我吃了Colin的脸（对话）

你好，欢迎收听《轻松英语故事》，这个播客将帮助你的英语从一般提升到良好，从良好提升到优秀。

Hello, and welcome to easy stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from okay to good and from good to great.

我是你的主持人阿里尔·古德贝迪。

I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show.

今天的节目是一场关于我想聊的任何话题的对话。

Today's episode is a conversation about pretty much whatever I want.

没错，这是一场自由发挥的即兴对话节目。

That's right, it's a freewheeling improvisational conversational episode.

但和往常一样，你可以在 easystoriesinenglish.com 找到文字稿和PDF版，链接在简介中。

But as always, you can find the transcript and PDF at easystoriesinenglish.com and you can find the link to that in the description.

当我录制这段内容时，日期是8月5日，这意味着我离飞往中国只有五天了。

So as I'm recording this, it is the August 5, which means I am just five days away from flying to China.

但当你听到这段时，我已经在中國了。

But as you listen to this, I will already be in China.

因此，在准备离开的这段时间里，我的生活发生了太多事情，我想不如做个简单的状态更新，聊聊我的感受，告诉你一切进展如何。

So, there's been so much going on in my life preparing to leave that I thought it would be nice to just have a little check-in to just kind of talk about my feelings and tell you all how things are going.

因为你们知道，我从不在《轻松英语故事》中谈论我的感受。

Because as you know, I never talk about my feelings on easy stories in English.

如果你觉得：‘今天的声音真好啊。’

If you're like, oh, the sound is really good today.

那是因为我住在朋友家，她有一个小壁橱，像那种小储物柜，我想，她平时并不怎么用。

Well, it's because I'm staying at my friend's and she has a little closet, like a little, brim cupboard, I guess, which she doesn't really use.

而这个空间非常适合录制播客，因为它是一个封闭的小空间。

And it's perfect for recording a podcast in because it is a small enclosed space.

现在，我觉得这对音质应该会很好。

Now, I think it will be good for sound quality.

它显然有很多混响，这通常应该是好事，我想。

It certainly seems to have a lot of reverb, which generally is good, I guess.

我不确定这是否适合口语类播客，但我认为它可能会比我之前录音的地方更好，因为那里声音有点金属感。

I'm not sure if it's ideal for a spoken word podcast, but I think it will probably be better than where I was recording before because that place had quite a metallic sound.

我不知道你们中是否有人真的关心这些事。

I don't know if this is stuff that any of you actually care about.

作为一名播客制作者，我总是尽力打造一个尽可能好的录音环境，过去当我无法以理想的音质录音时，我感到非常沮丧。

I know as a podcaster myself, I try to make as good a space as possible to record in and I've been very frustrated in the past when I haven't been able to record at the quality I would like.

很多人认为播客的录音质量全靠麦克风，但其实大部分因素——也许不是80%，但绝对是很大一部分——在于你录音的空间，以及声音在该空间中的传播方式。不幸的是，像我一样一直租房子住的人，通常对这一点没有太多选择，而对空间进行隔音或改造以改善声学效果，往往既昂贵、困难，甚至可能无效。

A lot of people think podcast recording quality is all about the microphone, but really 80% of it is, well, maybe not 80%, but a large part of it is the space you record in and how the sound moves around in that space and unfortunately, if you're living in rented accommodation, as I always have, you usually don't have much of a choice about that and soundproofing a space, trying to change a space to be better acoustically, to have better sound can be very expensive, difficult and possibly even ineffective.

所以，空间才是最关键的因素。

So it's really all about the space first.

因此，我将充分利用这个小壁橱空间，希望它能为大家带来愉快的聆听体验。

So I'm going to take advantage of this little closet wardrobe space and hopefully it will lead to a pleasant listening experience for all of you.

如果你通常在YouTube上观看，可能会觉得：‘咦，这次怎么没视频？’——那是因为这次我没有录制视频，目前我只有笔记本电脑，我已经卖掉了用来剪辑视频的台式电脑，而我的笔记本电脑已经很老旧了，超过十年了。虽然我还能用它剪辑视频，但过程非常缓慢。

If you usually watch on YouTube, and you're like, hey, there's no video this time, that's because I'm not recording a video this time because currently, I only have my laptop, I've sold my desktop computer, which I use to edit video and my laptop's pretty old, it's over ten years old now, and I can edit videos on it, but it's quite a slow process.

所以我决定：算了，不如……

So I decided, you know what?

我忙着准备去中国的事，何不让自己轻松一点？等我在安顿下来后，我会买一台新电脑， hopefully 再添置一些新的录音设备，把播客的质量提升一个档次。

I'm busy enough with preparing to leave for China, why don't I just make this a bit easier on myself, and once I'm settled in China, I'm going to buy a new computer and hopefully some new recording equipment, so I can really level up the podcast.

