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Couches in history 歷史上的沙發
Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006,Page 13
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Two people sit on a long, curvy couch in Germany.
德國兩位民眾坐在一張彎曲的長沙發上。 (照片：美聯社)
PHOTO : AP
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Today, most people have at least one couch in their house. They like to sit on their couch and watch TV. But it might surprise you to find out that throughout history, couches have been used for many different purposes.
For example, a long time ago, only rich people had couches. In the Middle East, kings used couches as their thrones. In Italy, people didn't sit in chairs while they ate. Instead, they put couches around their table and ate while lying down. Regular people have been able to afford couches only for a few hundred years.
Today, people like to sit on couches to relax. If someone likes to spend too much time relaxing on the couch and not working, you can call him or her a "couch potato." (Marc Langer, Staff Writer)
今天，多數人家裡至少都有一張沙發。人們喜歡坐在沙發上看電視。不過，了解到歷史上沙發的用途五花八門，可能會讓你大吃一驚。
例如，在很久以前，有錢人才有沙發。中東的國王將沙發做為王位。義大利人吃東西時不坐在椅子上，而是在餐桌四周擺上沙發，躺下來吃東西。一般人買得起沙發，也不過才幾百年的歷史。
今日，人們喜歡坐在沙發上休息。假如某個人喜歡終日窩在沙發上無所事事，你就可以稱那個人為「couch potato」（沙發馬鈴薯）。
（翻譯：賴美君）
| Today's Words 今天單字 |
1. purpose n.
目的 (mu4 di4)
例：What is the purpose of wearing sunglasses inside? Do you just want to look cool?
（在室內戴太陽眼鏡有什麼目的？你只是想看起來酷一點嗎？）
2. throne n.
王位 (wang2 wei4)
例：Kings don't just sit in regular chairs. They get to sit in fancy thrones.
（國王不坐在一般椅子上，他們坐在華貴的王位上。）
3. afford v.t./v.t.
負擔得起 (fu4 dan1 de5 qi3)，買得起 (mai3 de5 qi3)
例：I can't afford an expensive car because I only make NT$20,000 per month.
（由於我一個月才賺新台幣兩萬元，我買不起昂貴的車子。） |
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| Quick Quiz 複習測驗 |
1. In Italy, people used to sit on couches while they ...
a. watched TV.
b. talked to the king.
c. ate.
2. You can call a lazy person a ...
a. couch carrot.
b. couch potato.
c. couch apple. |
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