日常會話：Yard Work

By Charlie Morgan

朱紅 譯注

In Canada, people love Friday because most people don’t work on Saturday. But, for people with a yard, they can’t relax all the time, because having a yard is a lot of work. There are many chores to do. Have you mowed the lawn before? Do you think you’d like it? Or, do you need more time for yourself?

A: T.G.I.F.! Are you looking forward to the weekend?

B: Not really. I have to do a lot of yard work.

A: For instance?

B: Well, I’ve got to mow the lawn. The grass is getting long. I’ll do that on Saturday. It’s probably not going to rain on Friday or Saturday.

A: How long will that take?

B: It’s a big yard and my lawnmower is old, so it’ll probably take over an hour. It’ll probably not take less than an hour and a half.

A: What’ll you do after that?

B: After I cut the grass, I’ll probably rake the lawn. I have to rake up the clippings. That’s not likely going to take long.

A: Great. So, after that, you’ll be exhausted. You can relax!

B: Before I relax, I’ll paint the fence. My honey keeps nagging me to do that.

A: That’ll no doubt take awhile, right? That’s a big job.

B: Yes, and while the paint is drying, I’ll tidy up the garden. I need to pluck off dead roses, pull weeds and spray insecticide.

A: I hope that’ll leave you with some time for yourself.

B: No, when I finish those chores, I’ll go to Charlie Depot to get a new lawn chair. One of ours is broken. I must remember to buy fertilizer, too.

A: Wow, you have a lot of jobs lined up!

B: Yes, I need to climb up to the roof and remove the dead leaves from the eaves trough , too. If I have time, I’ll fix the roof. Some shingles are loose.

A: That sounds like a busy day. Will you do anything else?

B: Probably not. I probably won’t have any time or energy.

A: Don’t overdo it. Put off some jobs till Sunday! Will you have time then?

B: Not likely. On Sunday, I must visit my husband’s parents all day!

Vocabulary

1. yard: 院子，庭院。

2. chore: 家庭雜務，日常零星活兒。

3. mow: 割草。

4. lawnmower: 割草機。

5. rake up: 耙出，耙攏。

6. insecticide: 殺蟲劑。

7. fertilizer: 肥料（化學肥料、家畜糞便等）。

8. eaves trough: （屋頂的）屋檐排水槽。

9. shingle: 墻面板（長方形的板子，如瓦般鋪設于屋頂上）。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：丹妮）