: Wait, what day is it?I thought it was Friday?
K: 等等,今天星期几啊?我还以为是星期五呢?
D: Nah, it's Saturday. Do you have your days mixed up?
D: 不是,是星期六。你把日期搞混了吧?
K: Yeah, I guess so. I'm really sorry I never came over.
K: 哦,我想是的。真是对不起啊,我没有过来。
D: It's okay. We can always hang out some other time.
D: 没关系啦,我们改天可以出去逛的。
K: Sure. I just cancelled that doctor's appointment I had on the 5th. Do you want to hang out then?
K: 当然了,我刚取消了5号和医生的预约,到时候你想出去逛逛吗?
D: Sure, that works for me.
D: 好啊,那个时间适合我。
K: Alright. Sorry for not showing up yesterday.
K: 好的。不好意思啊,昨天没有露面。
D: Don't worry about it. See you later.
D: 别放在心上。再见。
come over 过来,顺便来访
mix up 混淆
some other time 改天,其他时间
appointment[ə'pɔɪntmənt] n. 约定,预约
在美国人看来,时间就好像一条奔腾不息的河流,时间一旦流逝便无法挽回,所以美国人格外珍惜时间。在美国大城市繁华的街道上,你很难看到悠闲自在行走的人。他们总是急匆匆地赶往某个地方办理某件事情,用always on the run(总是不停地奔忙)来形容他们再确切不过了。由于美国人始终处于奔忙之中,结果也就养成了他们的时间紧张意识,而这种紧张意识带给他们的最大好处就是做事效率高。办事有计划是美国人又一个普遍的社会习惯。诸如schedule(时间表)和agenda(议事日程)这样的词语,在美国人的生活中用得很广泛。由于美国人办事喜欢计划,所以他们做任何事情都要严格遵守日程安排。守时是美国人另一个普遍的社会习惯。在美国人看来,准时赴约是理所应当的,姗姗来迟则是失礼的。无论是私人间的约会还是公众集会,都要明确几点几分开始,如果谁迟到了,便会被认为是懒散的不负责任的人,从而失去别人的信任。