说实话，虽然我很喜欢看到YouTube上的评论，我也真的很喜欢制作播客的视频版本。

And to be honest, although I love seeing comments from people on YouTube, I really like making a video version of the podcast.

你们绝大多数听众都是通过播客应用收听，而不是观看视频。

The vast majority of you listeners are listening through a podcast app and not watching the video.

所以把重点放在视频上有点傻。

So it's a bit silly to prioritize the video.

总之，这真是充满‘最后一次’的一周。上周五，我在伦敦工作的学校度过了最后一天，这感觉很好，一位同事很贴心地送了我一块蛋糕和一瓶香槟。

Anyway, it's really been a week of lasts, so last Friday, I had my last day at work at the school I worked at in London, and that was nice and one of my colleagues very kindly gave me a cake and some bubbly.

这里的‘香槟’指的是一瓶香槟酒，但一般来说，‘bubbly’泛指任何类型的起泡酒。

So bubbly in this case means a bottle of champagne, but generally bubbly refers to any kind of sparkling wine.

这是非常英式的一种说法，意思是‘拿一瓶东西’。

It's a very British way of saying, getting a bottle of something.

比如，‘冰箱里有瓶起泡酒’，类似这样的表达。

Yeah, like, there's there's some bubbly in the fridge, that kind of thing.

所以我吃了蛋糕，喝了香槟，还把香槟带去了周日的教堂。

So I had some cake and some bubbly, and I took the bubbly to church on Sunday.

这听起来可能很奇怪，你为什么要带酒精去教堂？

That might seem strange, why are you bringing alcohol to church?

那是我最后一次去我的教堂，我常去伦敦南部的一座圣公会教堂，我与那里有着深厚的情感联系，我们举行了一个小小的告别仪式，非常感人。

Well, it was my last time at my church, I go to an Anglican church in South London that I feel very, very connected to, and we had a little goodbye, and it was very moving.

他们当着所有人的面为我祝福，还鼓了掌，这真的很温馨。

They gave me a blessing in front of everyone and a round of applause as well, which was really sweet.

然后我们喝了香槟，还吃了毛毛虫蛋糕。

And then we had Bubbly and Colin the Caterpillar Cake.

毛毛虫蛋糕是一种重要的英国文化传统。

So Colin the Caterpillar Cake is a very important British cultural tradition.

毛毛虫是一种会变成蝴蝶的昆虫。

A caterpillar is that insect that grows into a butterfly.

你可能知道一本叫《好饿的毛毛虫》的儿童读物。

You might know a children's book called The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

这本书在全球都很有名，讲述了一只毛毛虫吃了大量食物后变成蝴蝶的故事。

It's quite famous worldwide about a caterpillar who eats lots and lots of food and then grows into a butterfly.

而毛毛虫蛋糕是英国超市连锁店马莎百货出售的一种蛋糕，形状是一只名叫科林的毛毛虫——这名字倒也不意外。但不知为何，这种科林毛毛虫蛋糕成了人们在成长过程中生日派对或公司聚会时的常见选择，它们象征着庆祝、乐趣，以及那种典型的英国式不拘小节——你知道的，我们从不把事情看得太严肃，总喜欢开个玩笑，还有什么比用一个毛毛虫形状的蛋糕来跟人告别更荒谬的呢？

And Colin the Caterpillar Cake is a cake you can buy from Marks and Spencer's, a British supermarket chain, which is in the shape of a caterpillar called Colin, shockingly enough, but for some reason, Colin the caterpillar cakes have just become this thing that people get maybe when they're growing up at birthday parties or maybe at office parties, they really represent like celebration and a bit of fun and a bit of that very British kind of unseriousness, you know, we never take things too seriously, we always like to make a joke, and what could be sillier than saying goodbye to someone by giving them a cake shaped like a caterpillar.

尽管这是一款非常具有英国文化特色的标志物，但我小时候从未吃过科林毛毛虫蛋糕。

Now, despite this being quite a British cultural icon, I actually never had a Colin the Caterpillar cake growing up.

事实上，我觉得自己错过了这段经历，因为直到成年后很久，我才意识到这竟然是如此普遍的体验。

In fact, I felt robbed of this experience because I didn't know it was such a normal experience until quite late on in life.

所以当有人问我，在教会告别时想要什么蛋糕时，我自然地说了：‘科林毛毛虫’。

So when I was asked what cake I would like for my farewell at church, I naturally said, Colin the Caterpillar.

