在前面的活动中,我们发现第3条与第4条租房广告中的房子很适合高斌。于是,他先打了电话去问房东4号房的具体情况,但发现已经租给别人了。接下来,他又打电话问3号房的情况。想听听他与房东的对话吗?请听以下录音。
听一听对话的开始部分,看一看以下的叙述,它们是正确的吗?如果听到Yes, of course. Go ahead. ,请先把录音暂停。
在正确的叙述旁打钩。
Track 001
1 The person making the call speaks first.
2 The person answering the call speaks first.
3 The person answering the call asks what the caller wants.
4 The person answering the call simply states his / her name and / or telephone number.
5 The person making the call states his / her business.
6 The person making the call waits for the other person to ask him / her what he / she wants.
你觉得在电话中开始一个对话,用英文讲和用中文讲有什么差别呢?把你想到的差别之处写在下面。
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
正确的叙述是2,4,5。
习惯讲中文的人,和英文母语人士通电话时,要注意一些文化上的差异。中文在接电话的时候会说“喂”,英文母语人士则会说“Hello”,但有时还会接着报上自己的名字、电话号码、公司名称等。像在这段会话中,接电话的人(房东先生)就说了“Hello”,并报上自己的电话号码3075219。接下来,打电话的人才会提出自己的问题或表明自己打电话的理由。举例来说,在这段对话中,高斌说:“I'm calling about the advertisement in the newspaper.”(我打电话是要问报纸上租房广告的事情)。而其他人则有可能问:“Is this Mary?”(是玛丽吗?)或“Could I speak to Mary?”(可以请玛丽来听电话吗?)
要注意英语国家与中国打电话习惯的差异,在英语国家,接电话的人会希望你开门见山地说明打电话的理由,而不是像在中国习惯性地先讲一些寒暄的话。
打电话给房东前,高斌列了一个清单,记下他想问房东的信息。因为他平常不是很习惯用英语打电话,他想先做好准备,所以在打电话前就先练习把所有问题读出来。以下是他列的清单,读一读,想想看,如果你想了解这些信息,会问哪些问题呢?
想了解这些信息,该问什么问题?
1 sort of house
What sort of house is it?
2 age of house
__________________________
3 size of house
__________________________
4 other people living there
__________________________
5 the facilities
__________________________
6 the furniture
__________________________
7 facilities in the area
__________________________
8 distance from city centre
__________________________
9 Chinese shops or restaurants nearby
__________________________
10 phone bill included in rent or not
__________________________
11 the exact location
__________________________
参考答案:
2 How old is the house?
3 What size is the house? / How big is the house? / How many rooms does the house have?
4 Are there any other people living in the house? / Who else lives in the house?
5 What are the facilities in the house? / What facilities are there? / What are the facilities like?
6 What furniture is provided in the house? / What furniture is there?
7 What about the facilities in the local area? / What are the local facilities like?
8 Is the house far from the city centre / the place I work at? / How far is it from the city centre / the place I work at?
9 Are there any Chinese shops or restaurants nearby?
10 Is phone bill included in the rent?
11 What is the exact location of the house? / Where exactly is the house?
以上只是参考答案,你也可以写下不一样的句子。你可能会发现这些解答中经常用到这个句型:What is / are ________________ like? (……是什么样子?)这个句型非常实用。
社交英语无师自通,换你说说看
听录音中的对话,写下高斌问的问题,并练习把这些问题读出来。
听录音,根据括号中的提示写出高斌问的关于房子的问题。
Track 001
1 (sort of house)
_________________________________
2 (furniture)
_________________________________
3 (kitchen)
_________________________________
4 (television)
_________________________________
5 (telephone)
_________________________________
6 (water, gas, electricity)
_________________________________
7 (direct bus)
_________________________________
8 (see the house)
_________________________________
答案:
1 What sort of house is it?
2 Are the rooms fully furnished?
3 And what about the kitchen?
4 Is there a television in the house?
5 And what about a telephone?
6 Are water, gas and electricity included in the rent?
7 Is there a direct bus from the house?
8 Could I come and see the house this afternoon?
现在把高斌问的问题和我们在上一个活动中写下的问题比较一下,是不是不太一样呢?这是因为高斌在问问题的时候,多少会被对方所说的话影响。例如高斌会问:“What about a telephone?”(那电话呢?),而不是问:“Is there a telephone in the house?”(房子里有电话吗?),因为对方已经可以从对话中判断他问的是房子的事,并且要问房子里有哪些东西,所以高斌就不需要再重复问一次“房子里有……吗?”。语言使用真是很灵活吧。
社交英语无师自通,换你说说看
再次听录音,并重复高斌问的问题。
Track 001
听完整段对话,记录下和房子相关的信息,完成以下表格。
听录音,完成表格。
Track 001
The house is a terraced house.
It has three floors with eight rooms.
Seven people share the house.
The rooms are furnished with a single bed, a wardrobe, a desk, a chair and a bookcase.
The kitchen has most cooking utensils except a Chinese wok.
The facilities in the living room include a TV set and a telephone.
There is a Chinese supermarket nearby.
The house is about half-an-hour walk from the place Gao Bin works at.
Gao Bin can take Bus 57 to his work place.
The housing rent includes water, gas and electricity bills.
The phone bill is not included in the rent.
Gao Bin is going to see the house at two o'clock in the afternoon.