【附註：我愛你 - P.S. I LOVE YOU】

Source: Google Photo

Nicole對好萊塢的浪漫劇情片無特殊偏好，更鮮少為了撒狗血的故事內容落淚。然而，P.S. I LOVE YOU卻讓Nicole從頭到尾頻頻拭淚，真是令人難為情。話說回來，有這麼貼心的丈夫，真令人欽羨，不是嗎？

在此，Nicole提供一篇摘自iMDb的劇情內容，且做簡易的字彙教學。看完P.S. I LOVE YOU的影迷，可以以此文章為本，自己試著用英語去描述這部電影、甚至抒發感想。切記！勿死記其內容！只消牢記幾個實用字彙，用平易近人的英文文法來表達即可。

又，Nicole摘錄電影裡的經典對話以供欣賞（因為對話不難，並不特別翻譯。）。雖然Nicole不太確定牢記這些對話內容對我們的英語能力是否有幫助；但是它們真真實實地引起Nicole的共鳴，讓Nicole每每複習都還拍案叫好哩！

＊＊＊＊＊

【PLOT - 劇情】

Gerry and Holly Kennedy are a happily married couple living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan until he succumbs to a brain tumor.  Deeply distraught, Holly withdraws from her family and friends until they descend upon her on her 30^th birthday.  They are determined to force the young widow to face the future and decide what her next career move should be.  As they rally around Holly and help organize her apartment, a cake is delivered, and on it is a message from Gerry.  It proves to be the first of several – All ending with the sign-off P.S. I love you – he arranged to have delivered to her after his death.  As the seasons pass, each new message fills her with encouragement and sends her on a new adventure.  While Holly’s mother Patricia and her best friends Denise and Sharon are concerned Gerry’s letter are keeping Holly tied to the past, they are in fact pushing her into the future.  With Gerry’s words as her guide, Holly slowly embarks on a journey of rediscovery.

Gerry pre-arranged for Holly, Denise, and Sharon to his homeland of Ireland, and while there they meet William, a singer who strongly reminds Holly of her deceased husband and coincidentally was his childhood friend.  During the vacation, Denise announces she’s engaged and Sharon reveals she’s pregnant, and the news causes Holly to relapse emotionally and once again withdraw into herself.

Holly eventually enrolls in a fashion course and discovers she has a flair for designing women’s shoes.  A newfound self-confidence allows her to emerge from her solitude and embrace her friends’ happiness.  She decides to take her mother on a trip to Ireland, where she reunites with William, and as the film ends the audience is left with the suggestion their relationship may progress to a more serious level.

【Vocabulary - 字彙】

1. succumb (to) ：a. 屈服於... b. 死於...

ex. (b) He succumbed to his injuries.

2. distraught：If someone is distraught, they are so upset and worried that they cannot think clearly. 心煩意亂、幾乎要發狂的。

ex. His distraught parents were being comforted by relatives.

3. descend (upon/on)：a. go down, fall, slide 下降，降臨，下斜 ; b. unexpected visit 突然造訪；c. stoop to墮落

 ex. (b) 3,000 city officials descended on Capital Hill to lobby for more money.

4. rally (around/round)：a. When people rally to something or when something rallies them, they unite to support it. 團結；b. When someone or something rallies, they begin to recover or improve after having been weak. 振作（精神）、恢復（健康）

ex (a) His supporters have rallied to his defense...  He rallied his own supporters for a fight.

5. embark (on)：a. If you embark on something new, difficult, or exciting, you start doing it. 著手從事於... b. When someone embarks on a ship they go on board before the start of a journey. 上船

ex (a) He's embarking on a new career as a writer.

6. deceased : A deceased person is one who has recently died. 亡故的。

7. enroll (in)：If you enroll or are enrolled at an institution or on a course, you officially join it and pay a fee for it.

ex. She enrolled in Management course.

8. flair (for) : a. If you have a flair for a particular thing, you have a natural ability to do it well 天賦 ; b. If you have flair, you do things in an original, interesting, and stylish way 敏銳的感覺、鑑別力.

ex. Milton is a friend of mine who has a flair for languages.

9. emerge (from): a. To emerge means to come out from an enclosed or dark space such as a room or a vehicle, or from a position where out could not be seen.浮現 b. If you emerge from a difficult or bad experience, you come to the end of it. 擺脫困境 c. If a fact or result emerges from a period of thought, discussion, or investigation, it becomes known as a result of it. 結論的產生。

ex (b) : There is growing evidence that the economy is at last emerging from recession. 

10 solitude: Solitude is the state of being alone, especially when this is peaceful and pleasant.孤獨、寂寞。

ex: He enjoyed his moments of solitude before the pressures of the day began.

＊＊＊＊＊

【CONVERSATION - 經典對白】

1.

Gerry: “Oh, no.  I don’t know what I said.”

Holly: “You said it.  You know you said it.”

Gerry:  “No, I don’t know what I said, but I didn’t mean it.”

Holly:  “Yes, you did.  You mean everything you say.”

Gerry:  “Oh, sometimes I mean nothing when I say something.”

Holly:  “Something is never nothing.  It’s always something.”

Gerry:  “Well, most of what I say is nothing.  It’s just something to say.”

Holly:   “No, men just say something in order to get away with saying something, but they know they’re saying something every time they say it.”

2. 

Denies: “Ooh, he’s delicious, isn’t he?  You could serve coffee on that ass.”

John:  “Do you have to be so vulgar about men, like they’re pieces of meat?”

Denies:  “I’m sorry, John.  I forgot you’re sensitive about your flat ass.”

John:  “You know, Denise, that’s why you’re not married.  Women act like men, then they complain men don’t want them.”

Denies:  “Oh, is that why?  Okay.  Because I thought it was something different.  I thought it was because I thought that I deserve the best.  And he’s out there.  He’s just with all the wrong women.  And let me be clear.  After centuries of men looking at my tits instead of my eyes and pinching my ass instead of shaking my hand… I now have the divine right to stare at a man’s backside with vulgar, cheap appreciation if I want to.”

＊＊＊＊＊

Source:

iMDb、Yahoo Dictionary、Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary