The english we speak(BBC教學)第210期:Wow factor 令人驚歎的元素

Harry and Feifei use an expression for when you are surprised and impressed (or not) to talk about rented accommodation in London.

哈利和菲菲用表示驚訝或印象深刻的表達方式談論在倫敦租房的情況。

Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Feifei and joining me is Harry.

菲菲：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是菲菲，今天和我一起主持的是哈利。

Harry: Hello there! And the expression we are going to look at in this programme is 'wow factor'.

哈利：大家好！本期節目要講的表達方式是：令人驚歎的東西。

Feifei: We'll look at what it means and when you can use it. So anyway Harry, how's the flat hunting going?

菲菲：我們會講解這個短語的意思以及如何使用。哈利，你房子找的怎麼樣了？

Harry: Oh, don't ask! Not very well, really. I mean, I've seen a few places so far, but they didn't really appeal to me.

哈利：哦，別提了！實際上不太好。我看了幾個地方，可是我都不感興趣。

Feifei: So none of them were any good?

菲菲：都不好嗎？

Harry: They were OK. Adequate I suppose. I could live in some of them if I had to, but none of them had the wow factor. Do you know what I mean?

哈利：房子還好。我認爲房子還是不錯的。如果我必須選擇的話，我可以住，不過沒有一間房子有令人驚歎的元素。你懂我的意思吧？

Feifei: Not really. The wow factor? What is that?

菲菲：不太懂。令人驚歎的元素？那是什麼？

Harry: The wow factor? Something that makes you go 'wow' when you walk in. 'Wow' is something we say in English when we're surprised. So, you know, a sun deck, a view of Big Ben, a steam room, a granite cocktail bar, a shared swimming pool — that kind of thing. My friend who teaches English in Indonesia has his own swimming pool and I was hoping …

哈利：令人驚歎的元素，就是讓你走進去會發出“哇”一聲驚歎的元素。“哇”是我們在感到驚訝時會發出的聲音。你知道，比如陽光露臺、或是可以看到大本鐘、有蒸汽浴室、花崗岩裝飾的雞尾酒吧、公共遊泳池等類似設施。我有一個朋友在印度尼西亞教英語，他的房子就帶游泳池，我希望……

Feifei: Yes, but this is London. It's quite hard to get any of those things unless you spend a lot of money. What else can have the wow factor?

菲菲：可是這是在倫敦。要找到配有這些設施的房子太難了，除非你肯花大價錢。令人驚歎的元素還包括什麼？

Harry: You hear it a lot on TV. On cooking shows, when someone creates an exciting tasty dish they say it's really got the wow factor.

哈利：你可能在電視上聽過很多次這個詞。在烹飪節目中，某個人做出了一道令人興奮的美味菜餚時，他們就會說這道菜令人驚歎。

Feifei: Yes, I heard that. 'It's just an omelette, but the chillies give it a real wow factor'.

菲菲：對，我聽到過。“這只是個普通的雞蛋卷，但加上辣椒後它就真的讓人眼前一亮。”

Harry: That's right. And in singing competitions, if the singer delivers an exciting performance, the judges say they really had the wow factor.

哈利：沒錯。還有歌唱比賽中，如果一名歌手奉獻了激動人心的表演，評委就會說那名選手的歌唱震撼人心。

Feifei: So, you can apply it to anything or anyone that is surprisingly good or impressive?

菲菲：那可以把這個表達方式應用到任何讓人感到出奇好或印象深刻的事情或人上嗎？

Harry: That's right. Let's listen to some more examples.

哈利：沒錯。我們再來聽些例句。

Examples

例句

He's just bought a new Italian sports car — it's really got the wow factor.

他剛買了輛意大利跑車——這輛跑車真是讓人驚歎。

We're going to completely re-decorate the restaurant so there's more of a wow factor when you walk in.

我們馬上要完成餐廳的裝修了，你走進餐廳後肯定會眼前一亮。

Your CV looks OK. Your work experience is solid, but there's no real wow factor that will impress employers.

你的簡歷看起來還不錯。你的工作經驗相當不錯，但沒有什麼讓僱主印象深刻的元素。

Feifei: So, do you think you'll find a place to live with the wow factor?

菲菲：你覺得你會找到擁有驚歎元素的房子嗎？

Harry: I'm not sure. But if I don't, I might spend my money on a 72-inch 3D TV. That way people will still get the wow factor when they walk in.

哈利：我不確定。如果我找不到，我可能會花錢買臺72英寸的3D電視。這樣人們來我家時同樣會眼前一亮。

Feifei: That would certainly have the wow factor, and I want to come round and watch some cookery shows and singing competitions.

菲菲：那一定是令人驚歎的元素，我想去你家看烹飪節目和歌唱比賽節目。

Harry: No problem! Join us again soon for The English We Speak.

哈利：沒問題！請記得收聽下一期地道英語節目。

Feifei: Bye!

菲菲：再見！

Harry: Bye!

哈利：再見！

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. appeal to
對…有吸引力；使感興趣；
eg. I do not think jogging appeal to me very much.
我覺得我對慢跑不太感興趣。
eg. Her sense of humour appealed to him enormously.
她的幽默感把他強烈地吸引住了。
2. apply to
適用；適合；
eg. What I am saying does not apply to you.
我說的話對你不適用。
eg. The low-profile strategy would not apply to him.
這種避免引人注目的策略對他是不適用的。
3. come round
拜訪；探訪；
eg. He came round last week and we chatted for a while.
上星期他順道來訪，我們閒談了一會。
eg. He came round to see his mother every few weeks.
隔幾周他就來看看他母親。