李华帮Larry收拾东西，准备搬家。今天我们要学两个常用语：the last straw和loose ends.
LH: Larry, 你怎么存了这么多垃圾！我看干脆都扔了，别搬走了。
LL: Junk? Throw it away? These are all precious! How could I ever throw away my math book from third grade, or my Halloween costume from five years ago? I looked really great as Michael Jackson.
LH: 那好，三年级的数学作业本和五年前的鬼节服装都收在这个箱子里面，别忘了！不过我还是决定把你这几个旧鞋盒和衣架扔掉，你要坚强，不要流泪。
LL: Fine, but if you go after my Star Trek dolls, that will be the last straw.
LH: The last what?
LL: The last straw. When a series of bad things happens to you, the last straw is the final bad thing that you cannot tolerate.
LH: 你是说，the last straw是说一系列不愉快的事情中最令人无法接受的。所以，对你来说，star Trek dolls是你最难以割舍的东西。
LL: Exactly. Or, take this apartment for example. This year the air conditioning broke, the bathroom flooded, and some noisy neighbors moved in next door. But the last straw was when I found a mouse in the kitchen. That’s when I decided to move.
LH: 我知道你最怕老鼠，所以空调失灵、厕所漏水、邻居吵闹都可能忍受，但是老鼠的出现是“最后一根稻草”。我最受不了邻居大吵大闹了，你夜里怎么能睡觉呢？
LL: I didn’t. It was bad enough when they played loud music during the day, but when they started playing it at 3am, that was the last straw.
LH: 太过份了。对了，Larry, 你那些狐朋狗友不是要来帮你搬家吗？
LL: Yes, but they’re not very dependable. It was bad enough when they forgot about my birthday last week, but if they don’t bother to show up and help move, that will be the last straw.
LH: 你看吧，你当初就该听我的，找个搬家公司。
LL: I was thinking about it, but the price was quite expensive. And when they told me that I would have to pay for the gas that the truck used, that was the last straw.
LH: 幸亏我最近一直在健身，浑身是劲！走，我们去打扫厨房。别担心，有我在，老鼠一定不敢骚扰你。
******
Larry和李华在Larry的新公寓楼里。
LH: Larry, 这箱书放哪？放在卧室吗？
LL: Sure. Is there anything left to bring in from the truck?
LH: 没了，这是最后一个箱子。
LL: Great. Thanks for your help, Lihua. I can probably tie up all the loose ends by myself.
LH: Tie the what?
LL: Loose ends. When you are about to finish doing a project, but there are still a few small things left to do, you can call them the “loose ends.”
LH: 哦，loose ends就是中文里说的最后剩下的零星工作。比如说把钥匙还给原来的房东，把租的卡车还回去这些事情。
LL: Exactly. Or, if I want to go on vacation, I have to make sure I tie up all the loose ends at work before I go. Otherwise they could become big problems while I’m gone.
LH: 说起渡假，你不是说准备夏天到海边去玩吗？
LL: Yes, I’m almost finished. I have the hotel reservations and airplane tickets. There’s just a few loose ends I still have to take care of, like finding my bathing suit and buying sun screen.
LH: 太好了，我也得把中文课的考卷改好，渡假的时候我可不愿意去担心这些loose ends.
LL: Well after all this hard work moving we’re both going to need a vacation. I sure hope we get good weather. After all the problems with my last apartment, if we get to the beach and it’s raining, that will really be the last straw for me.
LH: 我帮你搬家，你还没说怎么谢我呢！今天干脆别拆包了，你请我吃饭吧！
LL: Wow, all that work for one meal? What a bargain! I’ll go get the car while you call for reservations. Have we forgotten any loose ends?
LH: 别忘了带钱包，今天可是你付帐！
LL: Oh right. The only problem is that I packed it away in one of these boxes and I’m not sure where it is. Do you mind paying?
LH: Larry, 你要是没有我可怎么办啊！
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是the last straw意思是最令人无法忍受的事情。另一个是loose ends，意思是还没有处理的零星事情。