【英语多益通】最强老爸、蜘蛛人拍《沉默》游台湾

▲ 《沉默》。(图/CatchPlay提供)

文/Buffy Kao

金奖导演马丁.史柯西斯执导的《沉默》(Silence)近日在台上映,这部导演筹备30年的史诗巨作,内容讲述一名耶稣会传教在是在17世纪时被派到日本传教,却惨遭迫害并转而变成地下教徒片子,超强卡司包括「最强老爸」连恩尼逊(Liam Neeson)和「蜘蛛人安德鲁加菲(Andrew Garfield)。

特别的是,全片从文明村庄到原始荒野的景象皆是在台湾本岛拍摄,让观者感受台湾的自然之美,观光局也趁势制作一支30秒的台湾风情影片,并在纽约数家戏院播放,期待能提高台湾国际能见度。如果外国友人刚好问起,你也要能侃侃而谈,趁机介绍台湾!我们就来聊聊几个片中出现的场景吧!

1. Yangmingshan is a huge park that features scenic peaks in the top and lush subtropical rainforest in the lower areas. (阳明山国家公园占地广大,特色山峰美景以及其低海拔区的亚热带苍翠雨林景观。)

首先我们看到feature,这个单字可作动词或是名词,但拼法不变。名词指的是特色、特征,延伸出来动词的意思就是「以…为特色」,这可是多益测验重点单字,经常出现在介绍产品特征的情境中。

例句:The new Toyota Camry features an entirely computerized dashboard.(这部新的丰田凯美瑞车以全自动仪表板为特色。)

这例句中可明显看出feature作为动词用法,与本句用法相同。Feature story则是每期报纸、杂志会出现的主题文章中讨论当期的重点议题

Scenic「美景的」,这个形容词来自scene「(单一)景色」,也有「场景」之意,片语make/create a scene意思是说在公众场合大吵大闹。

Scenery同样是名词,却是不可数名词,是个集合名词,指的是一整片的风景。Peaks在这里指的是山峰,因为不只一座山,而是一串的山峰,所以用复数表达。值得注意的是,多益情境中peak hour指的是商业的旺季时期,off-peak hour则是淡季时期。因为山峰在山顶,所以peak有顶部的意思。

subtropical 亚热带的,这个单字有一个常见的字首sub指的是「次要的」,有时候看到不认识的单字,不要慌张,用简单的判断力,或许你就可以轻松猜出词意喔!像是subtitle,title指的是电影名称,subtitle在电影名称下面,也就是「字幕」啰!

2. Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located between Taipei and New Taipei City. (阳明山国家公园是台湾九座国家公园之一,位于台北新北市之间。)

名词location(位置)很常见,但如果要表达「位于...」时,就要用「locate + _____ (prep.)」。要注意的是,locate后面的介系词要由地点来取决,一般常见的地方介系词为in 、at、on,分别表达不同位置的概念。此句中强调位于两点间,所以用between,记得要先判断地点的型态再选正确的介系词喔!

3. The districts that house parts of the park grounds include Taipei’s Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei’s Wanli, Jinshan and Sanzhi districts. (阳明山国家公园占地横跨台北的北投、士林区以及新北市的万里、金山和三芝区。)

看到house,想必大家都很熟悉它的名词用法,但其实house的动词用法也很常见,表达「容纳」,与多益常见单字accommodate为同义词

例句:The museum houses an impressive collection of jewels.(这间博物馆收藏了令人惊艳的珠宝系列。)

4. Jinguashi, located in the Ruifang District of New Taipei City, is famous for its gold and copper mines. (位于新北市瑞芳区的金瓜石因其金铜矿区而闻名。)

如果说到要介绍景观,is famous for这个片语不能少,只是值得注意的是,后面的介系词有不同的变化,is famous for…后面接的是「有名的特色为何」,所以通常是一个景点或一种小吃等等;is famous as…后面要接的则是「作为什么样角色而得名」,如:The woman is famous as a rap singer.(这个女人是个有名的女饶舌歌手。)

5. Situated between the mountains and the coastline, Jinguashi boasts exceptionally beautiful scenery as well as an abundance of historical relics from the erstwhile mining days, making it an ideal tourist spot in northern Taiwan.(介于高山和海岸线之间,金瓜石以极致美景及丰富的采矿历史遗迹而出名,使它成为北台湾理想的游客景点。)

有时候多学一些同义字,适时变化,避免一直重复同样的单字,更可以展现你的英语实力!

像是situated与前面介绍的located,意思和用法都相同;boast这个动词意思为「以…为名」,与前面famous的片语用法意思类似,但这个单字更有骄傲之意,是个及物动词,因此后面无需加任何介系词。

例句:The product boasts its portability and lightweight.(这个产品以其可携带性和轻便性为人所知。)

最后,我们从exceptionally这个单字来学习如何从单字变化增加单字量。except:这个介系词很常见,表达「除了…之外」(不含本身)。exception (n.):「–tion」字尾通常表达名词,这里指的是例外。exceptional (adj.):延伸出表达杰出的,因为若不属于大众的标准,例外就变成杰出的。exceptionally (adv.):「-ly」则是杰出的副词变化。

多益模拟试题

M: I love to grill thick steak in the summer. My wife boasts that all the neighbors flock to our backyard when they see the first puffs of smoke in the evening. W: I also enjoy eating outside. I’ve got abundant vegetables in my garden, and I often use them to create new dishes.

Questions:1. What interest do they have in common?a. smokingb. gardeningc. cookingd. grilling

2. What does the man say about his wife?a. She grows vegetables for him to cook.b. She takes pride in her husband’s grilling that attracts people nearby.c. She creates new dishes.d. She doesn’t like her husband smoke in the garden.

解析:1. 两人的共同兴趣为何?从男的说I love to grill thick steak in the summer.(我喜欢夏天的时候煎牛排),而女的回应I often use them to create new dishes.(我常用它们来做新菜),可以猜测出来两人共同享受烹饪的乐趣。所以第一题要选(c) cooking,其他选项刚好有出现,但不是串连两人的共通点

2. 这个男的对太太的描述为何?选项要选(b) She takes pride in her husband’s grilling that attracts people nearby.(她很自豪丈夫的煎肉技术常常能吸引附近的人闻香而来。)因为对话中用boast表达他感到骄傲的事项。

W: I don't know. I think I like the JZ computer better. What do you think?M: Well, the JZ does have more memory, and it has a lot of extra features. But I think we get more for our money with the Zell.W: Yeah, the Zell is a lot cheaper. JZ and Zell are both good brands, so I'm OK with either one. It's your call.

Questions: 1. What does the man say about Zell?a. It’s too expensiveb. It has extra featuresc. It’s a better valued. It’s not a good brand

2. What does the woman suggest the man do?a. Buy the JZb. Make the decisionc. Buy the Zelld. Let her decide

解析:1. 男的怎么描述Zell?男的说But I think we get more for our money with the Zell. (花在Zell上的钱更值得),所以很明显的答案应该要选(c) It’s a better value.

2. 女的建议男的应该怎么办?女的后来说It's your call.(这是你的决定),因为女的后来说I'm OK with either one(不管选哪个我都可以接受),代表他没意见,所以主要由男的做决定即可,因此答案要选(b) Make the decision。

延伸阅读》和外国人沟通 总是听得多、讲得少该怎么办?