【BBC英語】談論衣著的重要性

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I"m Rob...

大家好，歡迎來到BBC 6分鐘英語節目。我是羅伯。

and I"m Will. Hello.

我是威爾，各位好。

Hi there, Will. I have to say, I like that shirt you"re wearing today.

你好啊威爾。我得說，我喜歡你今天穿的這件襯衫。

I haven"t seen that one before.

我之前沒見到過這件衣服。

Yes, I got it at the weekend.

我周末剛買的。

But, to be honest, I don"t give my clothes much thought.

坦白講，我買衣服從來不考慮那麼多。

I just throw on the first thing I see.

第一眼看上就買下它。

What about you?

你呢？

Well, I try to look presentable.

我會選擇那些好看的衣服。

I wouldn"t want to appear too scruffy.

我不想別人看上去一身邋遢。

Clothes say an awful lot about us, don"t they Will?

從衣著可以了解一個人的很多，是不是這樣，威爾？

A lot depends on the job you do.

這取決於你從事什麼樣的工作。

In a bank, you"re supposed to look pretty smart all the time.

在銀行，你需要看起來一直非常幹練。

But if you work for a design company, say, a suit would look out of place-that means unsuitable.

但是如果你在一家設計公司供職，一身西裝就有些不搭配，這個詞的意思是不合適。

談論著裝問題.jpg

People in the creative industries tend to dress down-that means dress casually-you know jeans and t-shirts.

創意行業工作的人更傾向於穿便裝，意思是穿著隨意，比如牛仔褲配T恤的組合。

Yes. Then there"s the whole question of what to wear to an interview.

還有一個很重要的環節是面試時的著裝。

I reckon if you put on something smart you can"t go far wrong.

我覺得穿著幹練去應聘永遠不會有錯。

Yes. But the meaning of clothes goes far deeper than what you should or shouldn"t wear in the workplace, Will.

的確如此，但著裝的意義遠遠不止工作時該穿什麼，不該穿什麼。

It can really influence what people think of us.

它會真的影響人們對我們的觀點及看法。

Now, rightly or wrongly, they can make snap judgements-or quick decisions-about us.

現在，不管對錯，人們可以通過著裝對我們作出簡單快速的評價。

Yes, you"re right. It"s a cultural issue.

是的，你說的對。這是文化問題。

It"s about how we see ourselves, too.

這也關乎我們如何看待自己。

Now, take the sari.

現在，我們以紗麗為例。

It"s been around for centuries and is still the main form of dress for millions of women in the Indian subcontinent.

幾個世紀以來它一直而且仍然是印度次大陸幾百萬女性的主要著裝。

That"s that very long garment with all those amazing colours and designs, isn"t it?

它是一款長袍的名稱，色彩艷麗而且設計令人驚嘆。

It always looks so elegant.

而且看上去總是那麼高雅。

Yes, it does.

確實如此。

So Will, can you answer this question:

那麼威爾，你能回答一下今天的問題嗎？

what is the maximum length of a sari?

最長紗麗能達到多少米？

Is it ...a) 12 metresb) 9 metresor c) 7 metres

a) 12米b) 9 米還是c) 7 米

Surely it can"t be 12 metres long!

肯定不會有12米長！

I"m going to say 9 metres.

我選9米。

Okay. Well, we"ll find out if you"re right or wrong later on.

好的，節目的最後我們會為你揭曉正確答案，看看你是否答對。

But now let"s listen to Dr Shahidha Bari talking about the sari.

現在我們來聽聽薩西迪巴里博士的看法。

She uses a word that means "covered".

她使用了一個詞來來代表「覆蓋著的」。

Can you hear what it is?

你能聽出來是什麼嗎？

Saris encircle the waist, are often pleated and then swept across the upper body with folds and fabric draped over the shoulder or veiling the head.

紗麗圍裹在腰間,往往多褶皺,通常將末端下擺搭在肩上，也可用作遮擋面部的面紗。

There are more than 80 different ways of wearing a sari and they"ve been worn in the Indian subcontinent since the first millennium.

紗麗有80多種不同的穿法而且自公元一千年就在印度次大陸興起。

It"s a garment woven into the histories of the countries from which it comes.

這種服裝已徹底融入印度的歷史當中。

So draped means "covered".

因此draped一詞是覆蓋的意思。

Then she used the word garment.

而且她還使用了「garment」一詞。

That"s another word for a piece of clothing.

這也是另一種用來表達衣服的說法。

And then she said there are 80 ways of wearing a sari, Rob. Amazing!

隨後她又提及紗麗有80多種穿法。真的很神奇啊，羅伯！

It is, isn"t it?

是不是呢？

Some Asian women in the West wear saris just for ceremonial occasions-that means special events like weddings.

