Duplex 双层公寓（精讲之一）

影片对白

Narrator: So, you're finally settling down. You've saved up a little nest egg and are ready to dive into the real estate market. Let's do a little shopping around.

The American dream home, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one doghouse, one garage, two garbage cans. It's cozy, safe, and just barely within your overstretched budget.

Not for you? For the same price, you can buy 200, 000 acres of prime Sahara wasteland. Put up a cottage. Nothing, but you and the sky. It's like a beach without the ocean. And talk about quiet neighbors.

Too remote? Oh, I understand. You need the thrill and excitement of the big city. With that same nest egg, you can get a slice of prime real estate. Not this real estate. Cozy and affordable, this lovely fixer-upper is the perfect place for a dynamic couple like you. No need to putter around the house. It's all right there where you stand.

 What's the matter? Feeling a little cramped? Well, just a stone's throw away, just one bridge or a tunnel ride, just outside the big, bustling city, there is a place with wide-open spaces, friendly natives, and spacious dwellings. And it's all within your price range. It's almost too good to be true.

妙词佳句，活学活用

1. nest egg
这是比较常用的表达存款的意思。这种存款不是平常的那种把钱放到银行攒着。通常情况下，一提到nest egg指的都是攒一部分钱来做些事情，比如说投资股票、买车、买房等等。举个例子来讲，"我攒这些钱是为了将来出国用的"就可以是：I'm building the nest egg for going abroad in the days ahead.

2. within...budget, with someone's price range
上面的两个短语是同一个意思，并且在生活中可以替换使用，意思是在……的承受范围之内，换句话说就是某人买得起某物。打个比方："这件衣服虽然贵，但是我还是买得起的"就可以说“This dress is expensive, but it's within my price range.”
这里还要强调一点，在范围之内是within，范围之外就可以替换成beyond。

3. putter around
这是一个非常休闲的表达方式，意思是“漫步”。比如说"我漫步在城市夜晚的街头"就可以是：I putter around on the street of the city after sunset. 要注意的是，当用到这个短语时候，一定是要指很休闲、很享受的状态才好！

4. too good to be true
一定记住，这可是金牌句子，非常的实用。直译的话就"是太好了，以至于不像是真的"，但这样的话就太绕了，其实它的意思就是：It's incredible. It's unbelievable!（太不可思议了，太难以置信了。）举个例子吧， 一不小心，你得到了Harvard 的全奖，把消息告诉给你的朋友，他们就可以说：Wow, wow, wow, it's too good to be true!

文化面面观

New York City

Unlike most American cities, which make up only a part of a particular county, New York is made up of five separate counties, which are called boroughs. Originally the city included only the borough of Manhattan, located on an island between the Hudson and East rivers. In 1898 a number of surrounding communities were incorporated into the city as the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. The Bronx is the only borough of New York City on the mainland of the United States. Manhattan and Staten Island are surrounded by water, while Queens and Brooklyn are part of Long Island.

Queens is the largest of the five boroughs. Brooklyn is the second largest and most populous of the five boroughs. It is the home of such major cultural institutions as the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Coney Island is well known for its beaches and amusement parks. Staten Island is the third largest and least populous of the five boroughs. The Bronx is the fourth largest and the northernmost of the five boroughs.

Manhattan, or New York County, is the smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough consists principally of the island of Manhattan, but also includes Governors Island, Randalls Island, Wards Island, Roosevelt Island, U Thant Island, and Marble Hill, a small enclave on the edge of the Bronx mainland. Manhattan is the glittering heart of the metropolis. It is the site of virtually all of the hundreds of skyscrapers that are the symbol of the city. Among the more famous of these are the Empire State Building (1931), the Chrysler Building (1930), and Citicorp Center (1977). (The 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center were also among New York's famous skyscrapers until they were destroyed in a terrorist attack in 2001.)

考考你

1. 我会攒笔钱，以后用来股票投资。
2. 这套房是在我的支付能力之内的。
3. 没事的时候，我喜欢在院子里闲逛。