美語情景對話 第219期:英式橄欖球 Rugby
Todd: Hey, Shawn you're a big guy.
託德：嗨，肖恩，你真是人高馬大。Shawn: Thank you.
肖恩：謝謝你。Todd: Do you play rugby?
託德：你打英式橄欖球嗎？
Shawn: I did in the past.
肖恩：我過去打。Todd: OK, how does rugby work?
託德：嗯，英式橄欖球怎麼玩？Shawn: It's a bit like American football and soccer put together. It's, the ball's about the size of an American football, but the game, in American football you pass forward, but in rugby you pass backwards. Games are a bit shorter. Their 80 minutes long. Less stopages than American football, but like soccer it's continuous play, how-should-I-say, it's a physically demanding sport, probably the one of the most physically demanding sports in the world.
肖恩：有點像美國的橄欖球和足球結合起來的一項運動。英式橄欖球的大小和美國的橄欖球差不多，但是在美國的橄欖球比賽中，你要傳球給前鋒，但是在英式橄欖球中，你要傳球給後衛。比賽時間也要略短一些。時間爲80分鐘。比賽中斷也比美式橄欖球要少，而是像足球一樣要連續比賽，要怎麼說呢，橄欖球是一項需要體力的運動，可能是世界上最需要體力的運動之一。Todd: OK, so you say it's physically demanding. How is it physically demanding?
託德：好的，你說橄欖球運動要求體力。是怎麼要求體力的呢？Shawn: You have to be extremely strong, but at the same time, you have to have, wha-chu-call, an extreme line on stamina to play this sport. Without stamina, you can not continue in this sport.
肖恩：你一定要非常強壯，但同時要進行這項運動你還比較有極強的耐力。如果沒有耐力，你是不能進行這項運動的。Todd: OK, just some people may not know, what is stamina?
託德：嗯，可能有些人並不清楚，什麼是耐力？Shawn: You have to be able to run for 80 minutes in the game. Besides the game rugby has a bit of it's own culture. A bit of a cult in the world. It's a very small following but people do follow it, follow it very devoutly, very seriously, and it, how-should-I-say, I can honestly say rugby has been a big part in changing me into the person that I am presently.
肖恩：你必須要在比賽中奔跑80分鐘。除了比賽以外，英式橄欖球還有一些自己的文化。在世界上有自己的追隨者。有一小部分羣體真心熱衷於這項運動，很虔誠地追隨這項運動，非常認真地看待它，要怎麼說呢，說實話，英式橄欖球在將我變成現在的爲人上起了極大的作用。Todd: Uh-huh. How so?
託德：啊哈。怎麼說呢？Shawn: Sort of, how I can develop my leadership skills, my social skills, and how to work as a team player, in such a, how-should-I-say, in that time when you do play rugby, it's so aggressive, and it teaches you how to be a leader in tight situations, and it shows how you can truly push yourself to the limit, and not go, how-should-I-say, not go over the limit.
肖恩：有點像，它幫助我開發我的領導能力、社交能力，也告訴我如何與團隊合作，怎麼說呢，就像我們在打英式橄欖球的時候，是極具進攻性的，但是它教會了我如何在緊張的情況下做一個領導者，也讓你知道如何把自己推到極限，而不越過爲個極點。
重點講解：
1. in the past
在過去（通常用於一般過去式和現在完成時）；
eg. He could remember events far back in the past.
他能記得很早以前的事情。
eg. I've been there many times in the past.
我從前去過那兒很多次。
eg. She treats him as if he were a stranger. Nobody can see that they were best friends in the past.
她待他如陌生人。誰也看不出他們曾經是朋友。
2. I can honestly say
口語常用，表示“老實說；我可以誠實的說”；
eg. I can honestly say it was the greatest thrill I have ever experienced.
老實說,這是我所經歷過的最激動人心的事.
eg. I can honestly say that I am a changed man.
老實說我已經完全改過自新了。
eg. I can honestly say that I am looking very forward to meeting him in person one day.
坦白的說，我很希望能夠以個人身份見到他。
