Part 1 Otakus on the Rise

Part 1

Laura勸終日泡在宿舍的男友Ted多出去參加一些社交、戶外活動，Ted卻覺得沒這個必要，這讓擔心男友健康的Laura沒轍……

（knock knock knock）

Ted： Doors open！

Laura： Hey babe， whats up？

Ted： Hey， hey. Just finishing up this paper on Professor Liang. Hows yours going？

Laura： Piece of cake. The mans a dinosaur， ①but I know his work from A to Z， so its pretty simple.

Ted： I really like his fiction work—②his last novel was a page-turner. But I cant stand that piece of junk he calls a column. Do you actually buy into all that so-called“otaku” 3）crap he keeps talking about？

Smart Sentences

① But I know his work from A to Z.

但是我很了解他的作品。

A to Z： everything（所有的內容）。例如：

Ive been in this company for 20 years I and know it from A to Z.

我來這家公司20年了，對它的一切了如指掌。

② His last novel was a page-turner.他的上一部小說很引人入勝。

page-turner： a very interesting， exciting， or suspenseful book（引人入勝的書，讓人不能釋卷的書）。例如：

Laura： Youre joking， right？ Im having trouble keeping a straight face here.

Ted： Huh？ What do you mean？

Laura： Oh give me a break！Ted， youre it！ Youre the “so-called otaku crap”， as you put it， that hes talking about.

Ted： No way！

Laura： Unbelievable. Ted， when was the last time you played sports？

Ted： I dont know， but what does that matter？ Cmon， Laura. Ive got my nose to the 4）grindstone half the day. I got no energy for sports after that.

Laura： Thats bullshit. Doing exercise actually gives you more energy—all the studies prove that.

Ted： Yeah， but I hate sports. And all the student activities they run here just seem like forced happiness. Its 5）creepy.

Laura： Seriously？ ③You cant rack your brain and come up with anything at all that you enjoy doing that counts as physical activity？

Ted： Nope.

Laura： ④Sometimes I think youre completely dead from the neck down.

Ted： Look， I just prefer it this way， all right？ Why would I bother going out when everything is here for me？

Laura： Everything？ Where are the people？ Youre practically a hermit.

Ted： Hells no！ I keep in touch with everyone online. Its a pretty sweet deal， you gotta admit. I can hang out with everyone while still being in my PJs.

Laura： So being comfortable is more important than being social？

Ted： No， youre twisting my words. ⑤I just mean that its nice to be able to put your feet up for a bit.⑥It feels like such a rat race sometimes and the break feels good.

Laura： So studying， socializing， the outdoors—those feel like theyre part of the rat race. But playing computer games and blogging all day arent. How does that work？

Ted： Look， like I said， I just prefer it this way.

Laura： Well I dont think its good for you. I swear，

if you didnt need to eat， youd never leave the dorm.

Ted： Well…

Laura： No. No way. Say it aint so， Ted.

Ted： You can get your meals delivered.

Laura： Thats a new low.

Ted： ⑦Aw， get off my back. See， this is why I dont go out.

Laura： I dont know why you dont go out， but it sure doesnt have anything to do with me. I just like to laugh at you.

Ted： Bah！ Take your 6）schadenfreude and get outta here. I got a paper to finish.

Laura： Cool beans. ⑧Keep me posted on this evenings activities.

Ted： Theyre gonna look a lot like they do right now.

Laura： I dont doubt that. 7）Ciao for now.

Ted： Ciao！

While some people called the Harry Potter series page-turners， some said they were ridiculous.

有人說哈利·波特系列非常吸引人，也有人說它們很荒唐。

③ You cant rack your brain and come up with anything at all that you enjoy doing that counts as physical activity？

你就不能絞盡腦汁想到任何你喜歡的體育運動？

rack ones brain： exert ones thinking processes to the utmost in order to accomplish sth.（絞盡腦汁）。例如：

Simon racked his brain and still couldnt figure out the puzzle.

西蒙絞盡腦汁，還是解不開那個謎。

④ Sometimes I think youre completely dead from the neck down. 有時候我覺得你真的不愛動。

dead from the neck down： extremely inactive physically； paralyzed （不好活動，不能動；癱瘓）。例如：

Not all geeks are dead from the neck down. Some are very sporty.

不是所有的極客都不好動，他們當中有些人非常喜歡體育活動。

⑤ I just mean that its nice to be able to put your feet up for a bit. 我只是想說能夠悠閑一點最好。

put ones feet up： lean back and rest（休息）。例如：

He was really exhausted and had to go put his feet up.

他累壞了，得休息一下。

⑥ It feels like such a rat race sometimes and the break feels good. 有時候真的感覺自己忙死了，片刻的閑暇感覺很好。

rat race： an endless， self-defeating， or pointless pursuit（忙得團團轉，無謂的奔忙）。例如：

After a three-month rat race in the disorderedly warehouse， Peter decided to quit.

在無序的倉庫無謂地忙了三個月后，彼得決定辭職。

⑦ Aw， get off my back. 啊，少啰唆。

get off sb.s back： stop nagging or urging sb. to doomething（不要繼續挑剔或糾纏某人）。例如：

Dear， you need to get off Jacks back. Our son is a grown man now.

親愛的，你不要再煩杰克了，兒子已經長大了。

⑧ Keep me posted on this evenings activities. 讓我知道你今晚的活動。

keep sb. posted： keep sb. informed of what is happening（讓某人了解情況）。例如：

There is no need to keep her posted about the project. She should enjoy her vacation.

沒有必要讓她了解項目的進展，她應該好好享受自己的假期。