Jessia 在北京学中文,她的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词,就会来请教她。今天是于苗要问的:山寨
YM: Jessica, 你看我这块儿手表怎么样?
Jessica:LV 的! Nice! Did you win the lottery?
YM:中彩票?我哪有那么好的运气!这表是山寨的!
Jessica: Ah? What do you mean?
YM: 山寨,就是, 啊……not a real LV,a fake one……
Jessica: Oh, I see! The watch is a knockoff! k-n-o-c-k-o-f-f, knockoff.
YM: 哦~~~原来山寨版的假名牌儿就是 knockoff.
Jessica: Right. 朋友都告诉我 Xiushui Market is the place to go for designer knockoffs.
YM: 没错,好多人都特爱去秀水买假名牌!对了,我带上这假LV,觉得自己特有明星范儿,别人也说我是山寨版的章子怡,那我就是 knockoff Zhang Ziyi 喽?
Jessica: (Hahaha...) No, in that case, you say you're a Zhang Ziyi lookalike!
YM: lookalike, look后面跟alike,就是山寨明星脸! 哦,Jessica, 我早就想告诉你, You're a Lady GaGa lookalike.
Jessica:Thanks! I'm flattered!
YM: 对了,待会儿我要去看话剧,叫作《阿凡提.达》。
Jessica: 阿凡达? Avatar, the movie?
YM: 不是,这个话剧要模仿Avatar,搞笑的,是山寨版的阿凡达。
Jessica: Oh! You mean a spoof. That means you will imitate the movie's style, but in a humorous or sarcastic way.
YM: 原来这种有点恶搞的山寨版艺术作品叫 spoof.
Jessica: That's right! s-p-o-o-f, spoof.
YM: 我来总结一下啊,山寨版的假名牌是knockoff; 山寨明星脸是lookalike; 山寨的艺术作品是spoof。
Jessica: That's true. 做形容词的时候,重音在后面,是 upset (emphasis on the second syllable), 指不高兴,但是做名词,重音在前面,upset (emphasis on the first syllable), it means an unexpected win.
Donny: We say they "run errands for others." Run is spelled r-u-n, errands is spelled e-r-r-a-n-d-s. The word "errand" means a short trip that's taken to finish a necessary task.
FF: Errand 差事,复数加s, errands, 所以 run errands for others 就是替别人“跑腿”的意思。
Donny: That's right. I guess you don't really like running errands for your boss, right?
FF: 是啊,我想做有意义的工作,可老板总让我干些没用的活儿。
Donny: She gives you a lot of busy work, I'm assuming? The phrase "busy work" refers to tasks that keep people busy but are not very useful.
FF: 哦! 原来,busy work 就是花时间,但没意义的工作。老板给我 busy work,并不是因为这些工作重要,而是因为她不愿意看我闲着!
Donny: That's right! Fangfang, a lot of people start as go-fors and work their way up. I'm sure you'll do just fine. Now let's see what you've learned today!