Michael和李华正坐在教室里聊天,等着上课。今天李华会学到两个常用语:out of it和gung ho。
L: 嘿,Michael, 你今天看起来好象不太舒服…你是不是病了?
M: I’m O.K. I just have a small cold. I took some strong cold medicine, so I am a little out of it today.
L: 噢,你有点感冒,但是吃了几颗比较厉害的药。你说你out of it? 你是说你药没啦?
M: No, I said “I am out of it” “Out of it” mean’s that I am half-awake, not alert, or something like that.
L: 噢,原来是你吃的感冒药让你感到昏昏沉沉,晕呼呼的。这就是为什么我不喜欢吃那种感冒药。
M: Yeah, I know what you mean. But I had such a terrible headache, I had to take something. I just hope I’m not too out of it to pay attention in class.
L: 头痛太厉害倒也是得吃点药。可是,今天上课的内容对考试很重要。你要是昏沉沉的话,可能会漏掉重要的内容噢。
M: Well, you’ll let me look at your notes, right? Anyway, I’m not so out of it that I can’t pay attention at all. (yawns while speaking) I’m just a little sleepy, that’s all…
L: 你当然可以看我的笔记。不过,要是你只是有点困,不太厉害的话,你还是可以注意听讲的。其实,Michael, 只要喝一杯热热浓浓的咖啡你马上就会清醒的。
M: (yawns) Hmm… That’s a good idea, Li Hua. I was so out of it this morning that I forgot to make coffee.
L: 你早上连咖啡也忘了做?你真是够迷糊的了。我要是早上没喝咖啡的话,根本就醒不过来。
M: You mean if you don’t have coffee, you’ll be out of it for the whole morning? Wow, Li Hua, you’re starting to become more and more American.
L: 我要没有咖啡,真是一个早上都没精神。对,都是你们美国人传染给我的好习惯。快走吧,我们还有二十分钟,而且上课前得让你喝点咖啡才行呐。
L: 嗨,Michael, 我听说有的学生这个周末要去参加反战抗议活动,你去吗?
M: I’m not sure. I’m not very gung ho about this anti-war protest.
L: 你对这个抗议活动不太gung ho, 这是什么意思啊?
M: I said “I’m not very gung ho about this protests”. Gung ho means to be very aggressive, enthusiastic or zealous about something. Believe it or not, Li Hua, it’s from Chinese.
L: Gung ho这个说法是来自中文?意思是非常热情,很有闯劲。我怎么从没听说过?
M: You don’t know that? Some say that in World War two, a U.S. marine commander taught a special marine unit the Chinese battle cry “gung ho”.
L: 那是二战时一个美国海军陆战队的司令教他的士兵用的中国战斗口号?你真是越说越悬乎了。不过,你为什么对反战活动不积极呢?你不是讨厌这场战争吗?
M: I am not gung ho about this protests because I don’t like the organizers, I think they are too radical.
L: 你是不喜欢组织这次抗议活动的人,你认为他们太激进了。
M: Are you going to the protest? You have been very gung ho about protesting the war.
L: 是啊,我反对战争,这方面的活动我都积极参加。可是这个周末我得写论文。I am very gung ho about working on my thesis.
M: Good for you! I wish I was as gung ho about my studies as you are. But right now, I am so out of it I don’t have energy to do anything.
L: 说了那么多话,你还觉得困,那你赶快喝这杯咖啡啦!
李华今天学到两个常用语,一个是:out of it, 意思是“昏昏沉沉,有点晕乎”。另一个是:gung ho, 意思是“积极热情”。