Part 3 Across the Pond

不喜欢严肃题材的Ted突然看起了以“沉闷、晦涩”著称的英剧，Heather感到无法理解，她想知道到底英剧有什么吸引力能让Ted的态度来了个360度大转变。

Heather: Hey, what were you watching just now? Sounded violent.

Ted: It is, sometimes. That was Sherlock, that new British 1)series.

Heather: A detective drama? I thought you didn’t like serious TV! Something about “TV should be an escape” or something like that.

Ted: But it is! I’ve never seen anything like this show. It’s got everything: drama, action, mystery, even some comedy. It’s the 2)all-in-one show!

Heather: Isn’t it British? I thought all British dramas were 3)dismal affairs.

Ted: I did, too. But I guess that’s an old 4)stereotype. This show is seriously fun TV.

Heather: I’ll add it to my list, then. But I’m still not completely convinced.

Ted: Well, it shouldn’t be hard to convince you. You like good storytelling, right?

Heather: I take a solid plot over 30 minutes of cheap 5)punch lines any day.

Ted: Then you’d probably love some British shows. They don’t even have commercial breaks, so you can watch a whole episode from start to finish without any interruptions!

Heather: ①Well, there’s an idea. I hate it when a good story is interrupted just so some annoying loudmouth can brainwash me into buying his stuff.

Ted: British people used to look down on American shows. They saw American TV as 6)shallow and cheap. I wonder if the commercials had anything to do with that?

Heather: Probably. But you know, American TV hasn’t always been as 7)stellar as it is now. It used to be, as the British would say, rubbish.

Ted: ②So maybe the Brits were right on the money.

Heather: ③More than likely. But times have changed.④Now American TV is turning heads around the world, and British TV has a reputation for being dull.

Ted: Maybe that’s because nobody else gets British humor.

Heather: Maybe. But if Sherlock is as good as you say it is, maybe there’s some new life in British TV!

Ted: There certainly is! The writing is good, the story is fun, and the casting is perfect. The actors really fit the characters!

Heather: That’s always a plus.

Ted: Maybe I thought I didn’t like drama because I was only checking out American stuff. From now on,⑤I’ll look across the pond for my TV.

Heather: ⑥Whatever floats your boat. Now, move over! It’s almost time for Gossip Girl.

Ted: Oh, brother. Now I can see what the Brits were talking about.

Heather: What’s that supposed to mean?!?

Ted: Nothing! Nothing at all.

Smart Sentences

① Well, there’s an idea. 嗯，这是个好主意。

There’s an idea: used to express favorable opinions towards sth.（用以表示对某事的赞许之意）。例如：

—It will be a nice day tomorrow so maybe you can have a walk in the morning and we’ll play tennis in the afternoon.

明天天气不错，你也许可以上午走一下，下午我们一起去打网球。

—Mm, there’s an idea.

嗯，这个想法不错。

② So maybe the Brits were right on the money. 所以也许英国人说的是对的。

on the money: be correct or true（正确，说对）。例如：

What you said about Obama was on the money again.

你对奥巴马的评论又对了。

③ More than likely. 应该会

more than likely: used to express agreement to other’s opinions, an affirmative reply（用以表达对他人看法的赞同，肯定的答复）。例如：

—Do you think it will rain tomorrow?

你觉得明天会下雨吗？

—More than likely.

应该会。

④ Now American TV is turning heads around the world, and British TV has a reputation for being dull. 现在美剧已经闻名于世，但是英剧却久负“沉闷”的盛名。

have a reputation for sth.: being known for sth.（以……闻名）。例如：

The Jackson brothers had a reputation for being greedy.

杰克逊兄弟的贪婪出了名。

⑤ I’ll look across the pond for my TV. 我要找英国电视剧来看。

across the pond: the other side of the North Atlantic Ocean, usu. used by Americans（北大西洋的另一面，多为美国人用语）。例如：

I usually have high opinions of movies from across the pond.

我通常对英国电影评价较高。

⑥ Whatever floats your boat. 你喜欢怎样就怎样。

float sb.’s boat: to be what sb. likes or sb. is interested in（正对某人胃口）。例如：

Action movies don’t really float my boat, but my roommates like them.

动作片不对我的胃口，但我的室友喜欢。