其实，我原本希望他们能从街角那家蛋糕店给我订一个特别精致的蛋糕，但你知道，科林毛毛虫也是个不错的选择，我也非常开心，我还吃了它的脸——那是蛋糕最好吃的部分，因为上面有大量美味的巧克力，而且据我所知，有个传统是让被庆祝的人吃掉科林的脸。

Well, actually, I was hoping they might get me a really fancy cake from this cake shop around the corner, but you know, Colin the Caterpillar was also a good choice, I was also very happy, and I ate the face, which is the best part of the cake because it has lots of yummy chocolate and I think it's tradition that the person being celebrated eats Colin's face.

我现在这么说，感觉真有点怪：我吃了科林的脸。

That's very weird now that I say that, I ate Colin's face.

但这款蛋糕已经成了现象级的存在，其他所有超市都争相模仿，推出了自己的版本。

But this has become such a thing, this cake that all the other supermarkets have ripped it off, they've copied it and done their own versions.

比如，森宝利超市有‘蠕动虫’，其他超市也都有各种各样的毛毛虫-蠕虫蛋糕，但据我所知，科林毛毛虫蛋糕是英国品质最好的毛毛虫造型蛋糕，所以我非常庆幸自己体验到了正宗的版本，而且我得说，那瓶普罗塞克起泡酒真的帮了大忙。

So it's Sainsbury's, you can get Wiggles the worm, and, there are all other kinds of caterpillarworm cakes at all the supermarkets, but from what I understand, Colin the Caterpillar is the best quality caterpillar shaped cake in The UK, so I'm very glad I had the authentic experience, and I will say the Prosecco really helped it go down.

所以，是的，我度过了在公司最后一天，也在教会度过了最后一刻，我正在和许多人做最后的告别，尤其是在瑜伽馆，我已经和好几个人道别了，尽管通常都是那种尴尬的场面：‘哦，也许我们还会再见’，所以现在就先说再见了。

So yeah, I had my last day at work, I had my last time at church, I'm seeing lots of people for the last time, particularly at my yoga studio, I've said goodbye to several people, although often it's that awkward thing of, oh, well, I might see you again, so I'll say goodbye now.

而且，我真的越来越欣赏爱尔兰式告别的美了。

And, you know, I'm really coming to appreciate the beauty of the Irish goodbye.

如果你不知道，爱尔兰式告别就是你离开派对时不对任何人说再见，只是安静而迅速地离开。

If you don't know, the Irish goodbye is when you leave a party without saying goodbye to anyone, you just leave quietly and quickly.

我想这被称为爱尔兰式告别，是因为爱尔兰人素有不道别就直接离开的名声，我不确定这是否是因为爱尔兰的聚会通常规模很大、非常注重家庭，而我本人也深知，如果你有一个大家庭，道别会变成一场大工程。

And I guess it's called the Irish goodbye because Irish people have a reputation for not saying goodbye and just leaving, I don't know if that's because Irish gatherings tend to be very big, very family focused, And I know from personal experience, if you have a big family, saying goodbye can become a whole operation.

在我的家庭聚会中，你必须在真正离开前至少预留十到十五分钟来向每个人道别，因为每个人在你告别时都想和你聊天，还有拥抱和亲吻，整个过程变得相当繁琐。

Certainly at my family gatherings, you need to plan in at least ten to fifteen minutes before you actually need to leave to say goodbye to everyone, because everyone wants to talk to you when you say goodbye, and there's hugs and kisses and it turns into quite an operation.

所以，你知道的，我原本计划向各个群体和不同的人正式道别，也许在瑜伽馆见面时说，或者发条短信，但后来我突然觉得实在懒得去做了。

So, you know, there were various groups and spaces and people who I was planning on saying a formal goodbye to, maybe seeing at yoga or sending them a text, And then I just realized I couldn't be bothered.

这并不是说我不想跟这些人道别，而是当我处于这种即将离开、准备休息、即将迎来巨大变化的心境时，真的很难再应付这些告别。

And that's not that I don't want to say goodbye to these people, but it's really hard when I'm in this headspace of, okay, I'm getting ready to leave, I'm trying to rest before I go, it's going to be a big change.

然后人们就会说：‘哇，你一定会度过一段美妙的时光。’

And then people are like, oh, wow, oh, you're going to have an amazing time.

一路平安。

Have a safe journey.

哦，认识你真的很愉快。

Oh, it's been really nice to know you.

哦，也许我还会再见到你。

Oh, well, maybe I'll see you again.

你得一遍又一遍地跟不同的人重复告别这套流程。

And you're going through the same script of saying goodbye again and again with different people.

我不知道，但感觉有点多余。

And I don't know, it just feels a bit unnecessary.

我相信其中一些人会在我离开后给我发消息，这很温馨，我也很乐意接受。

Like, I'm sure some of these people will send me a text message when they realize I've gone and that's lovely and I'm happy with that.

