Bannai's Newsletter
巴奈英文電子報
Different Kinds of Busy
With a new normal settling in, people are trickling back to in-person services. The food & drink industry might be one of the most excited to see crowds coming back. How would you describe the crowds you see in English? Let's see.
隨著疫情後新常態的安定,人們正在逐漸恢復到實體服務。餐飲業可能是看到人群回歸最興奮的行業之一。 你會如何用英語描述你看到的人群? 來了解一下。
In this letter, you will find...
Six Ways to Describe "Busy" 六種忙碌的說法
Packed (adj/pp)
人們在這個麵店被擠得像沙丁魚一樣。
■ People are packed like sardines in this noodle shop.
他們的每個表演都高朋滿座。
■ They have had a packed theater for every performance.
這醫院人滿為患到必須拒收100位病患。
■ The hospital was so packed that they had to turn away 100 patients.
接下來的兩個月我的行程滿滿。
■ I have a packed schedule for the next two months.
(Be) Filled to the Brim (pr)
我撐腸拄腹太飽了。
■ I am filled to the brim with food.
這體育場人滿為患,都是來看最決賽的人。
■ This stadium is filled to the brim with crowds coming to see the final.
玻璃杯滿到快溢出,拿時要小心。
■ The glass is filled to the brim so be careful when you carry it.
(Brim 此名詞本身指杯緣。)
Hustle and Bustle (pr)
這家咖啡廳每天早上都熙熙攘攘的。
■ The café is bustling every morning.
我退休的父母不喜歡城市沸沸揚揚的喧囂。
■ My retired parents want to live away from the hustle and bustle of city.
Throngs of People & Swarms of People (pr)
我被火車站的蜂擁人群推來推去。
■ I was pushed by the swarms of people at the train station.
接踵人群在開幕日衝入店家。
■ Throngs of people stormed into the store on its opening day.
(storm into 動詞片語指暴衝入、闖入某地方。)
(throng 是進階好字,但比起 swarm 較少見。注意發音有捲舌R,不然變成 thong 丁字褲!😱)
Crowd (n) & Crowded (adj/pp)
The word, crowd, is versatile when referring to large groups of people. Pay attention to the grammar.
當指一大群人時,crowd這個詞用途多元。但要切記文法及詞性。
酒吧外頭有一大群吵嚷的人,所以我不覺得現在去那很安全。
■ There is a rowdy crowd in front of the bar so I don’t think it is a safe place to be right now.
(發音 /kroud/,尾音d很輕。)
不同酒吧吸引不同人群。
■ Different bars will attract different kinds of crowds.
(發音 /krouds/,複數念清楚。)
今晚的街道充滿著抗議人群。
■ The streets are crowded tonight with protestors.
(發音 /krou-did/,過去分詞尾音記得念出來。)
不將忙碌當盾牌的溝通技巧
Let’s talk about your favorite word - busy. This word can not only refer to a person's lifestyle, but also a place that is full of people.
來看看你最喜歡的詞:忙。 這字不僅可以用在人的生活步調上,也可以用來形容人多的地方。
這餐廳看似正忙著處理外帶單。
■ The restaurant seems busy with takeout orders.
夜市今晚人很多。
■ The night market is busy tonight.
Every week I see around 40-50 students, and nine out of ten, people like to answer “How are you?” with “I’m busy and exhausted”. While this may be true, you could be limiting your conversation without realizing. But how?
身為線上私人家教,我每周有大約 40-50 小時的課程,而當我問「你好嗎?」時,十分之九大家會回答「我很忙」或「我很累」。 雖然這可能真的是事實,但你很可能會在沒有意識到的情況下限制了你的談話內容。為什麼呢?
Two Examples 兩個例子觀察
Starting a conversation by saying you’re busy can send two signals - A) You may not be in a great mood and B) You would like to talk about what makes you busy. Take a look at the two examples below.
通過說你很忙來開始對話可以發送兩個信號 - A)你可能心情不好,B)你想談談是什麼讓你很忙。 看看下面兩段對話。
On a beach during summer, two old friends see each other.
暑期間,兩個老朋友在海攤上巧遇。
Conversation 1 會話一
-Hey, it’s been so long? How are you doing? 唉!好久不見,你還好嗎?
-Hi! Fine, just busy and exhausted. 嗨!勉強還好,又忙又累。
-What are you busy with? 忙甚麼呢?
