Michael是个美国学生,在纽约上大学。他的一个要好同学是从中国大陆来的李华。今天Michael刚好在校园里碰到李华。李华会在谈话中学到两个常用语:couch potato和nuts。. ~/ i) _0 ^7 J: f6 V. Y, m! x
L:嗨,Michael,你上哪儿去呀?2 t2 U; i: x. r9 x5 w
M: I'm going to meet Jon at the subway. You've met Jon, haven't you?
# e7 B. d2 W8 O1 }% U: |2 r3 c3 ~% Q7 ` L:嗯,是不是上次在一次party上你给我介绍的那个带眼镜的人?
8 Y& E. C3 @8 j/ F7 T0 N: H) s M: Yes. I want to drag him out to do something. You know, he's such a couch potato.* A/ }/ U( o+ r6 z! U4 H4 G
L:他是什么?Couch potato? 什么是couch potato? 他爱吃土豆?! L1 c! t2 Q1 k8 O% b w
M: No, couch potato is an expression used to describe someone who sits in front of the TV all the time eating junk food, such as potato chips.
+ O2 X7 A' u) H! V; N! x& B2 w' H4 w L:噢,原来coach potato是指一个人老坐在电视机前吃零食。这个常用语挺有趣。那couch potato是不是只能指人呀?: s0 u" z0 ^3 Q% p) E0 F2 {
M: Yes, it is only used to describe people, those who are lazy and unmotivated.
% ~* W3 ]2 U0 t: E# O5 P6 C L:噢,只能指人,指那些懒懒散散,没有动力的人。好,下回我就叫我哥哥couch potato。他老是看电视,一看就看到三更半夜,吃的东西撒在地毯上,沙发上,到处都是。- j% G- B# t! I* H9 f2 `& m( G4 i
M: My father's like that too. My mother is always angry with him. But he doesn't care.
, m$ L: L1 d2 V# G5 |" G( h L:哟,你爸爸也是这样呀!要我是你妈,我也会生气的。$ x7 i6 u+ A- M) O. j+ z; ^
M: But sometimes, after a really hard week at school, I also just want to collapse and be a couch potato.3 ]( G8 O3 w# Y- i" S
L:一个星期在学校念书实在很累了,回家当一回couch potato,我想这还是可以的,只要不是每天这样就行了。/ S; I( i# G* G0 c: d: c
M: Yes, I agree. Li Hua, would you like to join us? Jon and I are going to play tennis.% R5 f) h) {: p$ D/ A
L:你们要打网球呀,那太好了,我正在学打网球呐。
+ G3 n" j4 |8 m M: That's wonderful. You know, some people think I'm nuts to have a friend like Jon.
( d; s6 g2 q$ K8 p( \ L:有的人认为你是什么? Nuts,Nuts不是花生,杏仁那样的果仁吗?你跟Jon交朋友跟吃花生有什么关系呀?+ l9 z0 v+ x: E$ l* @) b& v
M: No, nuts here means someone who is crazy.
6 R# N3 m% I/ i5 {% ] L:原来nuts在这里是说一个人做的事很怪。大概就象中文里说的:你疯啦!对吗?
& [# N" k/ U' u& K% ?/ K' R1 n" L M: That's right. Jon can be rude, and he also argues a lot. Sometimes he does drive me nuts.3 K( v6 a% i' b6 g
L:他看起来不象会对别人无礼,爱跟人争论的人哪!你刚才说drives me nuts是什么意思啊?
; b7 [5 Y( q7 n( }! i( x M: Drives me nuts means he makes me crazy.
. B+ y: r5 n" r2 v/ A0 `9 B0 K" i L:噢,还可以说drive me nuts,或者是drive someone nuts。嗨,Michael,那天我上移民局去办手续,排队好长,我站了一小时,我真是火死了。我能说:They drove me nuts 吗?
& q6 I* o( ^4 h! D5 i M: Of course. You know, my mother used to make me clean my room every night when I was in high school and that drove me nuts.
( ^/ \% S) }- d% B7 { L:你念中学的时候你妈妈每天晚上要你打扫房间?那是有点受不了。嗨,Michael,你认识我的朋友张红吗?
5 l: X' ?: v$ w4 @6 X M: Oh, yes, she is nuts. She spent $200 for a dress, and it's ugly.9 d% n0 |/ J4 B |4 }
L:对,张红这个人是有点问题,化两百美元买件难看的衣服。不过,Michael,你总是批评别人买的东西。 You sometimes drive me nuts too.
7 `5 G" ^& l1 m2 \ M: Li Hua, I think you are learning these words too fast.
! t$ n" e+ L$ ~# x" E/ k: A0 n9 o 今天李华学了两个常用语,一个是:couch potato,指那些常坐着看电视,吃零食的人;另一个是:nuts,就是说一个人不正常,做的事很怪。 |