生活英语对话 Episode 82: A tour of the flat

本单元是关于看公寓的对话。

Helen: So that's Tim's room, the bathroom's over there, and your bedroom is here. It's got a desk and chair and all that, so you shouldn't need any more furniture.
Khalid: Ok, that looks ok...erm, what do you guys do about housework?
Alice: Everybody kind of chips in, don't they Tim?
Tim: Yes, Alice, we all do our bit.
Alice: We keep all the cleaning stuff in this cupboard here.
Khalid: Ok, I see.
Helen: So, what do you think?
Khalid: It's a very nice room, and you guys are great and everything, but I have to say, I think it's a little bit pricey...I wonder if it would be possible to reduce the rent a little bit?
Helen: Well, I'm afraid it isn't up to me Khalid, I'll have to ask my dad about that.


Vocabulary: 字汇

everybody chips in 大伙一起做
everybody helps or contributes to doing a task

we all do our bit 每个人都尽本分
we all contribute fairly to doing a task

pricey 昂贵
expensive

I'm afraid
I regret to say/ I'm sorry to say (a polite expression used when saying 'no')

It isn't up to me
It's not my choice. I can't/don't decide this

本单元的语言点是描述相似的事物， 有时我们不想把事情描写的很具体或很难做到，我们用些特别的语言来表达，请看下面的解释和例句。

Vague language

Background: 背景
We use vague language when we do not want to be (or cannot be) exact, accurate and precise.

Talking about similarities:描述相似的事物
There are some phrases that are useful when we want to say that something is similar to something else, but it is not exactly the same. We often use these phrases because we can't find the exact word that we need.

kind of and sort of:
We can use these phrases before nouns and adjectives:

A paramedic is a kind of doctor, or perhaps it is a sort of nurse. I'm not sure, but they help injured people.
I'm kind of happy that school has finished, but I'll miss my friends.

We can also use kind of and sort of before 'like' or 'similar to':

Australian Rules Football is kind of like soccer and rugby combined.
New Zealand is sort of similar to Britain.

-ish:
We can add 'ish' to adjectives and numbers to mean 'approximately'.

How old is he? I'm not sure, perhaps fortyish.
And he's got blueish eyes, or are they greenish? I'm not so sure.

What's the word?记不得的东西
All of the following words can be used to represent a noun when we do not know the real word or when we can't remember it.

You need one of those... oh, you know, you need a whatsit to open that bottle.
You mean a corkscrew?
That't it!

Thingummy can be used to mean someone's name.
Have you seen, erm, thingummy, you know, the guy with glasses?

Stuff and thing:东西 物品

Thing refers to single countable 1 objects (e.g. a car, a mouse)
Things refers to plural 2 countable objects (e.g. clothes, spiders, pens)
Stuff refers to uncountable objects (e.g. oil, information) or a collection of countable objects (like things) e.g. a lot of clothes, shopping items.

We often use these words when both the speaker and the listener know which objects are being discussed, or when we don't know the exact word, or even when there isn't an exact word.

Where do you keep all the cleaning stuff?
'the cleaning stuff' means all the different things that are used to clean a house: mops, brushes, creams and polishes

I can't clean your bedroom floor, there's loads of stuff/things all over it.
'loads of stuff/things' probably means toys, socks, papers etc.

I need a thing to stop my washing machine from leaking, you know, a round rubber thing that goes on the main pipe.


Approximately 大约

All of the following phrases have a similar meaning to 'approximately' but they are less formal.

about: It'll take you about 20 minutes to drive there.
roughly: There were roughly 50 people at the lecture.
more or less: There's twenty minutes till the end of the game, more or less.


Further stuff: 更多的东西

When there are more examples that you can give, but you don't need to, you can use 'etcetera' and 'and all that sort of thing'. It is possible to shorten 3 'and all that sort of thing' to 'and all that'.

We had a great time in Egypt. We saw the Nile, Cairo, the pyramids etcetera.
In my office job, I have to do the filing, manage the scheduling, answer the phones and all that sort of thing.
David's a great team captain. He's decisive 4, determined 5 and all that.