sharing

The Icelandic taste of home

 

思鄉是什麼滋味？經過多少霜雪風浪，冰島某小島的居民會告訴你：「海鸚鵡 (puffin) 讓我想家了。」

這大嘴巴的海鳥有何特別之處？Jo & Kevin 會從北歐地理風貌入手，介紹「波濤起伏」英文怎麼說！

 

The seabirds' cute appearance is a big lure for tourists. But for inhabitants of a remote corner of Iceland, the taste of puffin is a reminder of home.

 

inhabitant 居民／棲息動物
(noun)

e.g. The city has more than two million inhabitants. [=residents]

e.g. The inhabitants of the island are very friendly. 島上的居民十分友好。

 

resident 居民，定居
(noun)

e.g. Permanent residents of Hong Kong  香港永久居民
e.g. This hotel restaurant serves dinner to residents only.  酒店餐廳只招待住客用膳

 

residence 居住
(noun)

► in residence 駐  

 e.g. Royal Shakespeare company is in residence at the National Theatre.

 

After three hours on very, very choppy waters, you long for land. The island is tiny - just 5km (3.1 miles) long and 2km wide - just two square miles. It has no trees - it's far too windy for them to grow here. There is one tiny school for the younger children - currently it has just five students. Grimsey also boasts one shop, a few dozen houses, a swimming pool, lighthouse and 80 residents.

 

choppy 波浪起伏的；多裂縫的；突變的
(adjective)

e.g. The ocean is choppy. (wavy/ rough)

 

► 斷斷續續的；零碎的 (adjective)

e.g He tended to write in short choppy sentences.

 

► 劈開; 切碎  (verb)

to chop sth. to pieces or bits  把某物切碎
to chop sth. finely  把某物切得細碎

 

boast 自豪地擁有，令人引以為傲

(verb)

eg. The town boasts a beautiful castle. 小鎮上有一座漂亮的古堡。

 

- to boast of or about sth./doing sth. 自誇  (verb)

  eg. I have nothing to boast about. 我沒甚麼可誇耀的。

 

► boast 誇耀 (noun)

e.g. It is her boast that she is never late for work.  她誇說上班從不遲到

 

Islanders regularly catch the birds, sitting on the cliff edges with huge nets and scooping the puffins up as they dive into the sea.

 

scoop 用勺舀; 用鏟挖
(verb)

 

e.g. to scoop nuts out of/into a plate 用勺把堅果舀(出)入碟裡
e.g. to scoop sand out of/into a hole 把沙子從洞裡鏟（出來）入

 

Writing vs. Speaking

 

To say something is cute…

Ramsay: In the UK, everybody would be thinking, Oh my God, they’re cute, they’re beautiful, their lovely beaks, we got them as teddy bears for the kids, why are you eating them?

 

To write about cuteness…

The puffins poke their heads - sporting comical, outsize orange beaks - above the black cliff edges. In Iceland, the puffin meat is usually smoked to taste almost pastrami-esque.            (pastrami – 英式五香牛肉)

 

A Song for You - MERMAID by Train

 

Mermaid = 美人魚 (mer: “SEA” in French, literally 海中的少女)

 

maid （飯店的）女服務員；（家中的）女傭，女僕，侍女
(noun)

e.g. In the beach resort, the apartments and villas have daily maid service.  海灘渡假勝地的公寓和別墅裡每天都有女傭打掃。

   
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