var objcur4 = { "showcontent":{"showepisode":
"April 18, 2020",
"showlink":
"https://rhythmenglish.com/video/ucurrent4.mp4#t=1",
"showname":
"Undercover in Rome",
"showcomment":
"Painting by Marco, Music by Spaztikox",
"showvocab":
"hunched
to stand, sit, or walk in a bent posture.
widow’s peak
a V-shaped point in the hairline in the middle of the forehead.
cursing
to utter curses; swear profanely.
soaking up
to absorb or take in or up by absorption.
snoring
to breathe during sleep with hoarse or harsh sounds.
to laugh one’s head off
to laugh heartily or uncontrollably.
to play things out
to bring to an end; finish.
soppy
excessively sentimental.
thumbs up
an indication of satisfaction or approval (or of rejection or failure).
grinning
to smile broadly.",
"showquestion":[
"1. Marco is an opera conductor. ",
"2. Mischa needs a lot of attention from Marco. ",
"3. Marco prefers sleeping on a couch, not a bed.",
"4. He has a large picture of his cat on the wall.",
"5. Marco likes to dress-up like a detective and write love letters.",
"6. Marco and his friend successfully deliver a letter by car in another neighborhood."
],
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"showtrans":
"Undercover in Rome
I spent a weekend visiting my mate, Marco, in Rome. He lived in an old flat where the ex-doorman used to live, right inside the entry of the building. He shared it with a street cat he had adopted called Mischa.
Misha, Misha, vai via! Cazzo!\" an unshaven Marco screamed, gesturing like a mad conductor in an opera, as topolino from Paolo Conte played on his stereo. He stood in front of his dining room table, barefoot and hunched forward in a huge dark green linen shirt, his thinning widow's peak combed straight back with the sweat from the smoldering day. Frazzled Roman elegance. He tried to paint delicate strokes on the small canvas in front of him, as his street cat, Mischa, jumped from the floor to the table and back, darting around everything. Marco took a playful swipe at his furry friend, cursing and threatening to turn him into a tennis racket.
He put his brush down and told me he was sleeping along side Marilyn Monroe every night and his cat was jealous. Sure enough, he had a large black and white photograph of Norma Jeane that ran the entire length of his bed. It was a shot of her lounging on a couch in the middle of a street somewhere, just off-set and soaking up the sun with big black sunglasses on. He told me Mischa was always trying to sleep closer and closer to him ‘cause she was jealous. Later, I’d catch him, with his cat curled up on top of his stomach, as he snored through a siesta... with Marilyn watching the whole thing.
After lunch the next day he told me we had a very particular missione to carry out. He insisted that we deliver one of his love letters to the other side of town. Well, hell, that sounds almost reasonable to me, “Right, Ok!...why not?!!” I said. He then proceeded to pull out some old dusty ‘Clouseau’ trench coats and hats he had in his closet, and found some trashy-gangster sunglasses that we could wear. We laughed our heads off as we put on our detective gear and got ready to play things out.
He maneuvered his Fiat through the busy Sunday traffic and told me about the girl in the letter, in an intense, but not soppy way. Soon after, we entered a residential neighborhood where, all of the sudden, he stops the car. He then turns to me with those stupid sunglasses plastered to his face and says,\"It’s over there, next to the door, the mailbox. Good luck, spia due” I get out and go down the walkway to find the box with her name on it. Before I put the letter in the slot, I glance back at Marco who gives me the thumbs up, he’s grinning mischievously and waiting for the get-away. As I hurry back, I hear him say in a low ridiculous voice, \"Buono! Missione d'amore completo! Buon lavoro spia due! Andiamo!\""
}
}