今天Michael要在家里举行一个party，请朋友来玩。李华学到两个常用语：psyched和to flop。
L: 啤酒冻好了，吃的也摆好了。我看一切都准备好了。
M: Great! I’m really psyched about this party. Tonight I finally get to relax and have fun with my friends.
L: 你是不是担心party会出问题？是不是怕没有朋友来？
M: Not at all. I said “I am psyched.” That means that I am very excited, and am looking forward to something.
L: Psyched这个词听起来怪怪的。那么“to be psyched”照你说的，就表示你盼望什么事情啦？
M: Not exactly. When I say “I am psyched,” I not only mean that I am excited, but that I am full of energy and ready to go.
L: 是吗？可是今天的party有什么节目让你这样高兴呀？
M: Well, once some of my friends show up, I plan to have a few beers and hit the dance floor. Quite a few ladies should be showing up at the party tonight, so my friends will be psyched and ready to go as well!
L：嗯… 美酒加美女，听起来不错嘛。不过Michael， 你也不要太激动了。我可是见过你喝醉了之后跳舞还有和女孩讲话的样子。真是不敢恭维噢。
M: O.K., that’s enough already. If you’re so smart, why don’t you use “psyched” in a sentence for me?
L: 嗯，让我想想看。对了，像“拳击手Mike Tyson，在比赛前很psyched，因为他准备好要恶战一场了。”这句话怎么样？
M: Yeah, you seem to understand this phrase pretty well. All good athletes have to be psyched before a sports match, otherwise they have no chance of winning.
L: 行了行了，Michael, 你只要记住自己不是运动员，也不是专业的舞蹈家。
M: Oh come on Li Hua! Don’t try to ruin this party for me! You should be psyched too! This is going to be the greatest party of your life!
L: Michael， 你没事吧？
M: [Groan] Ugh, this is … this is terrible. I feel like such an idiot. I can’t believe my party flopped so badly!
L: 怎么了？你说你的party怎么了？
M: I said my party flopped. That’s the past tense for “flop.” I mean that the party sucked.
L: 我懂了, “flop” 就是你的party搞砸了。这个词还有别的意思吗？
M: Well, the word “flop” means to fall down flat and make a noise like when you drop a rug or a large book on the floor.
L: OK，我懂了。这个词的意思就是形容很重的东西掉在地上的声音。这个词是不是只能形容party的时候用呢？
M: Not at all. If a movie or a play “flops,” that means it was not very successful. Sometimes we might say a plan “flopped,” meaning it failed.
L: 那你说说看，为什么你的party搞砸了呢？
M: I wish I knew. Even my friends left after a couple of hours. I’ve never been to a party that flopped as badly as this one. Oh …I know what happened tonight.
L: 那是为什么呢？
M: Today is the first Saturday of the new semester. Professor Wilkins always invites all of the graduate students in my department to a big pool party at his house. Everyone must have gone there!
L: 嗨，你怎么会忘了这回事呢？你的教授给研究生举行party？那我们也赶紧去参加他的party吧！我可不想在你的房间里发呆。我们也要去找点乐子啊！
M: That’s wonderful. My party is such a flop even you can’t wait to leave.
L: 哎哟，有什么关系？只要我们能参加另一个party就好了。我已经等不及了，赶快走吧！
今天李华学会了两个常用语：psyched和to flop。Psyched在这里就是“精神高昂，盼望某件事情”的意思，to flop就是“失败，不成功”的意思。