但我并不觉得有必要跟每个人做冗长的告别。

But I don't feel this need to make long drawn out goodbyes with everyone.

最初，我以为最后一周会非常热闹。

Originally, I thought this last week was going to be very social.

我以为我会办个告别聚会，跟所有人道别。

I thought I would have a last drinks event and say goodbye to everyone.

但事实上，我最近一直独自度过很多时光，这感觉非常好。

But yeah, I've actually just been spending a lot of time by myself, and that's been lovely.

我休息了很多，这非常必要，而且真的激发了我的创作灵感。

I've been resting a lot, which has been much needed, and actually it's really kick started my creative process.

昨天早上，我一口气写了三个播客故事，真的很棒。

Yesterday morning, I just wrote three stories for the podcast back to back, that was really cool.

所以很明显，这正是我的身体所需要的。我之前还告诉自己：‘这周我得确保多运动，因为周日我要坐十二个小时的飞机。’

So it's clear that this is what my body needs, and I was telling myself, oh, I need to make sure I do lots of exercise this week because I'm going to be sitting on a plane for twelve hours on Sunday.

然后我的朋友提醒我，旅行非常累人。

And then my friend pointed out to me, travel is very tiring.

坐十二个小时的飞机，可不像在家放松，它会让你筋疲力尽。

Sitting on a plane for twelve hours, it's not like just relaxing at home, it's going to tire you out.

我这才意识到：‘对啊，旅行真的让人精疲力尽。’

And I was like, oh yeah, travel is exhausting.

我之前差点忘了这一点。

Like I had kind of forgotten about that part.

所以我应该在旅行前好好休息，以应对旅途的疲惫。

So I should rest up in anticipation of the travel fatigue.

我得说，我其实对这次飞机旅程、对这次飞行感到异常兴奋。

I will say I'm actually weirdly excited about the plane journey, about the flight.

这将是我第一次乘坐长途航班，长途航班是指飞行距离非常远的航班。

It will be the first time I've flown long haul, Long haul is when you fly like a really long distance.

这是我自2013年左右飞往日本以来，第一次乘坐长途航班。

It will be the first time I've flown long haul since 2013, I think, when I flew to Japan.

这将会很有趣。

So that's going to be interesting.

我将从伦敦飞往上海，然后从上海浦东机场乘坐磁悬浮列车前往市中心。

I'm flying from London to Shanghai, and then I'm getting the Maglev train from Shanghai Pudong Airport to the city center.

磁悬浮是磁力悬浮的简称，这是一种非常复杂、高科技的列车形式，它真的能靠磁力悬浮在空中，漂浮在磁轨上，这列火车时速可达350公里，只需十分钟就能从机场到达市中心。

So Maglev is short for magnetic levitation, and it's this very complex, high-tech form of train that literally levitates on magnets, it floats on magnets and this train goes at three fifty kilometers per hour, so it gets you from the airport to the city centre in ten minutes.

不用说，英国根本没有这么酷的东西，更不用说这么快的了，所以我非常期待这次体验；抵达后，我将在市中心待几个小时，可能会先寄存行李，然后去吃早餐，因为我将在早上八点左右抵达上海；下午，我会去另一个机场——不是为了乘飞机，而是为了乘坐从上海到宁波的火车，到了那里，我会被人接走，开启我在中国的全新冒险。

Needless to say, we don't have anything that cool in The UK, certainly nothing that fast, so I'm really looking forward to that, then I'll have a few hours in the city center, I'll probably store my luggage and go and have breakfast somewhere because I will be landing in Shanghai at about eight in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I'll be going to the other airport, not to fly, but to get the train from Shanghai to Ningbo, where I will be picked up and beginning my new adventure in China.

所以，长途向东飞行时最糟糕的一件事就是时差，对吧？

So one thing that's always horrible about flying long haul east is that you get jet lag, right?

时差是指你的身体无法适应时区差异，从而感到非常疲惫，但有一种经过科学验证的方法可以避免时差，那就是禁食。

Jet lag is when your body can't adjust to the difference in time zones and you feel very tired, but there is a scientifically proven method to avoid jet lag and it is fasting.

我以前在播客中提到过间歇性禁食，但本质上，这种方法据说是美国外交服务研究所发明的，基本原理是计算你在目的地国家的第一餐时间，然后在那之前禁食16小时。

Now I've talked about intermittent fasting on the podcast before, but essentially this is a method that actually, I think it's the Foreign Services Institute in America invented, where basically you calculate when your first meal will be in the country you're going to, and then you fast for sixteen hours leading up to that.

所以理论上，我会从出发当天上午9点开始禁食，直到抵达并吃早餐为止。

So theoretically, I will be fasting from 9AM on the day I fly until I land and get breakfast.