-This is the last week of the quarter and the sales team is not making the quota. It has been weighing on my mind. My manager is also breathing down my neck about it so It’s very stressful. 這周是本季的最後一周,銷售團隊沒有達到配額。 這件事像顆石頭一般一直在我心上。 我的經理也緊緊盯著我,所以我壓力很大。
-Wow, that doesn’t sound good! 哇,聽起來挺糟的。
你平常在跟朋友用中文開始問候時,會常用「忙、累」嗎?這在香港、台灣常見的招呼方式,可能在英語系國家的人耳中聽起來像是:「我不好,你快來關心我。」如果不打算細說,可以直接用 I’m good. I’m alright. 敷衍帶過,因為這是最常見的用法。來觀察下面第二個範例。
Conversation 2 會話二
-Hey, it’s been so long! How are you doing? 唉!好久不見,你還好嗎?
-Hi! Yeah It’s been a while! I’m alright. I am certainly happy to be on the beach to get away from work. 嗨!對啊,好久不見了!我還好啦,能來到海邊遠離工作真的很高興。
-Tell me about it. I feel the same way. 不用你說我也是,有同感。
-When was the last time I saw you here? 上次看到你是甚麼時候啊?
-It must have been 2 years ago. 應該是兩年前囉。
-How are your kids? Do they have any summer sports or camps?
你的小孩還好嗎?他們有夏令營還是運動嗎?
Out of the two conversations above, which one would you rather have? If you actually would like to talk about your work with others, by all means. If you do not intend to actually complain, don’t go there. You may not otherwise get the response you want.
在上面的兩個對話中,你比較喜歡哪段? 如果你真的想和別人談論你的工作,當然是沒問題。假設你其實沒有意願要抱怨,就別往那方向走,不然你可能得不到想要的回應。
Start your conversation with something both of you might be interested in. Instead of drilling about your boring busy schedule and how tired you are (like convo 1), talk about how happy you are to be away from it (convo 2). Start with your near future, like travel plans, holidays, events or activities, the people you are with or people you are going to see. This is a small talk technique that many use to get the ball rolling in the beginning of a conversation.
從兩者可能感興趣的事情開啟談話。不鑽研無聊且忙碌行程和疲累程度(如會話一),轉而談談能遠離工作有多開心(會話二)。 討論未來近期計畫,如旅行、假期、事件或活動、跟你一起來的人或今天將要見到的人。 這技巧能使許多人在開始閒聊時讓對話內容源源不絕。
Let's catch up. 巴奈品牌進度報告
【歡迎歡迎】
近期許多人加入巴奈社群,似乎被演算法之神找到,老實說這挺讓人措手不及的,但這並不影響目前社群推出的內容走向,你還是可以在Insta上找到隨堂筆記、短片以及統整式和文化貼文。這是個 blessing 也是 curse,近期一些莫名其妙的合作、邀約和怪叔叔告白都被婉拒了,也許日後有遇到好機會讓大家接觸不同的資源也不一定,但目前為止巴奈在社群上是無營利的獨立品牌,偶爾與其它創作者合作貼文。
【課程釐清】
目前巴奈美語會話有四種課程,25分一對一體驗課、50分一對一家教、50分團體《密集溝通》及50分團體《基礎溝通》。最近有一些同學有疑惑,所以這裡一併解釋,一對一的課程可以*提早*購課預約,換句話說,你可以今年買課、約明年時段,只要跟老師討論課表就可以。團體課是有*固定的*購課時期,十周為一期,所以約每十周會招生一次,招生期的長度大約三到四週不等,招生完畢才開課。
【新一期團課何時開招?】
下期的團體課,《基礎溝通》和《密集溝通》,會在~8/15開始招生到8/31為止~,有訂閱電子報的你,會在報名開始立馬收到官網購買詳情。本篇你看到的溝通技巧其實是《基礎溝通》課程的一環,歡迎跟好友分享一起跟熟人揪團上課!有問題歡迎直接聯絡我 teacherbannai@gmail.com 或在官網上私訊。
【新美妝課程進度】
有追蹤IG限時動態的朋友可能已發現,最近正著手構思美妝保養課程。這堂課還在嬰兒期,連名字都還沒想出來,有點子的歡迎投稿。這堂將會是團體課,50分鐘且十堂完期,中英輔助教學,主要目的是語言學習者兼美妝保養者的交叉學習,這很重要,因為我並不能給予任何專業保養建議喔!教材會走實用路線,學員不分性別與英文程度,除了產品、成分、質地、顏色的詞彙之外,部分教材採用知名澳洲化妝品化學家 Michelle 的電子書(The Lab Muffin Guide to Basic Skincare),另外搭配影片聽力和購物分享等等,希望內容輕鬆、好玩且實用。發布日不確定,開課最早也是明年過年後。大家敬請期待。