用英文認識酷宅男時代

THE BIG BANG THEORY 宅男行不行

In an age where geeks are cool, it’s not surprising that The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular sitcoms on TV. What’s so funny about geeks? Well, not much…until they start trying to interact with the opposite sex, that is. Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are both brilliant Caltech physicists—they have a combined I.Q. of 360—who share an apartment in Pasadena, California. They’re content to spend their free time reading comic books and playing video games, until they return home one day to find a pretty blonde named Penny moving into the apartment across the hall. Developing an instant crush, Leonard invites Penny over for lunch, where they learn that she’s a Cheesecake Factory waitress and aspiring actress, and she learns that they’re “Beautiful Mind genius guys.”

在這個當宅男才酷的時代，《宅男行不行》理所當然成為最受歡迎的情境喜劇之一。宅男有什麼好玩的？這個嘛，其實沒什麼好玩的⋯⋯除了他們想跟異性互動的時候，這就好玩了。倫納德霍夫斯塔特和謝爾頓庫珀都是絕頂聰明的加州理工 學院物理學家──兩個人的智商加起來是三百六十──他們在加州帕沙第納市合租一間公寓。他們平常有空時樂於看漫畫、打電玩，直到有天回到家時，發現對面搬來一位名叫佩妮的金髮美女。倫納德瞬間為之傾倒，邀請佩妮到家裡吃午餐。他們於是得知佩妮在起司蛋糕工廠（編註：美國連鎖餐廳）當服務生，也一心想成為演員。佩妮也得知他們都是「《美麗境界》的天才」。（編註：《美麗境界》敘述患有精神疾病的數學家約翰奈許的故事，由羅素克洛主演）

Penny also gets to meet Leonard and Sheldon’s two other nerd friends—also Caltech scientists—when they drop by with a “ fantastic” Stephen Hawking video. While Howard tries to impress Penny with creepy pick-up lines, Raj is so shy around women that he doesn’t say a word. Will Penny be able to bring this group of geeks out of their shells? In Leonard’s case—he’s determined to win Penny’s heart—the answer is yes. “Our babies will be smart and beautiful,” he says, to which Sheldon responds “Not to mention imaginary.” And Raj’s silence turns out to be an advantage—a girl he meets at Penny’s Halloween party thinks he’s a “good listener,” and ends up in his bed. Penny also sets Howard up with a co-worker who’s working on her Ph.D. in microbiology, but Sheldon, who has OCD and doesn’t like physical contact, is a more difficult case. Will he ever find—or even touch—a woman? You’ll have to watch The Big Bang Theory to find out!

倫納德和謝爾頓另外兩個宅男朋友──也是加州理工學院的科學家──帶著「一級棒的」史蒂芬霍金影片來他們家時，佩妮也因此認識了這倆人。霍華德想用怪怪的搭訕開場白引起佩妮注意，拉傑卻只要在女人旁邊，就害羞到說不出話來。佩妮有辦法讓這群宅男敞開心扉嗎？以倫納德來說──他下定決心要贏得 佩妮的芳心──答案是肯定的。倫納德說「我們的寶寶一定會聰明又漂亮。」對此謝爾頓的回答是：「而且只存在於你的想像中。」拉傑的沉默寡言到頭來變成優點──他在佩妮的萬聖節派對上認識的女孩覺得他是個「很好的傾聽者」，後來還跟他上床。佩妮還撮合霍華德和她正在攻讀微生物學博士學位的同事。不 過，謝爾頓就比較難了，因為他有強迫症，不喜歡跟別人身體接觸。他到底能不能找到──甚至是碰觸──女人呢？那你就得收看《宅男行不行》才能知道了！

nerd、geek 與 blonde 的刻板形象

nerd 書呆子

描寫美國青少年的電影中都會有 nerd，這種男孩會戴粗框大眼鏡（因為被欺負時眼鏡經常折斷，有時鏡架還會用膠帶黏著固定）、戴牙套（braces）、褲頭拉得老高或是穿吊帶褲，更慘一點的還滿臉青春痘（pimples）。他們常被描繪成不擅長體能活動、死讀書、喜歡下棋的社交障礙者，一般都是白種人或亞裔。

geek 電腦怪咖

geek 和 nerd 所描述的人造型很像，但 geek 更強調他們只顧著鑽研科學、電腦、科技，因此跟外界格格不入的生活方式。隨著電腦產業及網際網路的興起，往日的 geek 現已撐起世界經濟半邊天，而善於抽象思考、鑽研高深學問的 nerd 更能晉升政經學術高層，因此這兩個字已不再有那麼深的貶義。

jock 鮮肉男

相對於 geek 和 nerd 的不修邊幅與笨拙，jock 是高壯帥氣的體育健將，而且是那種頭腦簡單四肢發達、覺得所有女生都喜歡自己的草包，因此也有 dumb jock「笨伯」的說法。

blonde 金髮美女

在歐美社會當中，金髮（blond hair）的女性被視為性感美麗的象徵，身材尤其火辣的還被叫做 blonde bombshell 「金髮尤物」，在影視節目中，她們的智力往往受到歧視，因此有 dumb blonde 「傻大姐」的說法。相對於金髮美女被視為腦袋空空，被稱作 brunette 的「棕髮美女」往往被塑造成低調優雅的角色。

【宅男相關字彙】 了!

geek (n.) 科技迷，宅男
All the geeks at our school hang out at the computer lab.

sitcom (n.)(電視)情境喜劇，為 situation comedy 的簡稱
Friends is my favorite sitcom.

interact (v.) 互動，互相影響
In small classes, students can interact more with their teachers.

physicist (n.) 物理學家；physics (n.) 物理學
The physicist spent years studying the properties of light.

content (a.) 滿意的，滿足的
If you’re not content with your marriage, you should get a divorce.

blonde (n.) 金髮女人，金髮男人即 blond
Is Shelly a natural blonde?

crush (n.)(口)迷戀，迷戀的對象
Have you ever had a crush on one of your teachers?

aspiring (a.) 有抱負的，有志氣的，有意成為⋯⋯的
Most aspiring authors never get their books published.

genius (n.) 天賦，天才
Mozart was a musical genius.

nerd (n.)宅男，書呆子
Those glasses make you look like a nerd.

fantastic (a.)了不起的，極好的
We had a fantastic time at the resort.

creepy (a.)(口)怪怪的、令人反感的
Why does Susan always go out with such creepy guys?

pick-up line (n.) 搭訕把妹的開場白（pick up 即「把妹」的意思） 開場白(pick up 即「把妹」的意思)
Do you know any good pick-up lines?

determined (a.)有決心的
I’m determined to finish writing this report before I go home.

imaginary (a.)想像的，虛構的
The movie is set in an imaginary world.

microbiology (n.) 微生物學
The researcher is an expert in microbiology.

OCD (n.)強迫症（即obsessive compulsive disorder）
Some cases of OCD can be treated with therapy.

physical (a.) 身體的，肉體的
All students are required to take physical education.

 

本文授權刊登自 EZ TALK編輯部《越追劇，英文越好 熱門影集》

圖片來源：pixabay