Part 3 Brace-face 铁面人

Dialogue Script 1  对话原文 1

Mom: Hey, Tim! How was your first day at school?
Tim: I have a new nickname... "brace-face".
Mom: "Brace-face"? Ah, that ain't so bad! Kids used to call me worse names than that!
Tim: You're just trying to cheer me up.
Mom: No! We used to call kids with braces "metal mouths." Ha-ha!
Tim: Yeah, well, they call me that too, Mom.
Mom: Oh, I'm sorry! But who cares! They're only names. I know you're tougher than that!
Tim: I just always feel so stupid. I'm afraid to smile.
Mom: It would be a shame if you stopped smiling for the next two years.
Tim: I feel like a little kid.
Mom: Just trust us on this one. One day you;ll be able to look back at this and laugh.
Tim: Right. I'll be laughing with tears in my eyes because it's so sad.
Mom: Ha! Sometimes you're funny when you're silly. If you ever need a date, I'm always available.
Tim: Yeah, thanks, Mom.

讲解：

1. 今天是Tim开学的第一天，他感觉怎么样呢？Tim有了一个新外号，brace-face，就是“铁面人”，或者叫“牙套男”也行。nickname是指“外号，绰号”，比如说，As he was always cheerful he had he nickname "Smiler". 因为他总是乐呵呵的，所以他的外号叫“乐乐”。

2. nickname 还可以表示“爱称，昵称”，举个例子，Harold's nickname was Harry. Harold的昵称是Harry。 nickname跟name一样，也可以作为动词，意思是“给别人起外号”，比如说，He was nicknamed Fatty because he was so skinny! 因为他很瘦，所以给他起个外号叫“胖子”！

3. 妈妈说，“铁面人”这个绰号已经不错了，她小时候还有过更糟糕的外号呢，Tim不相信，说妈妈只是哄他开心罢了。cheer sb up 表示“让某人更高兴或者更快活”，比如说，He made faces to cheer up his sister. 他做鬼脸逗妹妹笑。

4. cheer up 也可以单独使用，表示“高兴起来，振作起来”，比如说，You seem to need cheering up. 你似乎需要振作起来。cheer up 还有一个比喻的用法，表示“为某物增添光彩”，比如说，The flowers always cheer the room up. 房间里一有花就满室增辉。

5. 妈妈小时候那些戴牙套的小孩子都会被称为“大钢牙”，metal mouth。妈妈没想到的是Tim的同学也这样叫他。妈妈安慰Tim说，没关系，这些只是名字而已，不要那么介意，Tim足够坚强可以应付得来。

6. Tim一直觉得戴牙套很傻，也一直不敢笑，但是如果他接下来两年都不笑的话，可就太糟糕了。Tim此时感觉自己就像个小孩子，那么无助。妈妈说这件事听他们的准没错，有朝一日Tim会笑着回顾这段时间的。trust sb on sth 表示“相信某人对某事的判断。

7. 这里 look back at/on sth and laugh 表示“笑看往事”。当你面对不愉快的事情的时候，与其一直耿耿于怀，不如换个角度想，等到事过境迁的时候，或许这会是一段很有意思的回忆。这时候就可以用look back at/on sth and laugh这个句式了。我们来用一段对话作例子，---We'll look back at this and laugh one day. ---I hope so, because I just want to cry now. ---有朝一日我们回想起这件事的时候会觉得很好笑。---但愿如此，因为现在我只想哭。还有，---In ten years, you'll look back at your childhood dairies and laugh. ---My kids might think they're funny, too. ---十年后，你会笑着看你小时候写的日记。---我的孩子说不定也会觉得很好笑。

8. Tim还是很悲观，他说，没错，到时候我会笑中还有泪，因为回想起来实在是太悲哀了。妈妈开玩笑说Tim犯起傻气来还真可爱。还大方地说，无论Tim什么时候需要约会对象，她都有空奉陪。这可让Tim哭笑不得，只好道谢。

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