每日英語 #075: “See You Later, Alligator”

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“See You Later, Alligator”

Children often have their own language, things they say that are “meaningful” (has meaning) to them and that are “amusing” (funny) to them. One very common “exchange” (communication between two people) between two children goes like this:

孩子們經常有自己的語言，他們說的話對他們來說是“有意義的”（有意義的）並且是“有趣的”（有趣的）。孩子們之間一種非常常見的“對話”（兩人之間的交流）是這樣的：

A: “See you later, alligator.” B: “After a while, crocodile.”

A: “待會見，短吻鱷。” B: “過一會見，鱷魚。”

This is a funny way that children sometimes say goodbye to each other. It’s just one of those things that American kids say to be funny. “Crocodiles” and “alligators” are both animals that live in the water with very large “jaws” (mouths), “rough” (not smooth) skin, and long tails. Why do they use “alligator” and “crocodile”? Nobody knows.

這是孩子們有時互相告別的一種有趣方式。這只是美國孩子們為了搞笑而說的話之一。“鱷魚”和“短吻鱷”都是生活在水中的動物，擁有非常大的“下顎”（嘴巴）、“粗糙的”（不光滑的）皮膚和長尾巴。為什麼他們使用“短吻鱷”和“鱷魚”？沒有人知道。

“See you later” is perhaps the most common way to informally say goodbye. Other ways to informally say goodbye are:

“待會見”可能是最常見的非正式告別方式。其他非正式告別的方式有：

• “See you.”
• “Catch you later.”
• “Later.”
• “Bye.”
• “Nice seeing you.”
• “Good to see you.”

Note that with the expression “See you,” Americans pronounce the “you” as “ya,” so that “See you” is actually pronounced “See ya.” In fact, pronouncing it as “See you” would sound strange to a native speaker.

請注意，在表達“See you”時，美國人將“you”發音為“ya”，所以“See you”實際上發音為“See ya”。事實上，將其發音為“See you”對母語者來說聽起來會很奇怪。

The other expressions–”catch you later,” “nice to see you,” and “good to see you.”– can be pronounced either way, as “you” or “ya.” The less formal you are, the more likely you are to say “ya” rather than “you.”

其他表達方式——“回頭見”，“見到你真好”，和“見到你很高興”——可以兩種方式發音，既可以發音為“you”，也可以發音為“ya”。你越不正式，就越有可能說“ya”而不是“you”。

重點單字

1. Meaningful 有意義的 /ˈmiːnɪŋfəl/
2. Amusing 有趣的 /əˈmjuːzɪŋ/
3. Exchange 對話 /ɪksˈʧeɪndʒ/
4. Alligator 短吻鱷 /ˈælɪɡeɪtər/
5. Crocodile 鱷魚 /ˈkrɒkədaɪl/
6. Jaws 下顎 /ʤɔːz/
7. Rough 粗糙的 /rʌf/