feifei: 大家好，欢迎收听地道英语节目，我是冯菲菲。
william: and i'm william.
feifei: william, how much do you know about china?
william: er... not much. why are you asking?
feifei: 我今天读报纸的时候，看到一个有关中国的小测验。
william: oh no, not quizzes, i'm rubbish at quizzes.
feifei: let's see. here is the first one – 中国的首都是哪儿？
william: ah, well. that's easy, beijing.
feifei: 回答正确！中国哪里的菜肴是以麻辣出名的？
william: em, i think sichuan food is quite spicy.
feifei: see, you are doing well! how about this one – 汉字里一共有多少个字？这道题有点难度。
william: em, 5,000?
feifei: no. try again.
william: 7,000?
feifei: no. roughly 42,000.
william: wow, that's amazing. i didn't know it was that many. how can people possibly learn them all? i just think that's totally mind-boggling!
feifei: mind-boggling, 这个短语是什么意思？
william: mind-boggling means something overwhelming and amazing, like really impressive numbers or facts.
feifei: 知道了，mind-boggling 就是说一件令人吃惊的、非常难以置信的事情。比方说一个巨大的数字。
william: it's made up of two words: mind and to boggle. let's hear an example.
example
woman 1: i took my son to the science museum on sunday.
woman 2: did you go to the space mission area?
woman 1: oh yes. there were rockets, space suits, even parts from a satellite - so many mind-boggling things to see.
milky way galaxy
how many stars are there in the milky way?
feifei: 我对宇宙一向都很感兴趣，不过里面的学问真的是太深奥了。
william: well, astronomy, the study of stars, has lots of mind-boggling theories.
example
man: i was at a physics workshop last month in munich. there were seminars on black holes and antimatter. it was totally mind-boggling stuff; i think i might have understood about five percent of what was discussed.
feifei: 我想大家现在知道 mind-boggling 这个短语的意思和用法了吧。其实就是用来形容那些令人难以置信的事实。and here is one final mind-boggling question – how many stars are in there in the milky way?
william: er, is it 42,000 again?
feifei: no, no! some people say there are over 200 billion stars in the milky way but no one knows for sure.
感谢收听今天的《地道英语》节目，下次节目再会。