美语咖啡屋 Lesson 9: Brunch

Y: 大家好，我是杨晨。欢迎您光临美语咖啡屋。

J: Hello and welcome to American Cafe. My name's Jody! Hey Yang Chen I am having Brunch 1 this weekend with some friends. Do you have time to come join us?

Y: 好啊。不过这次可不会象上次那样一吃就吃四个钟头吧。

J: Oh, but that's the whole point of Brunch. After a long workweek, a nice long Brunch is the perfect end to the weekend! And as a matter of fact the meal is so long and so relaxing that it is a combination 2 of breakfast and lunch. It's spelled B-R-U-N-C-H.

Y: 你说的到是有道理。既然brunch是把早饭和午饭合并在一起，那么当然时间就应该长点了。不过说起来brunch这个词不好把它翻成中文呢。我看听众朋友喜欢怎么叫它就怎么叫它什么吧。或者干脆就用英文brunch。

J: Hey Yang Chen, remember we talked to Edina, the manager of the restaurant where we had Brunch last time.

Y: 没错，我们来听听Edina给brunch下的定义。

实录1 Edina：Brunch is a very special time in American life. It's a time where after a very busy workweek a family or friends have time to actually sit down and enjoy their meal.

Y: 下面我们就让讲一讲他们的顾客最喜欢点什么菜。

实录2 Edina：It's usually French toast, pancakes, omelets, lots of eggs.

Y: 你记不记得我那天就点了omelettes，煎蛋饼，非常好吃。French toast是一种炸面包片，也很受欢迎。哎，你会作吗？

J: Oh, I make a wonderful French toast.

Y:不过我很好奇，它为什么叫French toast，和法国有关吗？

J: I don't think so. We have French fries and French toast 跟法国没有什么关系。

Y: 你说人们是不是只有在周末才会吃brunch呢？

J: Most definitely 3! And it's usually on Sunday after, you know, you go out with your friends and party a little, have a couple drinks, listen to music.

Y:人们在周末都爱睡懒觉，早上一起来早饭的时间就已经过了，那么乾脆把两顿饭合在一起，尤其在星期天，很多人在星期六晚上已经狂欢了一整夜，星期天和朋友享受一顿美味的brunch，的确是很开心。

J: Remember we spoke 4 with a group of people who were out having Brunch after a fun night together on the town together.

Y: 我们上次碰到的一个女孩Kristine，她是这么说的：

实录3 Kristine: Brunch tradition is usually, I feel, the nice end of weekend to start off the new week. Nice comforting feeling. Usually very relaxed and laidback, late in the afternoon and really just a nice cap to the whole weekend and it is a chance to catch up on, on the week, I think, too.

Y: Kristine 提到了几个很好的词，比如"relaxed," "laidback" ，都有休息，放松的意思。

J: And brunch is definitely a laidback and relaxed meal, because, you know, if you go out drinking the night before you may be a little bit tired the next day.

Y：那人们在吃brunch的时候会喝酒吗？

J: Not everyone. But many people do. In fact, restaurants on their menu, include two particular drinks. You can choose to have either a Mimosas, a mixture of orange juice and champagne 5 or a Bloody 6 Mary, which is a little bit of vodka and tomato juice with spices 7.

Y: 对，可是喝了酒是不是更觉得没精神呢？

J: No, not really. It's just a small amount of alcohol 8 to take off the edge 9.

Y: 我曾经听过这么一个习惯用语，叫 "the hair of the dog that bit you."

J: Ha! I can't believe you know that! That is the perfect idiom. "The hair of the dog that bit you" is exactly right. Here's Edina to explain.

实录4 Edina: If you have a weekend to yourself most people go out. You go out Friday night or you go out Saturday night. You enjoy alcohol and you drink as much as you want. You wake up and still have the that sort of taste of the night before. So, something like a Mimosa will give you that sense back. That's what the hair of the dog, the dog is the night before, and the hair is the memories.

Y: 这个习惯用语很难解释。

J: "Hair of the dog that bit you" ... I'm having trouble to explain it too!

Y: 我想可不可以这么打个比方呢，就是说你星期六彻夜的狂欢，灌了一肚子烈性酒，就好像你被一只大狗咬了一口。到第二天早上还有点晕晕呼呼的，那么你呢就少喝一点点酒，好像这样能帮助你恢复正常。那么这一点点酒就好象你从狗身上拔的一根毛一样。

J: I think that's a good explanation. You just need a little hair though. Thanks for joining us on American Cafe!

Y: 好，我们今天的时间到了，欢迎您下次再到美语咖啡屋。再见!