英語趣味課堂：他的壞習(xí)慣-His Bad Habits

Maria: Any habits you'd like to change?

Alex: I would like to change my habits of buying bad food and drinks.

Maria: Oh, yes.

Alex: It's so easy.

Maria: So dangerous.

Alex: And especially when you're at university and they only sell the bad stuff because it's just so much easier to do than to cook a good meal. I'm a pretty good cook.

Maria: I noticed.

Alex: Thank you. My mother taught me to cook well but I don't, I don't know, sometimes I just cannot be bothered so I wish I had the habit of just always being much better with my food. That would help with the weight as well. What else? Habits, habits? I have some bad habits that I would like to change. I have the bad habit of having to sleep with a duna, a duvet cover on. I have to have something like heavy otherwise I can't sleep.

Maria: Why do you see that as a bad habit?

Alex: Because in summer, I have to crank the air conditioning up to really, really high so as a result you know I end up wasting electricity so easy. I wish I had the habit of turning my computer off as well. I leave it on all the time.

Maria: So you're an electricity waster?

Alex: Yeah, sorry, sorry world. Where is it the islands are flooding in the South Pacific?

Maria: Everywhere.

Alex: It's all my fault. So yeah, turning lights off, remembering my key would be good. I always forget my key. I actually thought I lost my key the other day and nearly had a coniption fit so yeah.

Maria: Drinking habits, any good, any bad?

Alex: Drinking? Alcohol?

Maria: That was the point.

Alex: I get too excited too quickly and just want to go dancing but the good thing about the dancing is that then you don't drink alcohol because at a certain point you have to drink water.

Maria: That's true.

Alex: Do you know what I mean? So like I don't go too far off the deep end.

Maria: You can't really drink anything when you're dancing then you spill it all over the floor.

Alex: Yeah, so that helps I guess.

Maria: That does help.

重點詞匯：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

cannot be bothered

My mother taught me to cook well, but sometimes I just cannot be bothered.

When you 'cannot be bothered' to do something, you think it takes too much time and effort. Notice the following:

Sometimes I cannot be bothered to dry my hair.

He cannot be bothered to get out of bed right now.

crank up

I have to crank the air conditioning up to really, really high.

You can use the phrasal verb 'crank up' to refer to using something at a high level or to its full potential. Cranking up the air conditioning means that you are using the air conditioning on high power at its coldest setting. Notice the following:

I love this song. Crank it up.

I'm freezing. We need to crank up the heat in here.

a conniption fit

I lost my key the other day and nearly had a conniption fit.

A 'conniption fit' is a hysterical outburst of emotions, usually anger, frustration or worry. Notice the following:

If I don't find my keys in the next five minutes I am going to have a conniption fit.

When she doesn't get her way she has little conniption fits.

at a certain point

At a certain point you have to drink water.

When you get to 'a certain point,' it means that you have reached a certain place or level. Notice the following:

At a certain point I knew that I would never be able to swim to the other side.

At a certain point it really doesn't matter if it gets much colder because you can't feel your feet anyway.

go off the deep end

I don't go too far off the deep end.

Here, going 'too far off the deep end' refers to getting too drunk or going too crazy. Notice the following:

When he hears that news, he is going to go off the deep end.

Keeping things at the house organized usually keeps her from going off the deep end.