Larry和李华的朋友David这个周末要举行聚会。Larry和李华在谈论为什么一个朋友不能参加。李华今天会学到两个常用语：baloney和party animal。
LH: Larry，Laura说她下个周末不能去参加David的聚会，因为她要去看望她的阿姨。
LL: That’s baloney. She’s just making up an excuse not to go to the party.
LH: Laura是在找借口？ 我想不会吧！对了，Larry，你说”That’s baloney”，这是什么意思呀？Baloney不是做三明治用的一种大香肠吗？
LL: Yes, literally, baloney is a lunchmeat; however, in this case, baloney means “nonsense.”
LH: 在这种情况下，baloney是指胡说，废话。你的意思是Laura在胡说。嗨，Laura不去就不去吧， 为什么要骗人呢？
LL: She doesn’t want to go to the party either because her ex-boyfriend Jack will be there and doesn’t want to be rude.
LH: Larry，婉言谢绝邀请也没有什么不礼貌。另外，Laura上次对我说她和Jack虽然分手了，可还是好朋友。我不相信Laura是在找借口。
LL: Now, that’s really baloney. The two of them don’t even speak to each other anymore.
LH: 他们俩现在见了面都不理睬，也不说话？这跟Laura说的完全相反，是谁告诉你的呀？That’s baloney!
LL: That’s what Jack told me the last time I spoke with him. He seemed very disappointed that they weren’t getting along. He sounded really sincere.
LH: 他对和Laura 分手感到很失望！That’s baloney! 要是他感到惋惜，Laura又说他们还是朋友，那为什么他告诉你两人见了面象仇人那样不理睬， 不说话的？我才不相信Jack!
LL: Come on, Jack is a good guy. He wouldn’t tell me something that is baloney.
LH: 可是Laura也不是坏人，她也不是说谎的人哪！。
LL: Okay, okay. Forget what I said! It was all just a bunch of baloney, anyway!
LL: Even if Laura isn’t coming, I am glad Tom is coming to David’s party. Tom is a real party animal!
LH: Larry， 你说什么？Tom是party animal？ Tom是人，不是什么动物！
LL: Yes, he is a human being, but he is a human being that loves to go to parties! People that love to party are party animals.
LH: 原来party animal指的是特别喜欢参加聚会的人，也就是聚会狂。Tom哪一次聚会都不错过，要这么说，他的确是个party animal。 Larry，我看你也是一个喜欢参加聚会的人，也是个party animal！
LL: Yeah, but I am not as much of a party animal as Tom.
LH: 你倒挺谦虚的，觉得自己还比不上Tom。你说说，你哪一点比Tom差呢？
LL: Well, Tom goes out to parties nearly every weekend. I’ve got too much to do, and I really can’t go out all the time.
LH: 那倒是，Tom确实每个周末都去参加聚会，你还没到这个程度。Larry，David平时很严肃，还很害羞，没想到他会举办这个聚会。他绝不是象你和Tom那样的party animal。
LL: Well, you might be surprised! Sometimes at a party David relaxes and acts just like Tom – like a real party animal!
LH: 我才不信呢！David参加聚会时比平时更放松一点是可能的，但绝不会象Tom那样活宝。我看见过Tom在聚会上的样子， David不可能是个party animal。
LL: Sure, he laughs, tells jokes and has a good time – and some times he gets crazy and does the funniest things.
LH: 这可出乎我的意料。David居然还会如此谈笑风生，讲笑话，做逗人笑的事。说明我对他还不了解。
LL: What about you, Li Hua? Are you a party animal?
LH: Larry, 你别胡扯了！ 你看我像聚会狂吗？
LL: Let’s just say if someone said to me “That Li Hua is a real party animal” – I’d say that is baloney!
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是baloney, 意思是骗人的鬼话，胡扯。李华学到的另一个常用语是party animal， 指的是特别喜欢参加社交聚会的人。