李华和Larry开车去机场准备坐飞机去夏威夷渡假。今天我们要学两个常用语：a far cry和steer clear.
LH: Boy, Larry, 这次假期真是让我望眼欲穿。前段时间每时每刻都在忙，你好长时间没有带我出去玩了，你简直是失职…
LL: What do you mean? Last month we went to the movies. That was fun, wasn’t it?
LH: 拜托，Larry, 带我去看变形金刚就能过关了吗？看两场电影，跟去夏威夷渡假相比，简直就是天壤之别。
LL: I guess you’re right. Watching a movie is definitely a far cry from taking a vacation in Hawaii.
LH: A far cry? 这就要哭啊？我是在跟你开玩笑呢！
LL: Actually, Lihua, when you say that something is a far cry from something else, it means that those two things are totally different.
LH: 哦，我明白了，说一件事情是a far cry from另外一件事情，就是说二者大相径庭。这么说，你也承认，看电影远远比不上去夏威夷好玩喽？
LL: Exactly. But I have to say, I’m really excited for this vacation too. I’ve heard that Hawaii is really beautiful.
LH: 咱们攒钱去夏威夷是绝对正确的，虽说贵了点，可是物有所值，比随便找个小沙滩晒太阳强多了。
LL: I agree. The small and crowded beaches near my house are definitely a far cry from the huge, beautiful beaches in Hawaii.
LH: 那当然了，别忘了，光是从旧金山到夏威夷，就要坐六个小时的飞机呢！对了，你不会为了给我个惊喜，订的是头等舱吧？
LL: Are you kidding? I don’t even have enough money to buy peanuts. I’m still a far cry from being able to afford first class tickets.
LH: 哎，经济舱也凑合了。哈，我知道，那你一定是把钱都花在了五星级的酒店上…
LL: Well … the place we’re staying might be a far cry from a luxury, five-star hotel.
LH: 不是五星的？那也没关系，四星我也将就了… 要不，最少也得是个三星吧？
LL: Don’t worry, Lihua, we have a really nice tent to camp out on the beach!
LH：Larry, 你最好是在开玩笑，要我露宿沙滩，那我现在就买张机票回家去。
LL: Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. We have a good hotel.
LH: 哈！我说说罢了，你还当真了。You are still a far cry from being a comedian. 你离喜剧演员的标准还差得远呢！
******
Larry和李华坐了一天飞机，总算到了夏威夷。
LH: 夏威夷，我来了！Larry, 我们直奔海滩怎么样？
LL: Yeah, Hawaii is going to be great! I can’t wait to get to the beach and spend all day sleeping in the sand.
LH: Larry, 我警告你，来夏威夷可不是为了睡觉，我们每天的行程可都是排得满满的。
LL: Well, Lihua, I think the main purpose of vacation is to relax. Let’s steer clear of all those tiring activities.
LH: Steer clear? 难道说夏威夷也堵车，所以开车一定要小心吗？
LL: Actually, to steer clear of something means you should avoid it. For example, whenever I travel, I steer clear of the food people sell on the street because I don’t want to get sick.
LH: 没错，出门在外千万不能乱吃东西，否则食物中毒，整个假期就全泡汤了。对了，Larry, 我们的旅馆在市中心还是郊区？
LL: I always steer clear of the crowded and noisy cities when I go on vacation. Our hotel is in a very secluded and quiet area.
LH: Sounds great. 我们坐出租车去吗？
LL: We should probably steer clear of taxis during our vacation because they are so expensive. Let’s take the bus.
LH: 可是Larry, 我带了四个大皮箱呢…
LL: Well Lihua, you know that I always try to steer clear of doing anything to upset you. We can take a cab this ONE time.
LH: 算你聪明，作为奖励，在我们的日程正式开始之前，我批准你在沙滩上睡一小觉，不过记住，只有十分钟。
LL: A ten minute nap? Well that’s a far cry from a fair deal, but I guess I’ll take it. What is the first activity we’re doing?
LH: 冲浪！
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是a far cry from something， 意思是大相径庭。另一个是steer clear, 意思是避免。