每逢假期你最喜歡的事是什么呢？對于作者來說，其中最主要的就是一道道影視劇大餐。雖然追劇到凌晨三點不是特別值得驕傲的事，但對美劇發燒友來說，分享好劇確是人生一大樂事。萊昂納多的復仇影片《荒野獵人》、蒂娜?菲與艾米?波勒的喜劇《姐妹》、浪漫愛情劇《處女情緣》等等，都是這個假期不容錯過的好劇。

By Amirah Ahmad

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After yet another month-long winter vacation, going back to school is extremely bittersweet. While I’m dreading starting school and having homework assignments to complete and exams to study for, I’m excited to be reunited with my friends and roommates who I haven’t seen for an entire month now. Before I begin to think about the upcoming semester, however, I feel I must reflect on my winter break activities. Apart from spending time with family and friends, eating delicious holiday food, and participating in the occasional yoga class, I have been aggressively binge watching TV shows and movies. Whether it’s 3 a.m. in the morning or 1 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, I’m most likely sitting behind a computer watching television. I had a very productive winter break as you can probably surmise (note my blatant sarcasm). I now consider myself somewhat of a television aficionado, although I realize I probably should not boast about it since it is typically not something one should be proud of. Nonetheless, this is the perfect opportunity for me to update you all with the latest TV shows that Americans are binge watching.

Before I divulge in the latest American TV shows and movies everyone is watching, it will be useful to discuss the “binge-watching” culture in America. Binge-watching is essentially watching multiple episodes in one sitting. With the emergence of a renewed zeal for Netflix, a website used to stream media like TV shows, movies, documentaries, etc., binge-watching is now popular more than ever. It has come to the point where people tacitly compete to see how quickly they can finish an entire TV series or how many successive hours they can sit behind the screen for. I know people who have watched an entire TV series in just a couple of days. Keep in mind these TV shows aired over a course of years! In fact, “Netflix” has become a verb and has intertwined itself into American lexicon. For example, the sentence, “I’m going to Netflix today,” would make complete sense. You may think I’m exaggerating on how prevalent binge-watching culture is in America, however, I have witnessed this culture first hand. One of my classmates in college, for example, watches television and movies while eating food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), doing homework, getting ready, cleaning her room, and in her free time. She’s watched multiple TV shows twice and thrice, and has watched an alarming majority of the movies listed on Netflix. I’m not nearly as obsessed with television as my friend is, however, I’ve done my share of watching television over break as a way of detoxing from final exam stress. As a side note, final exam stress was particularly grueling for me, since I was suffering from strep throat whilst trying to manage four finals within a week in addition to a 20-page paper. Anyhow, I finally feel relaxed after this winter vacation.

We can start my discussion of American television shows and movies with my most recent obsession: The Revenant. The Revenant is currently in movie theaters and features the most amazing actor in the industry: Leonardo Dicaprio. His performance in The Revenant is absolute perfection. The movie is set in 1820’s America and covers the fur-trapping industry, focusing on legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo Dicaprio). Glass suffers from a bear injury early in the movie and his partners leave him for dead; the story primarily revolves around him attempting to survive alone on his own as he seeks revenge and tries to find his home base.

The other movie I watched in theaters this break was Sisters. Sisters is a comedy featuring the hilarious Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, two of the funniest women in American pop culture. The movie definitely made me laugh out loud, but in my opinion the two individuals are funnier in their respective TV shows. Parks and Recreation, for example, is hilarious. It features Amy Poehler who plays Leslie Knope. Knope is an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. The show features her carrying out duties as a mid-level bureaucrat along with legendary cast-mates Chris Pratt, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, and (my personal favorite) Nick Offerman. Nick Offerman’s character in the show, Ron Swanson, is most probably my favorite human being on Earth. I have never wanted a television character to be real so badly.

Another favorite TV show of mine, and one which is capturing the hearts of girls across America, is Jane the Virgin. Jane the Virgin is about a girl who is artificially inseminated, causing her to be pregnant with Rafael’s (a man she used to have crush on) child. This initiates a string of events keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats every moment of the show. Jane the Virgin fans either identify with Team Michael or Team Rafael. Michael and Rafael are vying for Jane’s love, since Rafael (who is very easy on the eyes if I do say so myself) is the father of Jane’s baby, but Michael is Jane’s long-time, angelic boyfriend and former fiancé. Exciting stuff, no?

Another TV show I have to recommend is an oldie but a goodie. I binge-watched The Office from September to November. It was hilarious, but also allowed viewers to develop attachments to the characters, especially the epic love story that is Jim and Pam. The Office is an iconic American TV show, along with Friends (which is needless to say the best TV series in history).

