李华是在纽约上大学的中国学生。今天她的美国同学Michael陪她练习开车,准备去考驾照。他们在路上几次遇到惊险的情况,尽管这样,李华还是学到了两个常用语,一个是:cop;另一个是:to freak out.
# U# o% n1 y- J/ m7 k9 O M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.
$ l1 K, R8 g& `! t- [ L:这地区每小时只能开35英里呀?我是不是开太快啦?哟,我的天呐,警察车跟在我后面,那怎么办呐?5 s2 Q8 J+ ^) w9 K+ t ~' P
M:Calm down, Li Hua. Just find a parking lot and stop the car. The cop will follow us, and come over to your window to talk to you.# Y& `7 u6 M' ^* U9 ~/ \
L:哪儿有停车的地方呀!行,就停在这里吧!你刚才说谁会过来跟我说话?是警察吗?
& B* q0 w7 M7 l! ~ M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer.
, V5 \/ F/ v! m" ^ L:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢?
: X! j4 g" F+ b1 W2 P% Y* |( \" w) R M:Calm down! Sometimes the cops stop people just to warn them, not to give them a ticket. You weren't going very fast anyway.
$ ^& D) _; K9 \; S1 t) C1 M L:你说警察可能过来只是警告我一下,不一定会给我罚单呀?但愿如此,我好象是没有开太快。Michael,你刚才说“cops”, 那警车里到底有几个警察呀?, M+ b# w% x; V S7 b: B" `
M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.& h5 ^5 ?: W2 J4 |, c' H
L:噢,cop 这个名词用复数的时候,cops,可以总的指警察,而不是指某个警察。我就把车停这儿吧。 Michael,我能称呼警察“cop”吗?5 p/ K' ^% b( e. o/ K
M:No! The word "cop" is too informal. You should show respect when talking to the cops. Call him "officer", don't call him "cop"!
, p# B$ Q, q' q5 Z L:天哪!原来“cop”是很随便的称呼,你干吗不早告诉我呀!我可不要惹警察生气! L' h! n. z' }1 M
M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious.; o4 q; {" g5 `* R7 D0 h& P
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket.
" U& G, i$ S5 |: M' a: ?& ?3 n4 b6 }& v L:谢天谢地,他没有给我罚单。他要罚我好多钱的话,那我就糟糕了。
- }& d4 T* l( F* ?7 ` M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.
* N- U1 ^: E9 F- \ A% L) _ L:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车?; c6 w5 U' X& v: I4 a2 T- q" y a( d
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.
. d% M5 F' q' H L:是啊,我经常听到一些人说freak out,原来是指过于激动,显得非常紧张。对不对?
/ `& i. p; \8 `2 p3 L! x9 A M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!
) g# \5 L# J% C" w L:你才该感到紧张?为什么?
6 J$ F0 e; @" ?/ M: L M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble.
4 N! a( M' j2 T9 n1 n L:这我就不懂了。是的,这是你的车,我只有一张学开车的许可证。可是,我开车出了问题,为什么警察会怪你呀?你为什么要freak out?1 J# K! C T1 Q* k2 ~
M:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!
* c2 T5 E4 k" J- d L:Don't freak out, Michael. 我看见那辆车了。不过,那车差一点就撞到我们了!: r/ N$ A) j" A9 V0 v5 c
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!# s2 j. u" P& J+ v8 G a
L:对,刚才是够险的,警察要看到他那么开车,准要给他罚单。不过,今天已经和警察打过交道了,够了。再要跟cops打交道,那我可真是要freak out了。
2 D, i2 D4 o, Y# d8 N. q5 _7 S M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!6 |) k8 {6 P/ C0 R8 y- q+ D
今天这两个年轻人真是够惊险的。不过,李华学到了两个非常有用的词汇: cop,警察;to freak out,非常紧张和激动。 |