【英語多益通】最強老爸、蜘蛛人拍《沉默》遊臺灣

▲ 《沉默》。(圖/CatchPlay提供)

文/Buffy Kao

金獎導演馬丁.史柯西斯執導的《沉默》(Silence)近日在臺上映,這部導演籌備30年的史詩鉅作,內容講述一名耶穌會傳教在是在17世紀時被派到日本傳教,卻慘遭迫害並轉而變成地下教徒片子,超強卡司包括「最強老爸」連恩尼遜(Liam Neeson)和「蜘蛛人安德魯加菲(Andrew Garfield)。

特別的是,全片從文明村莊到原始荒野的景象皆是在臺灣本島拍攝,讓觀者感受臺灣的自然之美,觀光局也趁勢製作一支30秒的臺灣風情影片,並在紐約數家戲院播放,期待能提高臺灣國際能見度。如果外國友人剛好問起,你也要能侃侃而談,趁機介紹臺灣!我們就來聊聊幾個片中出現的場景吧!

1. Yangmingshan is a huge park that features scenic peaks in the top and lush subtropical rainforest in the lower areas. (陽明山國家公園佔地廣大,特色山峰美景以及其低海拔區的亞熱帶蒼翠雨林景觀。)

首先我們看到feature,這個單字可作動詞或是名詞,但拼法不變。名詞指的是特色、特徵,延伸出來動詞的意思就是「以…爲特色」,這可是多益測驗重點單字,經常出現在介紹產品特徵的情境中。

例句:The new Toyota Camry features an entirely computerized dashboard.(這部新的豐田凱美瑞車以全自動儀表板爲特色。)

這例句中可明顯看出feature作爲動詞用法,與本句用法相同。Feature story則是每期報紙、雜誌會出現的主題文章中討論當期的重點議題

Scenic「美景的」,這個形容詞來自scene「(單一)景色」,也有「場景」之意,片語make/create a scene意思是說在公衆場合大吵大鬧。

Scenery同樣是名詞,卻是不可數名詞,是個集合名詞,指的是一整片的風景。Peaks在這裡指的是山峰,因爲不只一座山,而是一串的山峰,所以用複數表達。值得注意的是,多益情境中peak hour指的是商業的旺季時期,off-peak hour則是淡季時期。因爲山峰在山頂,所以peak有頂部的意思。

subtropical 亞熱帶的,這個單字有一個常見的字首sub指的是「次要的」,有時候看到不認識的單字,不要慌張,用簡單的判斷力,或許你就可以輕鬆猜出詞意喔!像是subtitle,title指的是電影名稱,subtitle在電影名稱下面,也就是「字幕」囉!

2. Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located between Taipei and New Taipei City. (陽明山國家公園是臺灣九座國家公園之一,位於臺北新北市之間。)

名詞location(位置)很常見,但如果要表達「位於...」時,就要用「locate + _____ (prep.)」。要注意的是,locate後面的介係詞要由地點來取決,一般常見的地方介係詞爲in 、at、on,分別表達不同位置的概念。此句中強調位於兩點間,所以用between,記得要先判斷地點的型態再選正確的介係詞喔!

3. The districts that house parts of the park grounds include Taipei’s Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei’s Wanli, Jinshan and Sanzhi districts. (陽明山國家公園佔地橫跨臺北的北投、士林區以及新北市的萬里、金山和三芝區。)

看到house,想必大家都很熟悉它的名詞用法,但其實house的動詞用法也很常見,表達「容納」,與多益常見單字accommodate爲同義詞

例句:The museum houses an impressive collection of jewels.(這間博物館收藏了令人驚豔的珠寶系列。)

4. Jinguashi, located in the Ruifang District of New Taipei City, is famous for its gold and copper mines. (位於新北市瑞芳區的金瓜石因其金銅礦區而聞名。)

如果說到要介紹景觀,is famous for這個片語不能少,只是值得注意的是,後面的介係詞有不同的變化,is famous for…後面接的是「有名的特色爲何」,所以通常是一個景點或一種小吃等等;is famous as…後面要接的則是「作爲什麼樣角色而得名」,如:The woman is famous as a rap singer.(這個女人是個有名的女饒舌歌手。)

5. Situated between the mountains and the coastline, Jinguashi boasts exceptionally beautiful scenery as well as an abundance of historical relics from the erstwhile mining days, making it an ideal tourist spot in northern Taiwan.(介於高山和海岸線之間,金瓜石以極致美景及豐富的採礦歷史遺蹟而出名,使它成爲北臺灣理想的遊客景點。)

有時候多學一些同義字,適時變化,避免一直重複同樣的單字,更可以展現你的英語實力!

像是situated與前面介紹的located,意思和用法都相同;boast這個動詞意思爲「以…爲名」,與前面famous的片語用法意思類似,但這個單字更有驕傲之意,是個及物動詞,因此後面無需加任何介係詞。

例句:The product boasts its portability and lightweight.(這個產品以其可攜帶性和輕便性爲人所知。)

最後,我們從exceptionally這個單字來學習如何從單字變化增加單字量。except:這個介係詞很常見,表達「除了…之外」(不含本身)。exception (n.):「–tion」字尾通常表達名詞,這裡指的是例外。exceptional (adj.):延伸出表達傑出的,因爲若不屬於大衆的標準,例外就變成傑出的。exceptionally (adv.):「-ly」則是傑出的副詞變化。

多益模擬試題

M: I love to grill thick steak in the summer. My wife boasts that all the neighbors flock to our backyard when they see the first puffs of smoke in the evening. W: I also enjoy eating outside. I’ve got abundant vegetables in my garden, and I often use them to create new dishes.

Questions:1. What interest do they have in common?a. smokingb. gardeningc. cookingd. grilling

2. What does the man say about his wife?a. She grows vegetables for him to cook.b. She takes pride in her husband’s grilling that attracts people nearby.c. She creates new dishes.d. She doesn’t like her husband smoke in the garden.

解析:1. 兩人的共同興趣爲何?從男的說I love to grill thick steak in the summer.(我喜歡夏天的時候煎牛排),而女的迴應I often use them to create new dishes.(我常用它們來做新菜),可以猜測出來兩人共同享受烹飪的樂趣。所以第一題要選(c) cooking,其他選項剛好有出現,但不是串連兩人的共通點

2. 這個男的對太太的描述爲何?選項要選(b) She takes pride in her husband’s grilling that attracts people nearby.(她很自豪丈夫的煎肉技術常常能吸引附近的人聞香而來。)因爲對話中用boast表達他感到驕傲的事項。

W: I don't know. I think I like the JZ computer better. What do you think?M: Well, the JZ does have more memory, and it has a lot of extra features. But I think we get more for our money with the Zell.W: Yeah, the Zell is a lot cheaper. JZ and Zell are both good brands, so I'm OK with either one. It's your call.

Questions: 1. What does the man say about Zell?a. It’s too expensiveb. It has extra featuresc. It’s a better valued. It’s not a good brand

2. What does the woman suggest the man do?a. Buy the JZb. Make the decisionc. Buy the Zelld. Let her decide

解析:1. 男的怎麼描述Zell?男的說But I think we get more for our money with the Zell. (花在Zell上的錢更值得),所以很明顯的答案應該要選(c) It’s a better value.

2. 女的建議男的應該怎麼辦?女的後來說It's your call.(這是你的決定),因爲女的後來說I'm OK with either one(不管選哪個我都可以接受),代表他沒意見,所以主要由男的做決定即可,因此答案要選(b) Make the decision。

延伸閱讀》和外國人溝通 總是聽得多、講得少該怎麼辦?