Larry早上起来正在看报纸，忽然接到小燕的电话。今天我们要学两个常用语：short fuse和out of this world.
LL: Hello?
XY: Hey Larry! 你起床了？昨天玩到那么晚，我不会把你吵醒了吧！
LL: Hey no problem. I was just reading the newspaper and drinking a lot of water. I have quite a headache. I can’t believe you bought so many beers for me last night!
XY: 我愿意！昨天我可能也喝多了点，当着你的面跟酒吧里的服务生吵架，真不好意思，对不起了。
LL: Well, Xiaoyan, it’s not really a problem at all. I mean, you tend to have a short fuse anyway.
XY: Short fuse这是什么意思啊？你每次都说这些我听不懂的话，真是急死我了。
LL: There’s a perfect example! When a person has a “short fuse,” it means that they have a short temper – they get angry very easily! Now don’t get mad because I said this, or you will further prove my point – haha!
XY: 噢，你是说我急脾气啊。这我承认。不过，我更愿意听人家说我是一个“充满激情”的女人。
LL: Having a short fuse can be a good thing, sometimes, but most of the time, I must admit that it can be a bit intimidating or scary. It’s why I try my best to keep you from blowing your fuse – or erupting in anger. It’s ok, my new boss is like this – and I can handle it.
XY: 你真觉得我的脾气有些吓人吗？那我一定改正。对了，你下午有空吗？我请你吃午饭，而且还有新车接送。不是我吹，买车的时候讨价还价，我可是镇定自若，没发脾气。I did not blow my fuse!
LL: I’m impressed, Xiaoyan! Number one, you have a new car. Number two, you didn’t blow your fuse! So what time were you thinking, since you have the car?
XY: 下午一点怎么样？这样你还有时间“梳妆打扮”，以帅哥的形象出现在我的面前。(笑)
LL: Ok. Do you need directions?
XY: 不用，我有全球定位系统。我保证，就算走丢了，我也不会打电话跟你发脾气。
LL: OK, just call me if there’s a problem!
******
LL: Wow. Nice car! You must have saved your tip money for YEARS to get such a nice one….
XY: 勤俭节约可是我最大的优点。
LL: Since you’re driving, I’ll pick the joint we’ll go to. There’s a diner just down the street that’s good.
XY: 这家餐馆从外面看起来好象不错，我们进去吧。
LL: So here’s the menu. Their sandwiches are absolutely out of this world.
XY: out of this world? 你吃他们的外星三明治吧。我只要个色拉就行了。Larry, 有的时候，我真怀疑你是不是有点疯狂，也许这就是你吸引人…..
LL: Xiaoyan. “Out of this world” means really, really good. Excellent. Superb. Delicious. The best.
XY: 哦，out of this world意思是好吃得不得了，简直非人间食物。那我可得来一个。既然你对吃的东西这么在行，我能不能说你的品味也是”out of this world” 呢？
LL: Ha ha. Yeah, but you’re the first person to ever tell me that!
XY: 真的吗？那我再告诉你个秘密：我觉得你这个人也不是一般男人能比的: You are out of this world!
LL: Um… (embarrassed) hey hey… now, anyway, with the sandwiches…
XY: 服务生！给我们来两个你们这儿最好的三明治，外加两杯咖啡。希望你们的咖啡也是香浓美味， out of this world!
LL: So, Xiaoyan, I wanted to tell you something…
XY: 你先听我说，我有个绝妙的主意，就是不知道你明天晚上是不是有空？
LL: That depends, Xiayan, because…
XY: 我想带你去见我父母。他们在这里的侨界非常活跃，我想让他们认识一下你。
LL: Are you sure this is a good idea?
XY: (严肃地)当然是个好主意喽！怎么会不是好主意呢？
LL: Well, perhaps they’d get the wrong impression. Perhaps I’m getting the wrong impression from you, too.
XY: 误解？不会有什么误解的。怎么样，星期天下午五点我开车来接你。咱们就这么定了。
LL: (Reluctantly) Ok, Xiaoyan. I must admit – your powers of persuasion are out of this world, as well.
XY: 没错，我最能说服人了，你就听我一次吧！
我们今天学习了两个常用语。一个是short fuse, 意思是急脾气。另一个是out of this world, 意思是极其美妙。