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.
: t( u- T( g; r% F M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.
2 b& T- O! L, G1 c, X' j 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?* d# |! s! s/ ~6 H9 w) A1 B
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.
% N0 V9 @7 a- T. u" I# J) k 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?
D$ x! x) \ d% | M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer.$ S- c7 J# H3 ?
L:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢?
, R! a1 W) ^, }2 \ 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.; V' ^# a K: d2 `& r
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?4 z5 o! S) J( p( S0 ~
M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.
# e, G, G4 c) M 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?8 b4 p$ |) t7 n
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"!
/ l& E( M; m+ A- n$ X. } 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!: u/ t1 ^! `/ ~& ]
M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious.3 p8 y8 G2 l2 S# l5 G
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket./ I- V: T9 t4 L1 u8 d" A/ Z
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。3 ~. z# u- y4 ?6 j9 p- u0 c4 |
M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.8 |) D9 u! u M. ~/ e& y" {- E6 s
L:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车?
- ~6 _/ A8 P" _% ^8 e M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.& m; ~# l4 r [5 Q6 G
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?: J2 ?: Y5 V. @/ ?+ d2 t- O
M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!+ F; f# a* {8 d
L:你才该感到紧张?为什么?* B+ Z# }7 x7 H+ W! G$ 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 }1 m( t/ d$ i: M" Q/ T4 ^ 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?
) B3 ~+ x! L6 a. w4 b& G& ` M:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!
- K: E: ]. a, x2 m9 `2 m' j, `- T6 c. ] 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!1 O0 X n V$ C( \9 r$ W
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!
9 D$ O& h' I/ \) m" P 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。
) ?- D1 l# z! i9 w M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!$ I4 N$ J/ a- ~5 N( G
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。 |