Michael现在在玩电子游戏,李华在等他一起去和朋友吃饭。Michael今天会教会李华两个常用语:junkies和cut it out.

(Sound of video games)

L: 嗨,Michael,你还没有玩够这电子游戏呀?你这个人怎么回事嘛!

M: Just a minute. (video game sounds stop) Oh never mind. You are right, Li Hua. I need to do something more useful with my time. I’m a video game junkie.

L: 你说你是什么? Junkie? 那是什么啊?

M: I called myself a “video game junkie.”

L: 你是说你玩电子游戏玩太多了,对不对?

M: You got it. The word “junkie” originally was slang for a drug addict. Now, however, people used the word “junkie” to describe people who are very absorbed in a hobby or kind of entertainment.

L: 噢, 所以junkie是指那些沉醉于自己嗜好的人。那么,除了像你这种老爱玩电子游戏的人以外,还有其他的junkies,对不对?

M: Of course! For instance, my dad is a golf junkie. He goes to the golf course at least twice a week, and plays for hours.

L: 没错,你爸爸真是个高尔夫球迷,一个星期要打两次,每次还要打好几个小时,那他肯定是退休了,不然那来那么多时间啊? 哎,Michael, 你可不可以再给我举几个不同的junkies的例子呢?

M: Well, my friend Mitch, he is a sports junkie. He watches football in the fall, hockey in the winter, and baseball in the spring and summer. He finds a game on TV almost every day of the year, and he knows everything about every player.

L: OK,所以你那个朋友Mitch,他呀是个大球迷。每天在电视上看球赛,秋天看足球,冬天就看曲棍球,春夏天又看棒球,而且还知道每一个球员呐。哇,真是个大球迷!

M: That’s right. We don’t use the word “junkie” for just any fan. We use it for people who can’t live without their hobby.

L: 噢,所以junkies还是特别指那些没有这些嗜好就没办法活的人呐!

M: Yeah, like you. You are a soap opera junkie. I’ve seen you run to the student union between classes just so you can watch soap operas on the TV there. You are a junkie!

L: 什么?你说我是连续剧迷?我至少不像你对电子游戏那么迷。好了好了,快走吧,我们跟Jack还有Sarah约好要吃饭的。

(Sound of video games)

L: 嗨,Michael,我们得走啦,否则要迟到了。

M: Mmm hmm. (sound continues) Ahh! Come on, come on!

L: Michael, 把遥控器给我!

M: Hey! Cut it out!

L: (Click, TV turns off) 对不起,Michael,我们再不走要来不及了。你刚才说什么cut it out, 什么意思啊?

M: No! I said “cut it out.” That means “stop it!”

L: 噢,cut it out就是说“别这样”?那这句话是在什么场合用的?

M: If someone is doing something that annoys you, and you really want them to stop, you can use this phrase. For instance, I was busy playing that game when you tried to grab the controller from me. I wanted you to stop trying to grab it, so I said “cut it out”.

L: 噢,所以,谁要是做的事让你很讨厌,你要他别这么做,这个时候你就可以说这句话。就象刚才我要抢你的遥控器时,你就说cut it out, 就是让我别抢。看来,这个cut it out还挺有用的。

M: You understand. So what do you say if someone starts throwing peanuts at you, like this.

L: 你干吗拿花生扔我啊?Stop, ER… Cut it out, Michael!

M: Very good. I guess you really have learned this phrase.

Michael今天用扔花生来教李华怎么说cut it out,也就是“别这样!”。这回李华恐怕再也忘不了这个说法了。李华今天还学到 junkies这个词。意思是对某种嗜好,或好玩的事着了迷的人。