J: He is a very busy 14 -year old. But you know, all kids sooner or later are in a school play.
Y: 是吗,所有的孩子都有机会参加演出啊?
J: Oh sure. And today we ll hear from Eric and his mom Lara about what it means to be in a school play.
Y: 好啊。那我们就先来认识Eric的妈妈Lara 。
Lara: It s, I think fairly common, almost every junior high school and high school in the country has some sort of play or dramatic opportunity that kids can participate in.
Y: 原来我以为只有那些将来想进演艺界的小孩才会参加这种演出呢。
J: Oh no, no, no. Everyone tries out for school plays!
Y: "Try out" 就是参加audition,I mean 参加“演员挑选”
J: That s right. Everyone tries out. The nerdy students try out, the artsy students try out and just the plain ol average students try out. Again here is Lara.
Lara: Everyone tries out. Anyone who s interested can try out. The more nerdy kids, if you will, the artsy kids, and just plain ol average kids. Anyone can try out.
Y: 哎, Jody,你来给大家描述一下,如果说个人很nerdy, 那该是什么样子呢?
J: OK. A nerd is anyone who studies too much, never gets into any trouble and carries around lots of pens and pencils. That is a nerdy student.
Y: Nerdy kids 一般来说都是书呆子。 那么artsy呢?
J: Artsy, very creative, artistic students. But no matter if you are nerdy or artsy , being in a play makes you busy.
Y: 没错,特别是对一个14岁的孩子来说。 那他有那么时间吗?
J: Well, Yang Chen, that is the negative side of being in a school play - it can really drain a student s time.
Lara: The negatives are... it s a very large drain on a kid s time. For an individual play it s several weeks of practice - maybe six weeks of practice.
Y: 要花 6 个星期的时间来排练。 那这样会不会影响他的学习成绩呢?
J: Well, it probably does influence a student s grades. But I also think it s well worth it.
Y: Jody, 你的意思是说参加演出比取得好成绩还要重要吗?
J: Well, it could be. Acting in a play is a wonderful opportunity to develop such things as public speaking abilities, confidence.
Lara: Well, the pros are that it s a wonderful opportunity for kids to develop public speaking ability and confidence. That s a definite plus - building a positive self-image.
Y: 说了半天,Eric到底参加的是那一部戏的演出?
J: Eric performed in the Music Man.
Eric: My name is Eric. And... I was in a play called the Music Man. It s about this man named Harold Hill and he s a con artist. A con artist is someone who tricks people into giving them money. And so Harold is selling boys bands.
Y: Con artist, 就是诈骗犯的意思。
J: In the Music Man boys bands means a marching band with lots of instruments!