英语阅读-Swing a cat

学不好英语，不是你的错。因为学习内容太枯燥乏味！ 为什么不试试《看电影学英语》？

原文对白

1. Kiele, you live in Beijing and you graduated here. Have you ever thought of buying some property in the city?

2. Well, of course I’ve thought about it. But I’m not ready just yet. Prices, even for basic apartments, are at their very highest these days.

3. Sure. This is what I keep reading.

4. And this is the subject of very many conversations in China these days.

5. Too right! If I spend time in any restaurant and listen to people talking on the other tables, I hear one theme emerging all the time. Everyone is discussing numbers of square metres.

6. Oh, you really shouldn’t listen to other people’s conversations. Don’t you have any respect?

7. I can’t help it. Some people just talk especially loudly – especially when they are discussing their precious square metres.

8. Yes. It’s an important subject for many families and friends. The number of square metres your apartment has – or the total area of its floor-space can really affect your life.

9. And your status, it seems!

10. Isn’t it the same in England?

11. In some ways, yes. It’s everyone’s desire to buy a home, then to decorate it, increasing its market value. British people also spend a lot on money protecting their homes – with alarms, security and dogs!

12. So people in England discuss house prices but not square metres?

13. Yes. The exact space of land is less significant – especially outside the large cities. And anyway, we don’t usually think scientifically enough to mention such precise measurements.

14. What would you use instead?

15. Well, when I was describing the size of my university apartment, she asked me a rather surprising question.

16. What did she ask?

17. She asked “Could you swing a cat in it?”

18. What did she mean?

19. She was asking about the room’s area. Imagine standing in the centre of the room. Pick up a cat. Hold the end of its tail and spin your own body around and around. If there seems to be enough space to do this, then the room passes my grandmother’s test for area.

20. What did you tell her?

21. I took the telephone to the centre of the room and imagined it. I then told her that the cat’s head would probably hit one wall rather hard…

22. Don’t talk any more! What a horrible phrase. But quite a useful one. If you’re asking someone how big a room is, ask “could you swing a cat in it?”

23.That’s right.  

课程讲解

She asked “Could you swing a cat in it?”

她问：“Could you swing a cat in it?” ？

What did she mean?

什么意思啊？

She was asking about the room’s area. Imagine standing in the centre of the room. Pick up a cat. Hold the end of its tail and spin your own body around and around. If there seems to be enough space to do this, then the room passes my grandmother’s test for area.

她在问房间的大小哦。想象一下，站在屋子的中间，手上抓着一只猫猫，握住它尾巴的末端，然后开始转圈。如果有足够的空间来做这件事的话，那么这件屋子的大小就算通过了我祖母的考核。

What did you tell her?

那你和她怎么说的呢？

I took the telephone to the centre of the room and imagined it. I then told her that the cat’s head would probably hit one wall rather hard…

我拿着电话走到屋子中间想象了一下，然后告诉她，如果那样的话，猫猫的头可能会撞到墙上……

Don’t talk any more! What a horrible phrase. But quite a useful one. If you’re asking someone how big a room is, ask “could you swing a cat in it?”

别再说了哦！真是个可怕的短语。但是确实挺有用的。如果你要问一个人他的屋子有多大的话，说“could you swing a cat in it?” 就可以了吧。

That’s right.