Yang Li: Hello and welcome to On the Town from BBC Learning English. Joining me now is my colleague William Kremer. Hi Will.
William: Hi Li. Earlier in the office I heard you were discussing with colleagues some new ideas for celebrating Mother's Day, right?
Yang Li: That's right, because it's Mother's Day this Sunday in the UK.
William: So what are the new ideas?
Yang Li: You'd surprised at how creative and imaginative they are. Stephen told me that he's thinking of a modern gadget for his mother.
Willliam: A gadget... what could that be?
Insert
I think possibly an add-on to last year, for her birthday, I bought her an iPod because she loves walking and she loves having her music with her. So I think the follow up might be an iPod dock so that she can have her music and she can put it on speaker in the living room and be happy listening to whatever cheesy music she has at the moment.
Stephen is thinking about getting his mum an iPod dock
William: Well that's cool, he's talking about buying his mother an iPod dock as an add-on to last year's iPod.
Yang Li: iPod 是便携式多媒体播放器，而 iPod dock 就是机座音响，可以把播放器同扩音喇叭连接起来。An add-on 意思是附加的东西。Natalie, another colleague, is also keen to try something new this year to send to her mother.
Insert
I've heard about a card that you get flowers inside, so actually your mum gets both at the same time, so I might try that.
I've heard about a card that you get flowers inside, so actually your mum gets both at the same time.
Natalie
William: A card with flowers in it. Hmm... I hope she is talking about real flowers rather than artificial ones.
Yang Li: What are you talking about Will? Of course it'll be real flowers just like the bunch on your desk at the moment.
William: But is anyone just sending a card, this year, to their mother?
Yang Li: Well one of our colleagues is making a hand-drawn card 亲手绘制一个卡片 for mother's day. But can you guess who that is?
William: No... maybe Steve?
Yang Li: Yes. Well done Will, it is Steve.
Insert
I thought I'd do something a bit different – I'd draw her a Mother's Day card. I just wanted to put a personal touch on my card which maybe has a joke that we've shared in the past. I'll phone her up as well and say "Happy Mother's Day" but really I want to do something a bit creative to show what she means to me.
William: Well, that is something special isn't it? A hand-drawn card with a shared joke, that's a lovely personal touch.
I want to do something a bit creative to show what she means to me.
Steve
Yang Li: A shared joke 可以分享的笑话 a personal touch 带有个性特点的。
William: Steve is also going to phone his mum up to say "Happy Mother's Day".
Yang Li: To phone someone up 就是主动给某人打电话的意思。Val's mother is far away in Brazil, but she told me she knew exactly what she would do if her mother was here in London.
Insert
Maybe the ideal Mother's Day afternoon with her and her friends would be maybe take her out to an English tearoom and have like tea and cakes and then go to a matinée session of a West End show.
William: Wow, that sounds really classy! English afternoon tea to be followed by a West End matinée.
Yang Li: Matinée 是法语词，意思是下午场的表演。
William: Now, I always think that choosing the right present for someone is a true art and a lot comes from knowing your mum's taste. We spoke to three Londoners earlier on and we found out what they did to make their mothers happy.
Yang Li: 请注意听以下几个人是以什么样的礼物让自己的母亲特别高兴的？
Insert
I've bought her a really nice photo frame and I've put a picture of me and her in it that was taken on her birthday that she really likes.
I did something really special last year. I got my mum a card and there's a song by Cat Stevens called Wild World and I wrote all the lyrics to the song on the envelope and she cried. It was very nice and I don't really know how to top that this year so I'll have to think of something extra, extra special.
I sent my Dad an e-card for his birthday but it didn't feel as personal as a hand-written card but I might do it for my mum.
William: So did you get that? What was it that they did to make their mothers happy?
I've bought her a really nice photo frame and I've put a picture of me and her in it.
Londoner
Yang Li: The first woman said that she sent a nice photo frame to her mum 一个精美的相片镜框。The second girl said that she wrote all the lyrics of a song on the envelope, and that made her mother very happy, 最后一个人说的是电子卡 e-card.
William: All this talk about Mother's Day is making me wonder what you're going to do for your mum Li?
What are you giving your mother for Mother's Day?
Yang Li: As you know Mother's Day in China is slightly later so I have more time to think about that. How about you?
William: I don't have very much time at all! I need to go and get some flowers I think. I don't know if I'm up to a hand-drawn card. I might have to buy a card.
Yang Li: You have only two days to do that. Well, 我想提醒大家，英国的母亲节是4月3日，中国的母亲节是5月8日。
William: Don't forget to call her up and say "Happy Mother's Day". Bye from both of us.
Yang Li: Bye.
发表于 2011-6-26 22:34
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