Sundays 星期天
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On a Sunday I usually take my dogs for a walk.
I get up really late, have bacon sandwiches, drink tea, read the papers.
Museums, galleries, stuff like that.
I like to go to the pub, I like to go to the cinema, I like to go to the theatre.
Andrea: Sundays... aaah. My favourite day of the week.
Jean: 没错，星期天是个人人都喜欢的日子，在英国也不例外，就像刚才大家所听到的，英国人在每周日都是很放松的，他们有的会带自己的宠物狗去散步....
Andrea: Get up late and read the newspapers...
Jean: 还可以到英国众多的影剧院和博物馆里去尽情欣赏丰富的艺术作品。
Andrea: And of course there is the pub – always a favourite! Hello, I’m Andrea.
Jean: 大家好，我是董征。一位叫Jing的北京听友给我们来信，询问英国人在周末的周日里都喜欢做些什么事情。
Andrea: She noticed that shops close early in the UK on a Sunday and she wondered whether people get together with their families or simply watch television.
Jean: 所以为了回答Jing的问题，我们特地出去采访了很多英国人，来了解一下他 们喜好的周日活动和周日商店早关门的这个英国传统。
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I understand that we’ve got this tradition that it's kind of a day of rest and all that kind of thing, but it would be great if the shops could stay open longer. Yeah, it'd be cool.
I wish they’d open earlier actually and close a lot later – cos yeah, they close at 4 or 5. So yeah, closing about 9 would be helpful for me.
I think it’s a good thing. I think everyone needs a bit of time off and yeah, we've lots of time to do shopping.
Andrea: So mixed views there about whether the shops should close early on Sundays. They close at about 4 or 5pm.
Jean: 很多人都认为周日是个人人都该同等享受的公共假日a day of rest，包括商店营业员，不过，也有很多人希望在这个休息的日子里能够去尽情购物。
Andrea: And then there are those people who agree that Sunday is a day to stop shopping and take some time off. To take some time off. To take a break.
Jean: 那么一个传统的英国周日又是个什么样子呢？
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Watch football and drink beer, go to the pub for a Sunday lunch.
No-one I know goes to church but I suppose that is a traditional thing to do.
Housekeeping, car washing, kind of stock-taking I think on life. I think especially if you’re busy working in the week, it’s quite nice to kind of catch up with things.
Do some cooking, invite friends round.
The Sunday roast. Meat and potatoes, vegetables. Big family meal kind of thing.
Andrea: Well it is quite diverse. There are lots of different things that people like to do. It's diverse.
Jean: 有的人喜欢看球，不管是亲身到赛场还是看电视；也有很多人喜欢去酒吧喝酒并在那里吃午餐a pub lunch.
Andrea: And then if you are religious, some people go to church.
Jean: 家务活– housekeeping 还有洗车car washing。刚才那位女士还说到了在这一天进行一次人生盘点stocktaking 总结过去，计划未来。
Andrea: And people really do love their Sunday roasts. Sunday roasts traditionally are beef or lamb with roast potatoes and vegetables. The Sunday roast. So what do you like to do on Sundays, Jean?
Jean: 能吃上一顿Sunday roast 英国著名的传统星期天烤肉大餐当然好，我自己就比较喜欢在这一天里多出去走走，而且第二天就要上班了，所以也尽量不会出去大吃大喝玩得太晚。
Andrea: I’m a bit like the one lady we spoke to. I do my washing and cleaning and use Sundays to catch up on all the boring things I haven’t been able to do during the week. But the question is: how important are Sundays as a day of leisure and rest?
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Well, I think if you think about how busy the week is for most people, you’ve gotta have time out at some point.
I think we take the traditions too seriously in the sense that we either think we should be doing them or we shouldn’t be doing them. There’s not the kind of relaxed tradition following like maybe you might get on the Continent, where people just have a family meal on a Sunday for the whole afternoon and that’s a tradition. But then it’s a tradition they just enjoy. Whereas we seem to attach a kind of importance to it.
Jean: 所以很多人都认为周日这一天对于我们的心情与健康来说很重要。现代生活如此忙碌，一定要每周给自己一点时间来放松充电。
Andrea: But the other man felt that British people take the tradition of Sundays too seriously.
Jean: 不过刚才说话的一位男士认为英国人把他们这个周日的传统看得太重了。在欧洲其他国家，比如在意大利，周日的家庭午餐要轻松很多，有的会全家边吃边聊消磨掉整个下午。而在英国，周日家庭午餐就要正式许多。
Andrea: I think I’m going to just enjoy the summer and go to the park.
Jean: 那么我们今天的节目就到这里了，那我们两个也要和大家说再见了。So goodbye from both of us at BBC Learning English.
Andrea: Bye!
词汇学习：
1. diverse 种类繁多
2. pub lunch 英式酒馆里的午餐
3. housekeeping 家务事，家政
4. stock-taking 思考总结
5. a day of rest 休息的一天
6. sunday roast 英国的周日烤肉大餐