李华打电话给Larry,问他想不想一起去看棒球比赛。今天我们要学两个常用语: I’m down和sky-high.

LL: Hello?

LH: Hi, Larry!

LL: Hi Li Hua, how are you doing?

LH: 我挺好的,你呢?忙不忙?

LL: I’m also pretty good. I just finished up my project at work and my boss seemed really impressed.

LH: 恭喜你!我们得好好庆祝一下。一起去看棒球赛怎么样?

LL: I’m down.

LH: You are down? 你心情不好吗?你不是刚完成了手里的项目,而且老板特别满意吗?Why are you down?

LL: Well you’re right in that sometimes down can be used to mean sad, but in this case, “I’m down,”means I would like to go along with that plan.

LH: 那你刚才说I am down. 意思是愿意跟我一起去看棒球赛喽?

LL: That’s exactly right, Li Hua. Now which game would you like to go see?

LH: 都可以。I am down for anything. 最近哪个队来华盛顿?

LL: Well I’ve got the schedule for the Washington Nationals here. It looks like on Tuesday they are playing the New York Mets, and on Thursday they are playing against Philadelphia and Saturday they are playing against the LA Dodgers.

LH: 我无所谓。I would be down for going to see any of those games. 不过,如果让我选,我更愿意周末去。

LL: I am down for the weekend game as well. You never know how late it might run, and I can sleep in on Sunday.

LH: 那就一言为定,我们去看星期六那一场。

LL: Li Hua, would you be down for getting dinner before the game with me?

LH: 好啊!咱们先吃点儿东西,比赛可能会到很晚才结束呢。

LL: That’s probably a good idea. You never know how long the game could last.

LH: 比赛几点开始?

LL: According to this schedule, the game starts at 7:00. So maybe we can meet around 5:30 and get some food then?

LH: I’m down for that.

******

LH: 星期六因为有比赛,路上特别塞车。

LL: I’m sorry Li Hua, I don’t think we will be able to make it to both the restaurant and the game on time.

LH: 没关系,Larry。说实话,我这是第一次去看棒球赛,其实特别想尝尝赛场里卖的各种好吃的东西:热狗、爆米花什么的,real American ball-park food.

LL: Yes it is definitely a very American experience, though the prices on food in the stadium are sky-high.

LH: Sky-high? 比天还高?那是什么意思啊?

LL: Li Hua, sky-high just means that the prices are very expensive.

LH: 哦,我明白了,就是中文里说的天价。也是,我发现,在美国,电影院、游乐场里卖的食物起码要比外面贵三倍,看来球场也是一样。反正他们知道你饿了就一定要买吃的,所以就可以漫天要价。难怪the food prices are sky-high.

LL: That is exactly right! Do you know where we are sitting in the stadium?

LH: 大约在中间部位。我本来想买最下面的好位子,结果发现the ticket prices were sky-high.

LL: Yes, tickets can be very expensive, especially on a Saturday night.

LH: WOW, Larry,怎么这么多人!

LL: I’ll say, I bet their ticket revenue from tonight is sky-high.

LH: 他们今天晚上一定能赚很多钱。这么多人,也不知道咱俩能不能找到座位。

LL: I don’t think it will be a problem. The location is printed right on the ticket.

LH: Larry, 你新换了工作,薪水可是sky-high, 请我吃热狗怎么样?

LL: Haha, my income is not quite sky-high, but sure, I’ll buy you something to eat.

LH: 谢谢。你这个项目做得这么漂亮,老板会不会给你发奖金?

LL: The hope for the marketing campaign looks like it will bring in sky-high profits for the company, so maybe in a few months I will be given a raise.

LH: 这儿的东西这么贵,你不会心疼吧?

LL: Well the prices may be sky-high but I would rather pay a lot than starve in the stadium.

LH: Fair enough. Alright, here we are!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是I’m down意思是我愿意。另一个是sky-high,意思是特别贵。