Although I’ve omitted a couple of key movies and shows that I believe should not be missed, namely Lee Daniel’s The Butler and the TV show Lost. I think the list I’ve provided for you all should keep you busy for a while. I also realize that a foreign audience may not understand nor appreciate American humor and drama, but I encourage you all to at least give one of these shows or movies a chance. As a word of caution, however, I don’t want this list to cause you to be cooped up in your room in the dark watching TV behind your computer screen. Watch with friends and family at night, and spend the day exploring, learning, and having fun. Though I’m guilty of spending a handful of days “Netflixing” for over five hours straight, I was wary of how deleterious TV can be. Don’t allow TV to consume your social life, school, or family time. Moderation is key. Watch on.

Vocabulary

1. bittersweet: 苦樂參半的，苦中有樂的。

2. be dread doing: 害怕做，不愿面對；reunit: （使）重聚。

3. aggressively: 積極進取地；binge: 狂歡，放縱，此處指放肆地（看電視節目）。

4. 你可能會認為（注意我這里濃厚的自嘲意味）我這個寒假收獲頗豐。surmise: 推測；blatant: 非常明顯的；sarcasm: 諷刺，自嘲。

5. aficionado: 瘋狂愛好者，發燒友；boast about: 炫耀，夸耀。

6. divulge: 暴露，泄露，此處指開始講述。

7. multiple: 許多的；episode: （電視劇或廣播劇的）一集；in one sitting: 一次，一口氣。

8. zeal: 熱情；Netflix: 奈飛公司，一家在線視頻網站運營公司；stream media: 流媒體，指采用流式傳輸的方式在互聯網播放的媒體格式；documentary: 紀錄片。

9. tacitly: 肅靜地，沉默地；successive: 連續的，持續的。

10. air: （在廣播或電視上）播放，播出。

11. intertwine into: 使纏繞在一起，此處指“列入，編入”；lexicon: 辭典。

12. make sense: 講得通，易理解。

13. exaggerate: 夸張，夸大；prevalent: 流行的；first hand: 親身地。

14. thrice: 三次（three times的古時用語）。

15. 雖然不似我朋友對電視那般癡狂，但寒假期間我也看了許多電視來沖淡期末考試帶來的壓力。be obsessed with: 對……上癮，著迷；detox: 戒癮，去毒，此處指消除緊張。

16. side note: 邊注；grueling: 折磨人的；strep throat: 鏈球菌咽喉炎。

17. The Revenant: 電影《荒野獵人》，由萊昂納多?迪卡普里奧等人主演，該片獲得第88屆奧斯卡最佳導演、最佳男主角、最佳攝影三項大獎。

18. be set in: 以……為背景，故事發生在；fur-trapping industry: 販售皮草的行當；legendary: 傳說中的；frontiersman: （舊時美國西部的）邊遠地區居民，拓荒者。

19. revolve around: 以……為主題；revenge: 復仇；home base: 大本營。

20. Sisters: 美國喜劇電影《姐妹》。

21. hilarious: 歡鬧的，搞笑的。

22. Parks and Recreation: 美國喜劇片《公園與游憩》。

23. feature: 由……主演；bureaucrat: 官僚；legendary: 大名鼎鼎的；cast-mate: 搭檔的演員。

24. capture sb.’s heart: 俘獲……的心；Jane the Virgin: 美國喜劇片《處女情緣》。

25. artificially: 人工地；inseminate: 使受精；pregnant: 懷孕的；have crush on: 喜歡，迷戀。

26. 這引發了一系列的事情，劇情發展讓人捉迷不透，心急如焚。initiate: 開始，引發；a string of: 一系列。

27. identify with: 認同。

28. vie for: 爭奪，競爭；easy on the eyes: 悅目的，好看的；angelic: 天使般的。

29. oldie: 陳舊的東西；goodie: 好的東西。

30. The Office: 美國喜劇片《辦公室》。

31. epic: 史詩般的。

32. iconic: 標志性的，具有代表性的；Friends: 美劇《老友記》，是美國電視劇史上最受歡迎的劇集之一。

33. omit: 省略，遺漏；The Butler: 電影《白宮管家》，一部美國歷史劇情片；Lost: 美國科幻懸疑類電視劇《迷失》。

34. coop up: 關起來，關禁閉，此處指足不出戶。

35. straight: 不間斷地；be wary of: 小心，提防；deleterious: 有害的。

36. moderation: 適度，節制。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：丹妮）