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. - l. K, U& H5 D( p6 l2 f1 C: Y
M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.) B3 Z4 n' @' O5 o6 R
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?" y0 g$ X, q l' 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.2 d0 e0 N, |$ J) X
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?
& s8 S C# {+ d, W M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer.' r( |% A6 Z+ i1 @
L:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢?
/ X2 a6 g! }/ } c: |! X4 E 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.& y, d8 d0 e9 o2 C9 v
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?3 j; [ r) @. I( h1 C' b( X
M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.0 i5 s x# ?* o
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?6 G& r. j" b* d* _
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"!' j& w: Z/ @6 w6 n$ P( U1 u8 {' \
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!
( h) M, O5 z% Z# J" z6 T M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious.% { A4 z& M% b, P8 @
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket.
1 |" X* T: F0 w$ n$ k 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。
7 X! G* x5 Y( B! s; D9 i M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.
E i; E# I1 D+ p L:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车?4 |: w: H2 m$ D" l0 z
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.
8 c: l9 y& \9 ]; U5 z! j 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?
) `( l4 g- A# c1 A M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!
3 J% k0 W3 n0 ]9 z( O L:你才该感到紧张?为什么?- l$ D' Q9 v1 I5 E& m3 q
M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble.* X+ W2 Z8 o1 c9 r
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?* e* t. ^% p) M; q9 U
M:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!' H. r' c/ ~0 K+ n [* W9 s8 e9 S1 g
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!0 @ B8 a/ L, n
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!5 Z; I: A# U! V/ L7 M7 Y
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。, |& l/ t& [( D7 T5 t
M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!* w$ b( n. U6 N. ?1 k% 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。 |