今天Larry 和Li Hua下课以后在电影院门口商量看什么电影。Li Hua会学到两个常用语:eye candy和 bazillion。
LH: Hmm, 我想看Troy. 听说这部电影挺棒的!
LL: I don’t know, Li Hua. That movie looks like it’s nothing but eye candy.
LH: 你说那部电影是什么?Eye candy? candy不是“糖果”吗?。这是一部关于古希腊的电影,和“糖果”有什么关系呀?
LL: I said it’s mostly eye candy. Eye candy describes something that looks really good, but does not serve a useful purpose.
LH: 噢,你说的是eye candy。Eye candy是比喻某个东西看上去虽好,可是并不实用。那不就有点儿像我们中文里常说的“华而不实”吗?
LL: That’s right. In a movie, fancy special effects are just eye candy.
LH: 现在好多电影都是靠电脑制作的特技场面,看起来挺花哨,其实电影本身一点儿意思也没有。可是Larry, 你知道吗 – Troy 这部电影是Brad Pitt主演啊?
LL: Well, in this case the eye candy is Brad Pitt.
LH: 什么?说Brad Pitt是eye candy, 这也太不公平了。他不仅长得帅,而且演技也是一流的。你怎么能说他“华而不实”呢?
LL: Fine, fine, Brad Pitt is more than just eye candy. Still, I’d rather see something else… like that science fiction film I was telling you about. That’s the kind of eye candy I want to see!
LH: 你要看那部科幻片啊?我看那才是名符其实的eye candy呢!
LL: You know, Li Hua, we’ve been standing here trying to choose a movie for fifteen minutes. Why don’t we forget about seeing a movie today? There are a bazillion other things to do in this city.
LH: 就是啊,我们在这儿都站了15分钟还决定不了看哪个电影。那要是不看电影我们干什么呢?你说有a bazillion事情可做。Bazillion – 这是个数字吗?
LL: I said “there are a bazillion other things”. “Bazillion” means a lot. It’s supposed to sound like “a billion” or “a zillion” – a large number, anyway.
LH: 对,bazillion听起来就好像billion,或zillion。Billion是十亿, zillion是“千千万”, 所以bazillion也可以说是“许许多多,数不清的”意思。Larry, 你说我们有bazillion的事可干,那你说说我们可以干什么呢?
LL: Well, there’s an outdoor rock concert this evening not far from my place and the museum is showing a new exhibit of ancient bronze work today.
LH: Hmm, 我不想听什么摇滚音乐会,博物馆的古青铜器展览可能会更有意思。Larry, 我还是有点糊涂,bazillion这个词可以像使用具体数字一样来使用它吗?
LL: Yeah, pretty much. For instance, I’m not sure that today is a good day to visit the museum. There will be a bazillion people there on the opening day of that exhibit.
LH: 没错,开展第一天,人肯定很多。那我们改天再去吧。你不是说有a bazillion other things to do 吗?
LL: There’s a bazillion bars along this street. We could go hang out in one while we decide what to do next.
LH: 这条街上的酒吧是挺多的,可是现在才下午3点多,我不想去酒吧。
LL: Hmm… well, let me think… sometimes when you have a bazillion choices, it’s hard to make a decision.
LH: 哎哟,得了得了,说什么选择多了反而不好决定。我说还是看电影吧。Troy 还有几分钟就要开始了,你肯定不想看吗?
LL: Look, we’ve discussed this a bazillion times. That movie is nothing but eye candy for girls.
LH: 哎哟,你真是的,你不要看,那我自己去看啦!
今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语,一个是eye candy。意思是“华而不实的东西”。李华学到的另一个常用语是bazillion, 就相当于中文里面所说的“多得数都数不清”。