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.2 o, I/ k# g; @& ~
M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.1 s8 }3 n, F" v: v9 w, T* E% M( M
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?
& x G5 M4 K. Z 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.8 m. S5 }: k4 c6 F& t
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?- s) c' v6 S: q3 C& h, t V
M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer.* r! y: Z/ A0 s0 b* [
L:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢?
, B. v) A7 C! O' e1 J 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.- R5 m. s0 h' ], q# p
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 p7 _4 j& p2 X3 V/ A+ f
M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.9 s" ]( [! t$ O7 U8 O5 v. `1 J, a1 g
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?
: R7 Y/ q0 H: I( R! p: m( ~4 x 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"!
$ U! ?$ r6 K/ A6 o4 O7 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!
6 R4 ]8 b4 @6 }! K M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious.
0 `& h n- \" O% W! |! e& k b% h1 a M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket.
3 ^/ w# S- c! G! `# `% c' L- o 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 A) _2 o0 ]4 P. J M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.; D% b$ H6 A% I. k
L:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车?& _8 b1 O% d9 Y* z
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.
8 N8 W. U @- ?1 x! p, C 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?5 \. U4 N+ P8 Z3 u# ?& t
M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!
$ Q* o8 q- B' V0 Q& z. d$ b3 { L:你才该感到紧张?为什么?
/ Z" n2 c9 G5 q, v6 u: q/ Z M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble.
5 s- S8 A0 h& ^2 v" c 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?
, c. b9 ~8 a! F) [7 u; H M:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!5 j7 M8 w, b9 \" N1 `* 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!. a3 r( R) J0 H k
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!$ y8 k: L* ^2 h! T2 r- p0 k( U& o2 H+ {
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。
. B" q6 O5 H3 o2 K$ M( f M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!3 }; U# j$ p y: L, F" N
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。 |