英语PK台 第762期:老外解锁中国共享单车

 Dialogue 1

Jingjing: Hi Mark, are you ready to head out?
京晶：嗨，马克，准备好出门了吗？
David: Actually, I'm not Mark. I'm his twin brother, David.
大卫：其实我不是马克。我是他的孪生兄弟大卫。
Jingjing: What?! I know it's you, Mark. You're just putting me on.
京晶：什么？！马克，我知道是你。你只是在让我上当。
David: No, really. I can show you my passport later.
大卫：不，是真的。我一会儿可以让你看我的护照。
Jingjing: This is some kind of weird 1 joke. I'm sure of it.
京晶：这是一个好奇怪的笑话。我肯定。
David: Well, Mark told me you planned to go out for a long walk with him. A work thing came up; and, he couldn't get out of it. So, since I'm visiting for a few days, I thought I'd take his place.
大卫：呃，马克告诉我你打算和他一起出去散个长步。可是他突然来了工作; 又无法摆脱。所以，正好我来这边拜访几天，我想可以代替他吧。
Jingjing: Uh, ok... Do you know much about Beijing?
京晶：呃，好的......你对北京了解多吗？
David: Mark's told me a few things; and I'm a history buff. But I don't know how to get around.
大卫：马克告诉我一些了;而且我是历史迷。但我不知道怎么能到处逛逛。
Jingjing: I can help with that. The cool thing about Beijing is that there are long parks all over the city. So, it's possible to walk for a whole day, shaded by big trees almost all the time.
京晶：我可以帮忙。北京最酷的事情是整个城市到处都有很长的公园。所以，可以在大树的绿荫下走上一整天。
David: And, today, we're going to put that to the test, isn't that so?
大卫：所以，今天我们要试一试，对吗？
Jingjing: That's right. I thought we'd start out on yellow bikes, then go by foot once we get to a park, and then pick up bikes any time our feet get tired.
京晶：没错。我想可以先骑上黄色自行车，到达公园后再走路，然后在我们的脚走累的时候随时再骑上自行车。
David: Yellow bikes? What are those?
大卫：黄色自行车？是什么？
Jingjing: They're shared bicycles. Haven't you seen them all over the city?
京晶：共享单车。你没有在城市各处看到过它们吗？
David: I've seen tons of bikes. Come to think of it, a lot of them were yellow.
大卫：我见过很多自行车。仔细想想，很多都是黄色的。
Jingjing: Those are bikes anyone can rent. One of the largest companies paints their bikes yellow, and calls them 小黄车(xi?ohuángchē).
京晶：这些是人人可租用的自行车。其中一家最大的公司将他们的自行车涂成黄色，并称它为小黄车
David: That's a catchy 2 name. I know 小黄 is a colloquialism 3 for taxicab. And 小黄人 refers to those ubiquitous minions 4 from the Despicable Me movies.
大卫：这真是一个吸引人的名字。我知道小黄是出租车的俗语。小黄人指的是电影“神偷奶爸”里面无处不在的小人儿。
Jingjing: I see you share Mark's way of thinking. Let's get going now, shall we?
京晶：我觉得你跟马克的思维方式很像。那我们现在准备出发吧，好吗？
New words : 习语短语
twin brother 孪生兄弟
brother born on the same day (identical twin if they look the same, fraternal twin if they look different)
putting me on 让我上当
(phrasal verb) joking, trying to get someone to believe something unlikely/silly
a work thing 工作的事
something to do at work
put that to the test 试验
apply something, see if it's true in real life
colloquialism 俗语
a common phrase with a meaning that can't be known from the formal definition of the words (i.e. a real job—professional and full-time 5 employment; blue collar jobs—employment requiring physical labor 6 but not much education; on the job—employment as a police officer)
ubiquitous 无处不在
seen everywhere, almost always the same (i.e. Starbucks is ubiquitous worldwide)
Dialogue 2
Jingjing: Ok, here are several bikes. Let's look them over to see which ones are in the best condition.
京晶：好，这里有几辆自行车。让我们看看哪些单车是状况最好的。
David: These two are in tip top shape. How do you actually rent it?
大卫：这两个都最好的。你怎么租呢？
Jingjing: That's easy, you just scan the QR code, and pay the fee with your phone.
京晶：很简单，您只需扫描二维码，然后用手机支付费用。
David: Oh, the thing is, I haven't set up any online payments through my phone.
大卫：哦，问题是，我没有通过手机设置任何在线支付。
Jingjing: No problem. I can rent them both.
京晶：没问题。我可以租两个。
David: Wow, the bike feels a little clunky, but rides pretty smoothly 7.
大卫：哇，自行车感觉有点笨重，但骑得却很顺。
Jingjing: Yep. The best thing is, we can ditch these anywhere and rent other ones along the way.
京晶：是的。最棒的是，我们可以在任何地方抛下这些单车，然后在沿途再租别的单车。
Jingjing: Ok, Mark—I mean, David—: There's a park up ahead. So, let's pull up to the curb 8 and lock them up.
京晶：好的，马克 - 我的意思是，大卫 ，前面有一个公园。所以我们把它们停在路边然后锁起来吧。
David: Great. So, I just trigger this lock on the back wheel?
大卫：好的。那么，我只是需要在后轮上锁起这个锁？
Jingjing: That's all you have to do. This park goes on for a few kilometers. We could get to the other end, and then look for some place to have lunch.
京晶：这就是所有你需要做的了（就这么做）。这个公园有几公里长。我们去可以到另一头，然后找地方吃午饭。
David: Is it free to enter the park?
大卫：进入公园是免费的吗？
Jingjing: Yes, this one is. There's a gate just so cars don't go in and so that the park can be closed at night. Other parks in Beijing cost a few yuan, usually less than 10 unless they're historic sites.
京晶：对，这个是。这有一个门，汽车不能进，所以公园可以在晚上关闭。北京的其他公园要花费几块钱，通常不到10元，除非它们是历史遗迹。
David: That's a good deal. Hey, if there's something I can pay for with cash, let me take care of it, since I can't pay for stuff with my phone.
大卫：真划算。嘿，如果有什么可以用现金支付的让我来吧，因为我不能用手机支付买东西。
Jingjing: Both you and Mark are stuck in the 20th century. Don't worry about it.Well, we picked a fine day for a walk.
京晶：你和马克都停留了在20世纪了。你不用管了。你看，我们选择了多美好的一天来散步。
New words : 习语短语
in tip top shape 状态很好
in excellent condition (can be used for an object or a person)
the thing is... 问题是
the problem is..., the interesting feature is..., the main consideration is...
clunky 笨重
heavy, hard to move
ditch 抛弃 get rid of, discard (usually used for an object but can be used for a person, i.e. We ditched him at the cinema.)
curb 路边，马路牙子
the raised edge of a sidewalk
trigger 触发
start something big by making a small action
stuck in 停留在
still living as though it were