生活英语对话 Episode 2: In the flat

本单元是关于在公寓的对话

Tim: Alice this is my cousin Michal - our new flatmate. He\'s really missing his friends.

Alice: Oh, Michal let me take your mind off that...So, where are you from?

Michal: From near Warsaw - the Polish capital.

Alice: Oh, what do you do?

Michal: I\'m a guide tourist.

Alice: So interesting! Why are you visiting London?

Michal: To improve my English.

Alice: Oh, well, why not come out with us now? Then we can cheer you up and you can practise your English at the same time.

本单元的语言点是复合词，复合词由两个(或更多)单独的词组成。可以用名词(a flatmate)，形容词(lovesick)或动词(jump-start)组成复合词

Compound words are made up of two (or more) separate words. You can combine nouns (a flatmate), adjectives (lovesick) or verbs (jump-start) to make compound words.

Sometimes they become one word (有时它们可组成一个词):

flatmate (noun)

lovesick (adjective)

Sometimes they become two words (有时它们可组成两个词):

tourist guide (noun)

travel agent (noun)

Sometimes they become hyphenated (有时它们可以由连字号，即“-”连接起来):

low-paid (adjective)

film-goer (noun)

Note: There are no hard and fast rules about which category each compound word goes into but a good dictionary will tell you. You can also help yourself by making a note of new compound words you come across and the category they go into.

注意:复合词应该属于哪类词没有硬性规定，但查询一本好词典一般可以获得解答。平时遇到新的复合词的时候应注意记录，并了解它应该属于哪类词。

Generally the stress is on the first word (重读一般都放在头一个词上面):

phone box (noun)

smoke-free (adjective)

spoon-feed (verb)

Vocabulary (词汇):

A flatmate (n): a person who shares a rented house or flat with other people 与他人共同租住同一个住宅或单元房的人

Lovesick (adj): a feeling of such strong emotion for someone that it makes you feel almost ill (but not actually physically ill) 因思念某人而害相思病(并非身体真的有病)

A tourist guide (n): someone who shows visitors around places of interest 带领游客四处旅游的导游

Low-paid (adj): earning a small amount of money for working 低收入的

To spoon-feed (v): 1: to feed someone (usually a baby) with a spoon. 2: to give someone so much information or help that a task or job is very easy for them 用调羹喂某人(如婴儿、病人);娇生惯养