別再問 “What is your job?”!如何用英文聊天交到外國朋友?

想認識外國朋友卻不知道怎麼開口嗎?
到了新環境,就更應該主動出擊開口說英文
交朋友可以從職業、興趣、喜好切入
別老是只會問 “What is your job?”
還是覺得很難?那就看看 Malfred 怎麼做吧!

Malfred 因為工作的關係搬到美國,他出門倒垃圾時,看到一個有點熟悉的面孔,便開口打招呼。

Malfred: Good evening, I’m Malfred. I just moved in yesterday.
Malfred:晚安,我叫 Malfred,昨天才搬進這裡。

Jeffery: Hi, Malfred. I’m Jeffery, your next door neighbor! Are you new to the city?
Jeffery:你好 Malfred,我是 Jeffery,就住在你隔壁,你是當地人嗎?

Malfred: I’m from Sri Lanka. Feel free to come by anytime for some Sri Lankan tea.
Malfred:我是斯里蘭卡人。歡迎隨時過來嚐嚐斯里蘭卡紅茶。

Jeffery: Excellent! I’m a tea lover and Ceylon black tea is a perfect match for cookies! What brings you to America?
Jeffery:太好了!我超愛喝茶的!錫蘭高地紅茶跟餅乾根本是絕配!你怎麼會搬來美國?

Malfred: I got promoted to sales manager and was posted to America for five years. What about yourself? What line of work are you in?
Malfred:我被升遷成業務經理,然後被派駐到美國工作五年。你是做哪一行的?

Jeffery: I work for an advertising firm designing logos and posters.
Jeffery:我是廣告業的,負責設計商標和海報。

Malfred: No wonder your garden looks so gorgeous then, you must have an eye for good design.
Malfred:怪不得你的花園看起來這麼美,你一定很會設計。

Jeffery: Thanks, I love nature. It always provides inspiration for my designs.
Jeffery:謝謝,我很愛大自然,大自然總能提供我設計的靈感。

隔壁就住著親切的鄰居真棒,畢竟千金難買好厝邊嘛!

come by (phr.) 短暫拜訪

動詞片語 come by 後面可以接地點,表示「短暫拜訪 (某處)」,也有「順道拜訪 (某處)」之意,同義於 swing by。

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I’ll come by your new apartment when I have time.
我有空的時候會去你的新公寓坐一坐。

perfect match (n.) 絕配

match 有「搭配」的意思,因此若要表示「A 跟 B 很搭」可以用 A is a perfect match for B ,perfect match 不只可以用在事物,也可以指兩個人是「天生一對」。

Popcorn is a perfect match for movies!
爆米花跟電影是絕配!

post (v.) 派駐

post 除了有「發布;公布」的意思之外,還有「派駐」之意。

After training the employees will be posted overseas.
受訓後,員工就會被派駐海外。

What line of work are you in? 你從事什麼行業?

要問對方從事什麼工作時,許多人會直覺想到 What is your job? 或 What are you? 但這些問法都太過直接,會讓人覺得有點不禮貌。你可以問:What line of work are you in? 或 What do you do for a living?。

A: What line of work are you in?
B: Import/export mainly.

A:你從事什麼行業?
B:主要是進出口。

週末,Jeffery 找了另外幾個比較熟的鄰居,幫 Malfred 辦了一個小小的歡迎派對。

Tammy: Hi, I’m Tammy. I live here with my fiancée, Rebecca. So do you just live by yourself then?
Tammy:嗨我是 Tammy,我跟我未婚妻 Rebecca 一起住,你是自己一個人嗎?

Malfred: Yeah, I’m single and my parents chose to stay in Sri Lanka.
Malfred:對啊,因為我還單身,而我爸媽也選擇留在斯里蘭卡。

Rebecca: How’s your week going so far? Everything okay?
Rebecca:你這週過得如何?一切都還好嗎?

Malfred: Life here is more fast-paced than in Sri Lanka, so I’m still finding my feet.
Malfred:這邊的生活步調比斯里蘭卡快,所以我還在適應中。

Jeffery: What do you like to do on weekends? Tammy and I usually go hiking.
Jeffery:你假日都喜歡做什麼?Tammy 跟我很常去爬山。

Malfred: I’m also a fan of getting out and about in nature. I like to go camping and stargazing.
Malfred:我也很喜歡去戶外走走接近大自然。我喜歡露營和觀星。 

Tammy: Cool, we’ve always wanted to go camping but we feel like we should go with someone who has some experience.
Tammy:酷哦,我們一直想去露營,但我們需要有經驗的人同行。

Malfred: Well count me in the next time you’re thinking of going!
Malfred:如果你們不介意的話,下次可以算我一個!

single (adj.) 單身的

single 原本意思是「單一的」,在對話中則表示「單身的;未婚的」,其他感情狀態如:married (已婚的)、engaged (已訂婚的)、divorced (離過婚的)。

I feel like I am doomed to be forever single. It seems like it will require a miracle for me to find someone.
我覺得我好像註定要永遠單身。感覺好像需要什麼奇蹟才能找到對的人。

fast-paced (adj.) 步調快的

pace 有「步伐;步調」之意,fast-paced 為複合形容詞,形容「步調快的」,反義詞是 slow-paced。

He finds living in a fast-paced city quite stressful, so he decided to move to the countryside.
住在步調快的城市讓他壓力很大,所以他決定搬到鄉下。

find one’s feet (phr.) 適應新環境

這句話字面意思是「找到你的腳」,就像要找到你一個可以站穩、立足的地方,因此意思是「適應新環境」。

Don’t be so hard on yourself; you’re not going to get fired! You’ve only just started and you’re still finding your feet.
別對自己這麼苛刻,你不會被開除的!你才剛開始而且還在適應新環境啊。

想認識新朋友,除了提問之外,也可以分享自己的經驗、興趣,讓話題延續下去哦!

迫不及待想馬上開始練習嗎?

快打開 VoiceTube App 練英文!

立即下載 >>> https://bit.ly/myenglishissogood

英文單字不要硬背! 藉由 VoiceTube App 看影片,不會的單字反覆聆聽,加上單字測驗練習,聽寫齊下,立刻熟記!

文/ Vivian Chen
審/ Eunice Lin
圖/ Pexels
作者簡介/ VoiceTube 看影片學英語

《Ride the Vibes 脈搏秀》VoiceTube 原創 Podcast 於 iTunes、Spotify 雙平台上線了!快點擊下方連結下載收聽!
iTunes:https://apple.co/38h1b6j
Spotify:https://spoti.fi/2GSR1wE