一些亞洲女性在西方穿紗麗是為了出席典禮等場合，比如婚禮等特殊慶典場合。

I suppose, in a sense, it"s not that practical for day-to-day use.

我認為從某種意義上，它已經不適用於日常著裝。

But it certainly makes a beautiful splash of colour-or a display of colour - when they do wear it.

但是穿上它的確能為女性增添一抹艷麗動人的色彩。

What she said has got me thinking about English traditional dress.

她所說的讓我想到英國的傳統服飾。

And, to be honest, Rob, I can"t recall anything off the top of my head.

而且羅伯，老實說，我一時還真想不起來。

Off the top of your head, Will?

你頭頂上，威爾？

That"s because you"re not wearing a hat.

那是因為你沒戴帽子。

Don"t be ridiculous, Rob.Off the top of my head.

別調侃我了，羅伯。

It"s an idiom and it means I can"t think of anything immediately.

這個俚語的意思是指不能立馬想起某件事。

Yes, Will. I do know that actually.

好吧，威爾。我當然知道。

It was my attempt at a joke.

只是想適時開個玩笑。

But you"re right:

但是你說得對，

the British dress sense has become a bit samey (it looks the same)- apart from the fashion industry, which is highly regarded throughout the world.

英國的穿衣品味有點給人千篇一律的感覺，除了一直受到世界盛讚的英國時尚產業。

Well, you wouldn"t catch me wearing most of the men"s gear you see on the catwalk.

恩，你不會看見我穿著T台模特那樣的衣服去上班。

But, seriously, Will, clothes are undoubtedly an important business.

但言歸正傳，衣著是非常重要的。

Let"s listen to Dr Shahidha Bari again as she reflects on her mother"s use of the sari.

我們接下來來聽聽薩西迪巴里回憶起母親穿紗麗的看法。

And yet the sari makes me feel safe too because I associate it with her body and the world she made for me.

紗麗也帶給我安全感，它讓我想起媽媽的音容笑貌，還有以及她展現給我的世界。

And now, as I struggle to keep hold of the sari, the rituals and the memories around it, I fear losing the world it signifies-and her, too.

而現在我儘力想要留存對紗麗相關禮儀的記憶，我害怕失去紗麗所象徵的世界，還有我的媽媽。

She talked about the way she struggles-that means she finds it difficult-to make the sari important in her life.

她講到儘力想要使紗麗成為生活的重要組成部分非常難。

And she uses the word signifies, which means giving the meaning of something.

而且她使用「象徵」一詞表示賦予某件事意義。

The sari obviously has an emotional attachment for her.

紗麗對她來說顯然是一種感情上的寄託。

And when you think just how much money people spend on clothes, it shows how vital it is.

而你只要想想人們在衣著上的花費，就知道它有多重要了。

And let"s not forgetting football shirts, Will.

接下來我們可不能忘記足球隊友的比賽隊服。

Fans want to be seen in their team"s latest shirt design, don"t they?

粉絲們總嚷嚷著想要看他們鍾愛球隊的最新隊服設計。

I know I do.

我就是這樣。

By the way, what team do you support, Rob?

順便問一句，你支持哪支球隊？

Ah, well, it"s Chelsea, of course.

當然是切爾西了。

Come on, you Blues. What about you, Will?

布魯斯，加油！那你呢威爾？

Tottenham Hotspur.

托特納姆熱刺。

Never mind, someone has to.

好吧，各有所愛。

Now, remember at the beginning of the show I asked you:

現在，還記得節目開始問過你的問題嗎？

what is the maximum length of a sari?

最長紗麗能達到多少米？

Is it ...a) 12 metresb) 9 metresor c) 7 metres?

a) 12 米b) 9 米還是c) 7 米？

Yes. And I said 9 metres.

當然，我選的是9米。

Well, you know your saris well because that is the right answer.

你很了解紗麗，正確答案就是9米。

Well done!

乾的好！

Now, before we go, it"s time to remind ourselves of some of the vocabulary that we"ve heard today. Will.

本期節目結束前，我們再來回顧下今天的單詞吧。

scruffy

不整潔的

out of place

不相稱的

dress down

便服

make snap judgements

做出快速評價

draped

覆蓋

garment

服飾

ceremonial occasions

儀式

splash of colour

色彩明麗

off the top of my head

一時想不起來

struggle

儘力

signifies

象徵

Thank you, Will.

謝謝你，威爾。

Well, that"s the end of today"s 6 Minute English.

今天的BBC 6分鐘英語就到這裡。

You can listen to more programmes on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

登陸網站bbclearningenglish.com.可以瀏覽更多節目。

Please join us again soon.

我們下次再見！

Bye.

再見。