这样做的原因是，当你禁食后再进食，会一定程度上重置你的生物钟。

The reason for doing this is when you fast and then eat a meal, it kind of resets your body clock.

因此，通过在上海以当地正常时间吃早餐来打破禁食，我就能向身体传递信号：嘿，该吃早餐了，是早晨了。

So by having breakfast as my first meal, by breaking the fast in Shanghai, at the kind of normal time, for that part of the world, I should hopefully be telling my body, hey, it's breakfast, it's morning.

此外还有一些其他建议，比如第一天要多待在户外，多晒太阳，还要在禁食前遵循特定的饮食：一天多吃碳水化合物，第二天多吃蛋白质。

And there are also some other parts like you're supposed to spend a lot of your first day outside, get lots of sunshine, you're also supposed to eat a specific diet leading up to the fasting, where you eat loads of carbohydrates in one day and then loads of protein on the next.

我不打算这么做，太麻烦了。

I'm not doing that, I can't be bothered.

这听起来挺麻烦的，但禁食其实很简单，所以我只做禁食，不在飞机上吃任何东西，到上海后再吃，看看会不会有jet lag。

That sounds like a lot of work, fasting is pretty easy, so I'll do the fasting, I won't eat any food on the airplane and I'll eat in Shanghai and we'll see if I get jet lag.

我还有些褪黑素片，这也有助于防止我出现jet lag。

I also have some melatonin pills, so that will help prevent me getting jet lag.

我两次去日本的时候都没怎么严重地出现过jet lag，虽然有点时差反应，但不算大问题，不过那已经是很久以前的事了。

I don't remember getting really bad jet lag either time I went to Japan, I had some jet lag, but it wasn't a massive problem, but it's been a long time.

这种方法的另一个好处是，你不会在飞机上吃东西，而众所周知，飞机上的食物并不怎么样。

The other advantage of this method is it means you don't eat food on the airplane and as we all know, airplane food isn't exactly great.

这还能避免一个问题——我很抱歉要谈这个，因为有点恶心，但我就是个恶心的人，而你选择听我讲话，所以这怪不了别人。

It also avoids the problem of, and I'm really sorry that I'm going to talk about this because it's a bit disgusting, but I'm a disgusting person, and you choose to listen to me, so it's kind of your fault.

没人喜欢在飞机上大便。

Nobody wants to poo on an airplane.

在飞机上上厕所可不是什么愉快的事。

Doing a number two, doing your business on an aeroplane is not pleasant.

所以如果我禁食，可能就不需要上厕所了，这样飞行会更舒服，我可以安心睡觉、看书、看电影。

So if I fast, I probably won't have to do that and I'll have a more comfortable flight and I can just sleep and read books and watch films.

我其实还挺期待这次飞行的，因为过去几个月我几乎没有多少完全属于自己的安静时光，真有点可悲的是，我居然期待一次十二小时的飞行，但我希望能好好读点书、学点中文。

I'm actually kind of looking forward to the flight because I haven't had a lot of uninterrupted me time in the last few months, and it's really sad that I'm looking forward to a twelve hour flight, but I'm hoping to get some good reading and Chinese study done.

以前我觉得这么长的旅途会很无聊，但我觉得现在我应该能适应了。

And I don't know, in the past I would have found that length of travel quite boring, but I think now I'll be okay with it.

我想我会好好利用这段时间。

Think I'll make good use of that time.

我得说，这确实有点让人紧张。

I will say it's been a bit nerve wracking.

过去一周让我有点紧张，因为发生了好几起自然灾害。

It's made me a bit nervous in the past week because there's been multiple natural disasters.

也许‘自然灾害’这个词有点夸张，但中国宁波发生了台风，俄罗斯发生了地震，我相信你已经听说了，夏威夷还出现了海啸，他们一度担心我所在的中国地区——哦，我都开始说‘我所在的中国地区’了，你看我，我所在的中国地区，浙江，宁波就位于那里，曾发布过黄色洪水预警。

Well, natural disaster is perhaps a strong word, but there was a typhoon in Ningbo in China, and there was this earthquake in Russia, which I'm sure you've heard about, and there was a tsunami in Hawaii, and they thought that my region of China, oh, I'm already referring to it as my region of China, look at me go, my region of China, Zhejiang, where Ningbo is located, did have a yellow flood warning.

所以他们担心海啸会导致严重洪涝，但最后没事了，预警被取消了，我想海水只上涨了大约30厘米左右。

So they thought there might be bad flooding from the tsunami, but in the end it was fine and they removed the warning and I think the water rose by like 30 centimeters or something.

所以这并不是什么大问题。

So it wasn't a massive problem.

所以我听到了这些消息，自然感到有点紧张。

So I heard all this and I was understandably a bit nervous.

