Couch Potato沙發土豆

張超

Do you know what “couch potato” means？ Well， the phrase “couch potato” is now often used in the USA. The“couch potato” has even become maybe even a part of the American tradition！Robert Armstrong， an artist from California， developed the term “couch potato” in 1976.

你知道“沙發土豆”是什么意思嗎？事實上，在美國，這個稱謂是經常用到的。“沙發土豆”甚至已經成了美國傳統的一部分！來自加利福尼亞州的演員羅伯特·阿姆斯特朗于1976年推廣了“沙發土豆”這個詞匯。

You see， in America， many people often spend their time sitting on a couch watching TV. As there are many channels1 to choose from， the TV can be quite interesting and very addictive2. Some people will sit and watch TV for hours and hours without a break. These people who do nothing except watch TV all day are called “couch potato”.

你瞧，在美國，很多人就是坐在沙發上看電視來打發時間的。因為有很多頻道可以供選擇，電視節目也非常有趣，而且很容易上癮。有些人會一連幾個小時坐在那里看電視也不休息一下。這些整天除了看電視，什么都不做的人被稱為“沙發土豆”。

While watching TV， most of these people look so frozen that they almost look dead！ Everyone is sitting still with their eyes looking right at the same black box. Also， because these people are addictive to TV， they do not take any exercise and usually get very fat. So in many ways， these people look like real potatoes！ Well， because they look so still and fat， and watch TV sitting on a couch， they are called “couch potatoes”. Now you know what “couch potato” means. The next time if you see someone watching TV too long， just say， “What a couch potato！”

看電視的時候，這些人大多數幾乎都是僵直不動的，看上去就跟死人差不多！每個人都是靜靜地坐著，目不轉盯地盯著同一個黑盒子。而且，由于這些人對電視成癮，他們不鍛煉身體，因而通常身體會變得很胖。所以從很多方面來講，這些人看起來就像真的土豆！哦，就是因為他們一動不動地坐在沙發上看電視而且很胖，才被稱為“沙發土豆”。現在你知道“沙發土豆”的意思了吧。下次如果你看到有誰看電視時間特別長，你就說：“真是個沙發土豆！”endprint