Trong tiếng Anh có cụm từ post holiday blues để diễn tả cảm giác tiếc nuối thời gian nghỉ mát ngắn ngủi vừa qua.
Chữ blues cũng có thể dùng khi nói đến trầm cảm dù trong trường hợp này chỉ là hơi buồn vì phải quay lại làm việc.
Allan và Claire cũng vừa đi làm lại sau kỳ nghỉ Giáng Sinh. Hãy nghe họ đã đi đâu nhé.
Allan
So, tell me... how was your break? Did you head off anywhere?
Claire
Yeah, we took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path. How about you?
Allan
Oh, we went bush, actually. Took the family camping in the Grampians. It was pretty rustic, but the views were stunning.
Claire
We ended up spending most of our time just soaking up the sun. We even tried some paddleboarding—it was harder than I thought, but a good laugh.
Allan
Paddleboarding, eh? I’ve always wanted to give that a go.
Claire
To be honest, I spent more time falling into the water than actually paddling.
Allan
Ha! Sounds like fun, though. Ready to be back at work now?
Claire
Eh, not really, but here we are.
Tôi với Claire đồng quan điểm ở khoản này vì không ai muốn quay lại làm việc cả.
Ta có thể nói mình ‘on the same page’ với ai đó khi ta đồng ý về chuyện gì đó hoặc có cùng suy nghĩ.
Nhưng chúng ta phải học thôi. Quý vị hãy nghe lại từng câu nhé.
Alan nói,
How was your break? Did you head off anywhere?
A 'break' is when you take time off work or school to relax or do something else, like take a holiday. With this question, we're asking how they enjoyed their holiday or time away from work.
Allan hỏi,
Did you head off anywhere?
‘Head off’ is an informal way of saying ‘go’ or ‘leave’. We often use this question to ask about what people have done on their holiday or weekend.
Thử hai vô làm quý vị có thể hỏi đồng nghiệp, ‘Did you head off anywhere on the weekend?’
Claire trả lời,
We took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path.
We took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path.
A scenic route is a route that takes you through beautiful or interesting places. It's often not the fastest or most direct way to get somewhere, but there are nicer things to look at.
Claire cũng nói,
We went off the beaten path.
When you go off the beaten path, you go somewhere unusual where other people tend not to go. We use the phrase ‘off the beaten path’ when we talk about exploring new or less well-known places.
Allan trả lời,
We went bush.
Meaning they went into the natural, rural, or outback areas, away from the city. ‘Going bush’ is a common Australian expression for going out into the countryside or wilderness, and often it means exploring wild places and camping out.
Allan cũng nói,
I took the family camping in the Grampians.
Allan took his family camping in the Grampians National Park in Victoria. Have you ever been there? I haven’t, but it’s on my list because it has so many famous hiking trails. I’ve seen pictures from my friends, and it looks amazing.
Bây giờ quý vị thử hãy mô tả nơi quý vị đi nghỉ xem.
It was pretty rustic, but the views were stunning.
If a place is rustic, it’s simple and not fancy, and it usually has a natural, country feel. And stunning means beautiful and very impressive. But let’s say your holiday destination was the opposite of rustic, then you could say,
Our hotel was modern and luxurious.
Hay là,
The place we stayed in was very stylish and fancy.
Claire kể tiếp,
We ended up spending most of our time just soaking up the sun
If you’re soaking up the sun, you’re relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.
Clair cũng nói,
We even tried some paddleboarding.
Paddleboarding, also called 'stand up paddleboarding or S-U-P-ing. It looks like a fun water activity. You stand on a big board and use a paddle to move across the water.
Claire nói they ended up soaking up the sun. We can say that we end up doing something or going somewhere if it isn’t actually what we planned to do.
Ví dụ tôi muốn đi đâu đó chơi vào cuối tuần, đi lặn chẳng hạn, nhưng thường lại ở nhà xem phim hay đọc sách mà thôi - end up watching movies or reading books.
Allan nói anh luôn muốn thử chèo SUP,
I’ve always wanted to give that a go.
'Give that a go' có nghĩa là ‘try that’ or ‘attempt that,’ but haven't had the chance yet. Is there something that you have always wanted to give a go?
Bây giời chúng ta hãy nghe lại mẫu đối thoại giữa Allan và Claire nhé:
Allan
So, tell me... how was your break? Did you head off anywhere?
Claire
Yeah, we took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path. How about you?
Allan
Oh, we went bush, actually. Took the family camping in the Grampians. It was pretty rustic, but the views were stunning.
Claire
We ended up spending most of our time just soaking up the sun. We even tried some paddleboarding—it was harder than I thought, but a good laugh.
Allan
Paddleboarding, eh? I’ve always wanted to give that a go.
Claire
To be honest, I spent more time falling into the water than actually paddling.
Allan
Ha! Sounds like fun, though. Ready to be back at work now?
Claire
Eh, not really, but here we are.
Different phrases to use when talking about holidays:
- How was your break?
- Did you head off anywhere?
- We took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path.
- We went bush.
- I took the family camping. It was pretty rustic, but the views were stunning.
- We ended up spending most of our time just soaking up the sun.
- Our hotel was modern and luxurious.
- The place we stayed was very stylish and fancy.
Vocabulary:
- Over means finished.
- To run into each other means to accidentally meet someone, usually someone you know.
- A break is when you take time off work or school to relax or do something else, like
- To head off is an informal way of saying to ‘go’ or ‘leave’.
- A scenic route is a route that takes you through beautiful or interesting places. It's the most beautiful rather the fastest or most direct way to get somewhere.
- To go off the beaten path, is to go somewhere unusual where other people tend not to go.
- To go bush means to go into the countryside or wilderness, often for camping or exploring.
- Rustic means simple and not fancy, often with a natural, country feel.
Colloquial expressions:
- The post holiday blues is the sadness you feel when your holiday is over.
- To soak up the sun is to relax and enjoy the sunshine.
- To end up doing or going somewhere is to to do or go somewhere unexpected that wasn’t planned .
- To give something a go, is to try something.
- To be on the same page with someone, it means you both agree with them or understand something in the same way.
Gramar focus:
In the dialogue, Allan and Claire talk about a very particular time in the past that they both know about, and so they use the past simple tense to both ask questions about what they did on their holiday (did + pronoun + verb), and to talk about what they did (verb + ed for regular verbs, was/ were for ‘to be’):
Allan: …how was … did you head off …
Claire: … we took a scenic route … and went off ….
Allan: … we went bush … took the family ….it was … the views were …
Claire: …we ended … we even tried …it was …
Claire: … I spent …….
But notice that,
Allan: I’ve always wanted to give that a go.
He uses the present perfect tense (have + wanted) because it is something that started in the past but is still continuing to the present – he still wants to give it a go! So he uses the present perfect.
Bây giời quý vị hãy lập lại Allan và Claire nhé:
Allan
So, tell me... how was your break? Did you head off anywhere?
Claire
Yeah, we took a scenic route up the coast and went off the beaten path. How about you?
Allan
Oh, we went bush, actually. Took the family camping in the Grampians. It was pretty rustic, but the views were stunning.
Claire
We ended up spending most of our time just soaking up the sun. We even tried some paddleboarding—it was harder than I thought, but a good laugh.
Allan
Paddleboarding, eh? I’ve always wanted to give that a go.
Claire
To be honest, I spent more time falling into the water than actually paddling.
Allan
Ha! Sounds like fun, though. Ready to be back at work now?
Claire
Eh, not really, but here we are.