北京最近发生了许多洪水，但我的朋友对我说，他们只是在你出发前把所有自然灾害都集中处理了。

There has been a lot of flooding in Beijing, but my friend said to me, well, they're just getting all the natural disasters out of the way before you go.

所以地震已经发生了，台风也已经过去了。

So they've done the earthquake, they've done the typhoon.

等你出发时，天气就会平静安宁了。

So when you go, it will be nice and calm.

我同意。

And I agree.

我觉得这正是正在发生的事情。

I think that's exactly what's happening.

或者当我出发时，情况可能会变得更糟。

Or maybe when I go, it will get even worse.

我们走着瞧吧。

We'll see.

我也一直在学一点中文。

I've also been studying a bit of Chinese.

我一直在用一个非常棒的Chrome扩展程序，这是一个可以安装在网页浏览器上的程序，叫Language Reactor，它让你可以在看Netflix或YouTube时，把所有字幕显示在右侧，你可以点击字幕跳转到视频的相应部分，也可以高亮单词来获取即时翻译，还能逐行翻译整个故事，因为基本上我的中文水平已经到了想使用非针对学习者的资源的程度。

I've been using this really fantastic Chrome extension, so it's a program that you can install on your web browser and it's called Language Reactor and basically it lets you watch Netflix or YouTube with all of the subtitles on the right hand side and you can click the subtitles to jump to that part of the video and you can highlight words to get an instant translation and you can get a line by line translation of the story, because basically I'm at the level in Chinese where I want to be using resources that aren't for learners.

所以我希望看电视剧、读书籍，但对我来说，理解内容仍然非常困难。

So like I want to be watching TV shows and reading books, but it's still very difficult for me to understand anything.

所以通过使用Language Reactor，我可以查一些我不认识的词，大致理解意思。

So by using language reactor, I can kind of just look up some of the words that I don't know and get a gist of what it means.

正如你所知，我非常相信通过可理解输入法来学习。

As you know, I really believe in studying using comprehensible input methods.

这是一种非常好的方式，因为我可以从字典词中获得足够的意思来理解故事的发展，而不需要查每一个词。

And this is a great way of doing it because I can get just enough of the meaning from the dictionary words to understand what's going on in the story, but I don't have to look up every word.

这种学习方式一开始感觉非常辛苦，比如我会看一集三十分钟的电视剧，结束后真的会觉得精疲力尽。

This kind of study feels like really hard work at the beginning, like I'll watch a thirty minute episode of this TV show, and I genuinely feel exhausted afterwards.

但我知道，随着时间推移，这会变得越来越容易，我已经能感觉到自己的词汇量在增长。

But I know just going to get easier with time, and I can already feel my vocabulary expanding.

比如，前几天我学到了一个词，意思是柔软的，我觉得是指情感上的柔软，或者至少这是它的一种用法。

For example, I learned the word the other day, which means soft, I think, like emotionally soft, or at least that's one of the ways it can be used.

但没错，使用 Language Reactor，我感到非常感激，因为它让语言学习变得轻松多了。

But yeah, using language reactor, I just feel so grateful at how much easier language study has become.

你知道吗，当我把现在学语言和青少年时期相比，现在要容易得多。

You know, when I compare studying a language now to when I was a teenager, it's so much easier.

现在有太多更多的学习资源了。

There are so many more resources.

这些资源的质量普遍更高。

The quality of the resources is generally higher.

很多资源都是免费的，还有各种工具和程序，其中很多都运用了人工智能，真正帮助缓解了语言学习中的困难部分。

A lot of the resources are free, and there are all of these tools and programs, a lot of which use AI, which really help facilitate the difficult parts of language learning.

不过，我也得说，现在学习语言也更难了，因为有太多诱人的工具，比如 Duolingo，它们给你一种正在学语言的错觉，实际上只是让你在玩游戏。

Now, I will say it's also much harder now in the sense that there are all of these really tempting tools like Duolingo that give you the illusion of learning a language when really they're just helping you play a game.

所以我认为，你很容易迷失在这些新应用、新方法和新程序中，而它们实际上并不能帮助你真正掌握语言。

So I think you can get really lost in all of these new apps and methods and programmes which don't actually help you learn the language.

如果有什么影响的话，它们反而阻碍了直接接触内容。

If anything, they get in the way of accessing the content directly.

所以我会说，这些工具需要谨慎使用。

So I would say, these tools need to be used really carefully.

实际上，也许我应该就此做一期节目。

Actually, maybe I should do an episode about this.

问题是，我自己也还在逐步掌握这些工具。

The thing is, I'm still kind of getting to grips with a lot of these tools myself.

