Life's essentials 生活必需品

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習 BBC 撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

The British can't live without a nice cup of tea

哪些東西是你生活中不能缺少的？一項最新調查顯示英國人有20項首要必須品不能缺少，其中包括互聯網，英國茶和巧克力。以下是 BBC 記者 Martin Vennard 發回的報道:

For Baloo the bear in The Jungle Book, it was honey, ants, paw paws and prickly pears.

But when it comes to the Great British public, the top four things people couldn't live without were an internet connection, a television, a cuddle and a trustworthy best friend.

And while women placed cuddles as their number one 'bare necessity', men were more into television. For women, chocolate, central heating and a cup of tea all ranked highly. But for men, a cooked breakfast and a pint of beer were up there. I asked people on the streets of London what their bare necessities were:

Vox pops of people in London:

My girlfriend. X-box. Cigarettes. Money's the main thing – makes the world go round! Phone. My family and kids. Freedom, democracy, independence, votes, women's rights. My kids. Water. My wife I think, that's about the best. Very diplomatic!

Eighty-six per cent of those polled admitted that they overlooked love and friendship in favour of materialistic things - which could explain why the iPhone helps so many British people rest at ease when it comes to the bare necessities of life.

Quiz 聽力測驗

True or false? According to the survey, British people don't need a good friend.

False.

Name one thing that men said was important, that women didn't.

A cooked breakfast, a pint of beer, television.

Did a few people or a lot of people overlook love and friendship in this survey?

A lot of people (86%).

What object helps many British people relax because they can keep in contact with friends and family?

The iPhone.

Glossary 词汇表 （点击单词收听发音）

trustworthy值得信賴的

bare necessity基本必需品

ranked highly排位很高的

up there被列在前的

polled投票統計的，抽樣調查的

overlooked忽視了

rest at ease心滿意足