Michael和李华正在教室里等着上课。今天李华会学到两个常用语：gee和oh well…
L: Michael, 你听说了没有，Professor Johnson的车坏了，这节课取消了。
M: His car broke down? (sarcastically) Gee… that’s too bad! I was really looking forward to Professor Johnson’s class!
L: 你不是最讨厌上Professor Johnson的课吗？你说geeeee, 这是什么意思啊？
M: (sighs) Come on, Li Hua! Don’t you know what sarcasm is? Of course I don’t like that class!
L: 噢，你是在说反话！哎哟，你们美国学生老是说那些讽刺挖苦的话，有时候我都听不懂。哎，gee到底是什么意思吗？
M: Well, “Gee…” is an interjection that shows surprise, wonder, or uncertainty. Sometimes when people say “Gee…” (in a long, drawn out fashion) they are just pretending that they are surprised.
L: 你是说gee放在句子里，可以表示惊奇或是怀疑。可要是拖长了调，说geeeeee，这说话的人啊就是假装他感到惊奇。等等，那要是我问你，纽约今年的冬天会冷吗？这个问题当然是很傻啦，因为纽约的冬天总是冷的，那，你会怎么样带着讽刺的口气来回答呢？
M: I would say, “Gee…, I don’t know… Winter here has been cold every year for the last ten thousand years, but maybe this year will be different.”
L: 几千年来纽约的冬天都是冷的，今年可能会不同，哎，Michael, 你也真是能说反话哎！
M: Now, Li Hua, why don’t you give me an example using “Gee” without sarcasm to show that you are surprised.
L: 举个不带讽刺意思的例子啊… 哎，要是你告诉我你得到一大笔让你到中国去学习的奖学金，我就会说：Gee, that’s great!。哎，Michael, 教室都空了，你走不走啊？
M: (Sarcastically, in English) “Gee, I don’t know. Sometimes I just like to sit in an empty classroom and do nothing…”
L: 得，你愿意坐在空教室里，那我走了！
M: Hey, wait!
M: Did you hear, the football team won’t make the playoffs this year. Oh well, that’s too bad.
L: 对，足球队今年不能参加决赛。你说是Owell不好，谁是Owell?
M: I said, “Oh well”. Oh, o-h, well, w-e-l-l. “Oh well” is use to show mild regret. We also use it to tease people or pretend that you are upset.
L: 噢，原来这是两个字，oh和well。 oh well就是表示有点遗憾。Michael, 你等等，我要到那个售货机去买包土豆片。(sound of vending machine). 嗨，这个机器坏了，我给了一包的钱，它给我两包。
M: It’s broken? Oh well, I guess you have to give me a bag. We don’t want to waste food, right?
L: Oh well, 你说这啊是想逗我。我为什么要给你一包土豆片哪！还美其名说什么不要浪费食品。你不就是想白吃我的土豆片吗？
M: You’re not going to give me any chips? (teasing) Oh well, I guess I won’t be able to give you a ride home.
L: 你为了一包土豆片就不让我搭你的车，要我走回家啊？行啊，那我以后就不帮你做中文课作业了！
M: (teasing) Oh well. I guess I won’t be able to help you learn English then. Hm, too bad!
L: 你呀，别装模作样，不帮我学英语就算了，以后啊不跟你说话了。
M: Um, calm down Li Hua. I was just joking, you know.
L: (in English, sarcastic) Gee, really? (Chinese) 我还真以为你为了一包土豆片就不要我这个朋友了呢。
M: Oh well, we’ve been kidding too much. Let’s go home.
李华今天学到了两个常用语，一个是：gee, 这是一个语气词，可以使你说的话带有遗憾、惊奇的色彩。另一个是：oh well, 在中文里就是：“行啊， 得啦！”