Larry和李华一起去参观艺术博物馆。他们会用到两个常用语：Overkill和write something off.
LH: Larry, 听我的对了吧。逛艺术博物馆比看电影强多了！
L: Well I agree. But the art museum would be even better if it served popcorn too!
LH: 这倒也是，要是博物馆里也卖爆米花、热狗、啤酒，边逛边吃，那该有多舒服啊!
L: Hot dogs and beer? I don’t know, Lihua. I think that might be overkill.
LH: Overkill是什么意思？
L: When you think that an idea goes too far, you can say that it is overkill.
LH: 哦，overkill就是过份的想法或行为。你是说，在博物馆里卖爆米花似乎还不错，可如果连热狗和啤酒都一起卖就太夸张了。
L: That’s right! Here is another example. Elliot’s boss thought about firing him for being an hour late to work, but then decided that would be overkill.
LH: 哦，Elliot迟到了一个小时，老板本来想因为这个而炒他的鱿鱼，不过后来觉得，这么做太过份了。对了，Larry, 博物馆这么好，我们天天来这里逛如何？
L: Lihua, I really enjoy the art gallery, but coming here every single day would definitely be overkill.
LH: 什么过份，你真没有艺术细胞! 我的艺术气质比你浓多了，我看，我干脆去读个艺术史的博士好了！
L: Lihua, it’s fine to enjoy art as a hobby, but I think getting a PhD in art history would really be overkill.
LH: 呵呵，我开玩笑的。对了Larry, 你还记得上次咱们去华盛顿看兵马俑展览么？
L: I sure do! That was one of my favorites.
LH: 就是，多好看啊。可惜展出的只是一部分，要是所有兵马俑都到美国来展览就好了！
L; I don’t know … I was satisfied seeing just a few. I think bringing the entire collection here would be overkill.
LH: 才不会呢! 要看就得看全的！那个气势，肯定不一样! 我给你买张机票，你去中国看吧！
L: Lihua, it’s nice that you’re encouraging me to see the Teracotta Warriors, but buying me a plane ticket to China is definitely overkill!
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LH: Larry, 你喜欢什么流派的艺术啊？现实主义还是抽象主义？
L: I definitely prefer the realistic kind. Anybody can make abstract art!
LH: 人人都能创作抽象派艺术作品？那好，你创作一个给我看看!
L: Er … I guess you’re right. I shouldn’t write off abstract artists so quickly.
LH: Write them off? 这是什么意思？
L: When you write something off, that means you decide that it isn’t important.
LH: 哦，就是小看，不看好的意思。你是说，你不该小瞧抽象派艺术家。
L: Right! Here is another example. In high school most people had written Jack off as an actor, so they were really surprised when he became a movie star years later.
LH: 我明白了。高中时大家都觉得Jack肯定当不了演员，可后来他成了电影明星，所以大家都很吃惊。
L: That’s right!
LH: 对了Larry, 你说这些艺术品的创作者一定都很有钱吧？他们的作品都卖得好贵哦！
L: Actually I don’t think so. Many great artists were written off in their own time, and people only started to appreciate them many years later.
LH: 也是，好多艺术家在世的时候不被世人重视，总是死了之后才得到人们的认可，真可惜！哎， Larry, 你喜不喜欢画画？
L: I thought of being an artist when I was a little kid, but I wrote that dream off a long time ago when I realized I was bad at drawing.
LH: 哦，你发现自己画画不行，就放弃了当画家的梦想。
L: Yeah, but I still like to draw as a hobby. Even though I can’t be a professional artist, giving it up even as a hobby would have been overkill.
LH: 要不这样吧，Larry, 把你最近画的大作拿来，跟我五岁时画的儿童简笔画比比，看看你有没有达到我五岁时的水平？
L: Very funny, Lihua. I’ll write that off as a joke!
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是overkill，表示过份的想法或行为。另一是write something off, 意思是“小看，不看好”。