「我的英听能力普通而已,如果电影没有中文字幕,我听得懂吗?」这是一定没问题的啦!没有把握的人,一开始可以先从爱情片下手,因为好莱坞的浪漫喜剧不仅有俊男美女,而且题材软性轻松,每每受到观众喜爱;这类讨论男女关系的电影,时空背景又多设定于现代,剧中人物的生活不至于与现实脱节太大,观众很容易就能产生共鸣。此外,有些对白场景与日常生活情境相关,值得学习者留意,比方说上餐馆点菜或与人辩论等等;甚至,透过剧情还能了解英美等国的风土文化,比如说婚礼或节庆的习俗。八Ο年代末的「当哈利碰上莎莉」(When Harry Met Sally)以及九Ο年代末的「电子情书」(You’ve Got Mail),里头就有好几段对白可以拿来学习。
「工欲善其事,必先利其器。」到能飞英语网(www.langfly.com)下载个能飞英语视听学习机-看电影学英语的专业工具,你也准备一本笔记簿,可以记下你在影片中发现的关键词汇或剧中人的名言妙语,长久下来,这本笔记簿就成了你个人整理的电影名句数据库。尤其老外说话或写作时,总喜欢引经据典,同样的一句话,如果表明是出自于某某古人或某某电影,马上就显得很有水准的样子。比方说在「乱世佳人」(Gone with the Wind)一片中,逞强的郝思嘉即使到最后夫离子亡,她还是有办法说“Tomorrow is anotherday.”,现在这句台词已经成了大家耳熟能详的话,别人失意沮丧的时候,你就可以说,It’s not the end of the world. Just like Scarlett O’Hara said,“Tomorrow is another day.”,意思是「地球不会因此而停止转动,就像郝思嘉说的,『明天又是新的开』。」
“… What’s so hard about finding an apartment? What you do is you read the obituary column. You find out who died, go to the building and tip the doorman. What they could do to make it easier is combine the obituaries with the real estate section. Then you have, “Mr. Klein died today, leaving a wife, two children and a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a wood burning fireplace.”
「英文学了这么多年,背也背过了,考也考过了,可是一碰到真正要开口说英语的机会,总是脑筋一片空白,不晓得那些句型都跑到哪儿去了?」原因无他,光是背诵课本那种A跟B硬梆梆的对话,当然没用喽!举例来说,一般的会话课本中,必定会学到上馆子点菜,课本里的例句似乎永远只有“How would you like your steak?” “Well done, please.”之类的答案,这种标准对话在真实生活中好像不太够用,万一侍者多问你一句,是不是就慌了呢?莎莉可不一样,从前菜到甜点样样讲求完美精准,哈利称她是great orderer,现在就来学学莎莉的「龟毛」点菜法:
Waitress: What can I get you?
Harry: I’ll have a number 3.
Sally: I’d like the chef’s salad, please, with the oil and vinegar on the side, and the apple pie.
…
Sally: … I’d like the pie heated, and I want the ice cream on the side. And I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla, if you have it. If not, then no ice cream, just whipped cream, but only if it’s real. If it’s out of a can, then nothing.
Waitress: Not even the pie?
Sally: No, just the pie, but then not heated.
请注意这家餐厅不过是公路旁卖简餐的diner,哈利用的是「麦当劳式」的点法「3 号餐」,简单了事,而看莎莉点菜简直太神奇了,虽然点的是沙拉,可是橄榄油及醋汁要放在旁边,不能淋上去喔!说到甜点更是精采,“à la mode”源自法文,就是在甜点上面加一球冰淇淋,莎莉特别强调如果有冰淇淋,苹果派就要加热,冰淇淋要放在旁边,而且只要草莓口味,不然就放whipped cream(鲜奶油)就好,不过鲜奶油要现打的,罐装挤出来的她可不要。哇!原来点餐也可以这么灵活,习惯背课本的人要注意了,赶快丢掉那种制式的对话吧!
“I have it all figured out. It’s an 18-hour trip which breaks down into 6 shifts of three hours each or alternatively we could break it down by mileage.”