这相当困难，因为我常常知道我可以改进学习方法，但却不清楚究竟该使用哪些工具，因为选项太多了，有些是免费的，有些是付费的，但像Language Reactor这样的工具，我愿意付费购买。

It's quite difficult because often I know that I could improve my study methods, but I don't know exactly what tools I should use because there are so many options, some of them are free, some of them are paid, but something like Language Reactor, I would happily pay for.

事实上，我正在使用他们的专业版免费试用，我很可能最终会付费，因为它真正彻底改变了学习过程。

In fact, I'm on a free trial of their pro version and I probably will pay for it because it genuinely completely changes the process of studying.

我以前在没有这个工具的情况下看这部剧，可能只能理解20%的内容，错过了很多文化线索和剧集的深层含义；而使用Language Reactor实时翻译单词后，我理解得多了，也享受得多得多。

I was watching some of this show before without this tool, and I could understand maybe like 20%, and I missed so many of the cultural cues and like the deeper meaning of the episode, and watching it with Language Reactor being able to translate words on the fly, I understood so much more and I enjoyed it so much more.

这是一种完全不同的学习方式。

And it was a completely different study method.

不过话说回来，那种纯粹观看而不去查词的沉浸式学习方式，也是非常重要的。

Now, to be fair, that kind of immersion where you just watch and don't worry about looking things up, That's also a really important thing to do.

但我认为这应该是我学习后期才去做的事情，因为现在我的词汇量还不足以真正从中获益。

But I think that's something I want to do later on in my study, because right now I don't have the vocabulary to really get the most out of that.

最后，关于离开这件事，有一件事让我感到非常难过，我不想过多详细谈论，因为这非常私人。

Finally, there is something that I'm very sad about when it comes to leaving, and I don't want to go into too much detail about this because it's very personal.

但过去一个月左右，我偶然开始和一个人交往，这完全出乎意料。

But I've been sort of seeing someone in the last month or so, it was very unexpected.

我当然没有计划在去中国之前谈恋爱或认真约会，原因显而易见。

I certainly wasn't planning on getting into a relationship or doing any serious dating before going to China, for obvious reasons.

但有时候，命运会替你做决定。

But sometimes God decides for you.

而这一次，他把我生命中一个非常可爱的男人送到了我身边。

And in this case, he dropped a very lovely man into my lap.

这么说听起来有点奇怪。

That makes it sound weird.

是的，我遇到了一个人，我们一直在交往，这段关系非常美好，但也很令人心碎，因为搬家和告别朋友已经够难了，而要和一个我渐渐爱上的人告别，更是难上加难。

Yeah, I met someone and we've been seeing each other and it's been really lovely, but it's also heartbreaking because it's hard enough moving country and saying goodbye to friends, it's much harder having to say goodbye to someone who I've kind of fallen in love with.

之前，我总觉得：好吧，我们相处得很愉快，但我知道，等我告别后去中国，我大概会慢慢放下这个人，我们会彼此遗忘，各自继续生活。

And earlier on, I felt like, oh, okay, we're getting on very well, but, you know, I'll say goodbye, I'll move to China and I'll probably get over this person, you know, we'll forget about each other, we'll move on with our lives.

我仍然觉得这种可能性存在，我知道我在中国的新生活会非常忙碌，也会遇到其他人，但事实上，过去几周我们却越来越亲近，越来越觉得，这是一段非常特别的联系，我希望能即使在分开时，也努力维系、培养和珍惜它。

And I do still think there's a possibility of that, you know, I'm sure I'll be very busy with my new life in China, and I'll meet other people, but actually, we've been getting closer and closer over the last few weeks and more and more it feels like, oh, this is a really special connection that I want to try and nourish and nurture and maintain even while I'm away.

所以这将意味着要写很多信，哦不，这简直是写长篇浪漫情书的绝佳借口，真是让人无奈啊。

So that's going to involve lots of writing letters, which oh, no, an excuse to write long romantic letters, what a shame.

但说实话，我超爱这个。

Secretly, I love this.

当然，我们还会互相探望，但这并不理想。

And of course, visiting each other, but it's not ideal.

这并不是一个理想的情况。

It's not an ideal situation.

但每当我遇到这种情况，我总是告诉自己：这些事都是上天安排来考验我们的，对吧？

But I always tell myself in situations like this, these things are sent to try us, right?

上帝给我们这些挑战，是因为他知道我们能够克服它们。

God gives us these challenges because he knows that we can overcome them.

上帝给了我这一切，是因为他知道这适合我，即使它让我感到有些沮丧。

I've been given this because God knows it's right for me, even if it feels a little bit frustrating.

我已经变得更加擅长顺其自然，静观其变。

And I've got much better at just going with the flow, seeing what happens.

