生活英语_Everyday_English

1 / 16 生活英语 Everyday English

Any rooms available?

WHAT do you do when you get tired of the campus dorm and want a room all by yourself? Well, if that happens, here's some English you'll need to get that apartment.

Do you have any apartments for rent right now? 你们现在有没有公寓要出租啊？

You can ask the leasing agent or landlord or landlady this if you phone them. Or you can say, "Do you have any apartment available right now?" or, "Do you still have a/that vacancy?"

I'm looking for a studio because I don't have much money. 因为钱不多,我想租一个零居室的房子.

A "studio" is the simplest apartment, with the bedroom and kitchen in the same room . Other choices are "one-bedroom" or "two-bedroom apartment". You can get these if you want an affordable way of renting by "sharing" with a roommate.

How much is the rent? 租金是多少？

Or, "What's the rent on that?" And don't forget to ask, "How much is the deposit?" You also need to check on whether the rent includes utilities . You can ask, "Are utilities included"? or, "What else am I responsible for"?

There can be other fees like heating , property management , cable TV , Internet connection service , or garbage.

Is the apartment furnished? 房子带家具吗？

An apartment may be "completely furnished" , "partially furnished" , or "not furnished" . If you want to know how it feels, you might ask, "Does the apartment get much natural light?"or, "Does the room get much sunlight?"

Fry an egg on the sidewalk

THE weather's getting hotter and you're looking for ways to stay out of the heat. But can you describe really unbearable weather? Try these:

I'm not going to that party. It's hot as blazes outside. 我不去那个舞会了.外面热的像着了大火一样. 2 / 16

hot as blazes: colloquial. A "blaze" is a large fire .

I wouldn't go out. You could fry an egg on the sidewalk. 我不想出去,天气热得连人行道上都可以煎蛋了.

When we describe something as very hot, we can say "热的都可以把鸡蛋煮熟了". Here, the English equivalent for the phrase is "you could fry an eggs on it" .

I'm sweltering. Let's just stay home. 我热得难受！我们还是呆在家里吧.

swelter: 热得难受,热得喘不过气来. Also: "It's sweltering".

Let's cancel the appointment this evening; it's a scorcher outside! 我们取消晚上的约会吧,外面太热了.

scorcher: colloquial . A similar expression is "It's roasting" .

Hey, I'm melting. Would you please turn on the air conditioner right now? 我热得快化了,赶快把空调打开吧.

melt：熔化.

I'm sweating like a pig, and I can't concentrate on my homework. 我热得汗流浃背,没法集中精力做作业.

sweat like a pig: colloquial . Also: "It is sweating" or "I am sweating".

It's hot as hell. I hope it rains this evening. 这里热得跟地狱一样,希望晚上能下场雨.

hot as hell: Everyone knows that, down where the devil lives, there are fires roaring.

Try this when you're sick

NO question about it, you're a hardworking student. But no matter how serious you are, you have to skip some lectures when you don't feel well. So this week we give you: words related to "请假".

3 / 16 1. John, hi, can you please tell the professor that I have to ask for leave tomorrow morning? I'm feeling sick and can't concentrate.

"Leave" is a noun here. Ask for leave: 请假. Here, "ask for leave tomorrow morning" means "明天上午请半天假". Other examples include "ask for a 48-hour leave" : 请假48小时 or "ask for one week of leave": 请假一周.

2. Mr Smith, my dad's here visiting me and I'd like to take two days off to show him around the city.

"Take off" is another common expression for "ask for leave". Another

phrase with the word "off" is "to be off sick": 因病缺勤. For example:

Poor Sophie! She's been off sick for two days with a high fever. I hope she's getting better now.

3. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to pull a sickie today, Helen, but I really do have a bit of the flu.

"Pull a sickie" is slang; "sickie" is slang word for "病假" and often refers to a day off. It is used in the case of genuine illness but often has a sense of avoiding work.

4. I don't feel well this morning. Perhaps I ought to call in sick.

Call in sick: 打请病假. You could say "call the secretary/boss/department head to tell her I'm sick" when you ask for leave. And you may need "a doctor's note" to prove your illness.

need to renew my card

THIS week we'll continue our discussion of credit cards and their use. In the previous issue, we talked about annual fees , credit limits and late payment . So, let's move on to other topics.

1. Asking about a cash advance

Customer: If I need to get some cash with my credit card, what is the limit?