所以现在，我只想享受眼前这份爱，因为说实话，我被爱包围着，我沐浴在爱中，过去一周里，当我看到同事们、教会里的人，还有和亲密朋友告别时的情景，这一点变得格外清晰。

So for now, I just want to enjoy the love that is in front of me, because to be honest, I am surrounded by love, I am bathed in love, it's become very clear to me in the last week, seeing how people said goodbye to me at work, at church, staying with a close friend.

我刚刚意识到，我有多幸运，能拥有生命中这些人物，以及有多少人关心我。

I've just realized how lucky I am to have the people I have in my life and how much people care about me.

这让我深受感动，因为在我搬到伦敦之前，我住在非常乡村的地方，虽然也有爱我的人和亲密的朋友，但我没有那种本地社区的氛围。

And it moves me a lot because before I moved to London, I was living very rurally, and I did have people who loved me, I did have close friends, but I didn't have that kind of local community.

那时我发现自己很难融入一个新环境，建立自己的位置并与人建立联系。

And I found it much harder to just enter a space and establish myself and connect with people.

而现在，我觉得自己真的成长了很多，虽然不想显得自大，但人们真的很喜欢和我在一起，真的爱我。

And now I feel like, wow, I've really grown as a person and without trying to sound arrogant, people really like having me around, you know, people really love me.

我觉得我能够真正地为我所处的每一个环境做出贡献。

I feel like I can really contribute to all the spaces I'm in.

这对于我在中国的这段新旅程来说是个好兆头，对吧？

And that bodes really well for this new journey in China, right?

这给了我很多希望，我相信我一定能顺利适应新学校，我会和同事们相处得很好，我会做出出色的工作，而且我会过得很开心。

That gives me a lot of hope that I'm really going to settle in in my new school, I think I'm going to get on with my coworkers, I think I'm going to do really good work and I'm just going to have a great time.

我非常期待认识很多人，说很多中文，吃很多美食，旅行，充分体验生活。

I'm so excited to just meet lots of people, speak lots of Chinese, eat lots of food, travel, just experience life to the fullest.

我非常高兴自己做出了这个决定。

I'm so glad I'm making this decision.

我真的，就是感觉我已经为这一切做好了准备。

I really, I just feel so ready for this.

而且，也许我会过得一团糟。

And hey, maybe I'll have a horrible time.

也许我会讨厌我的新工作。

Maybe I'll hate my new job.

也许我一个朋友都交不到。

Maybe I won't make any friends.

也许我会特别孤单。

Maybe I'll be super lonely.

也许辣食物会让我的肚子爆炸。

Maybe the spicy food will make my stomach explode.

如果真发生了，我会回家，但我会学到一些非常宝贵的教训，你知道，归根结底，无论结果如何，我都会更了解自己，成长为一个更好的人。

And if that happens, I'll come home and I will have learned some very valuable lessons, you know, at the end of the day, whatever outcome I have, I'm going to learn more about myself, and I'm going to grow as a person.

我真心相信，这就是生活的意义。

And I truly believe that's what life is about.

它关乎成长，我本来想说，成长为最好的自己，但这听起来太像新自由主义的说法了。

It's about growing into, I was gonna say growing into the best versions of ourselves, that feels like a very kind of neoliberal version of it.

我想，当我谈到成长为更好的自己时，我指的是那种更高的道德和哲学意义上的目标，对吧？

I guess when I talk about growing into a better version of ourselves, I'm thinking of like that higher moral and philosophical purpose, right?

比如，我真心相信，我们应当努力，应当勤奋地在道德和哲学上，同时也在情感和精神上不断提升自己。

Like, I truly believe that we should strive, we should work hard to improve both morally and philosophically, but also emotionally and spiritually.

我认为当今社会的许多人缺乏任何抱负。

I think a lot of people in today's society lack any kind of ambition.

我所说的不仅仅是职业上的抱负，而是成为更好的人、为世界做善事的抱负。

And I'm not talking about just career ambition, I'm talking about, you know, ambition to be a better person to do good in the world.

这对我来说至关重要。

That to me is vitally important.

感谢您收听今天的节目。

Thank you for listening to today's episode.

如果你正在经历类似的人生旅程或转变，或者正在思考这些问题，我非常想听听你的故事。

And if you're going through any similar journeys, transitions in your life, or if you're thinking about it, I would love to hear about it.

请在 easystoriesinenglish.com 的文稿下留言，或在 Spotify 上留言。

Leave a comment on the transcript at easystoriesinenglish.com or leave a comment on Spotify.

我非常期待听到你的想法。

I would love to hear your thoughts.

非常感谢您的收听，我将在中国见到你，或者更准确地说，你将在中国听到我。

Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you in China, or rather you will hear me in China.

好吧。

Alright.

再见。

Bye.

哇哦。

Woah.

再见。

Goodbye.