Larry和李华在谈论他们的朋友Dave。 Dave的老板刚刚给他加了一大笔工资。李华今天要学会两个新的习惯用语,live large和a hoot.
LL: It is a good thing that Bob got such a big raise. He likes to live large!
LH: Live是生活,你说live large那是什么意思呀?
LL: By living large, I mean Bob likes to buy expensive things, wear the best clothes, and eat out at fancy restaurants.
LH: 谁不喜欢那样生活奢侈呀?买贵的东西、穿最好的衣服、下高级饭馆?I like to live large too。
LL: Right. And Bob does live large. The minute after he heard about his new raise, Bob went out and bought a brand new Mercedes.
LH: Wow,他可真够大手大脚的,钱还没拿到手就已经花出去了。 一辆Mercedes至少要几万美金吧。不过,喜欢live large的人还挺多。教我英国文学的史密斯教授最近买了一座豪宅,里面有六个卧室, 四个洗澡间,还有一个马厩。
LL: Wow, maybe someday, I’ll be able to live large, too.
LH: 我不知道你, 反正我是没有希望了, 靠教中文这点收入连做梦也不会live large.
LL: I don’t earn that much at my job either. I will need more than one big raise to be able to live large. I’ll need several raises!
LH: 要加薪好多次才能过上奢适的生活, 那要等到什么时候啊。 不过Larry,过不上那种日子也没关系,我并不羡慕那种生活。
LL: What do you mean? You don’t want to live large?
LH: 生活奢适是要付出代价的, 比如,保养和维修奔驰车要花很多钱。 大房子也要费时间打扫。
LL: Those are good points, but it sure is fun to dream about living large.
LH: 过不了那种生活光是梦想有什么好玩的呀! Larry,如果你有了钱,可以挥霍地生活, 你想作什么呢?
LL: Well, I would first buy my own private jet.
LH: 买一架私人飞机? That would be living large.
LL: And then I would fly my jet to my own private island in the Caribbean.
LH: 你还想开着飞机到自己在加勒比海买的一个岛上去!你真是在做梦!
LL: I loved your reaction when I told you I wanted to buy my own private island in the Caribbean. It was a hoot!
LH: “A hoot”是猫头鹰的叫声。你说我刚才的反映是猫头鹰的叫声?你这是什么意思呀?
LL: No, that’s not what I meant. You looked so amazed I thought it was really funny. Something that is really funny is a hoot.
LH: 我刚才听你说要买一个私人岛屿是让我非常惊讶!想像你在加勒比海的私人海滩上悠闲地喝着果汁,那情景很可笑的哟。
LL: Say, you know what else was a real hoot? Did you see that show on the comedy channel last night?
LH: 你是指昨天晚上那喜剧节目频道播出的节目吗?我当然看了。
LL: Yes! Wasn’t it the funniest thing you have ever seen? I thought it was such a hoot.
LH: 我也觉得很有趣。 有个人模仿总统,模仿的真好笑。 都快把我笑死了。 He was a hoot!
LL: Hey, I hadn’t really thought about this before, but doesn’t our friend Bob look like the guy who impersonated the president?
LH: 是啊, 模仿总统的人很像我们的朋友Bob 。真有趣 – What a hoot!
LL: Speaking of Bob, did I tell you that he took me out for a drive in his new Mercedes?
LH: Bob开着崭新的奔驰车带你去兜风了? 下回我也要让他带我去兜风。
LL: Well, you wouldn’t believe what happened. We were stopped behind a garbage truck at a stoplight when all of the sudden the truck dumped trash into the Mercedes all over me and Bob!
LH: 什么, 垃圾车突然把垃圾倒出来,把你和Bob弄得全身都是垃圾?Larry,那卡车司机把你们当成了垃圾场了。 这真可笑 – It’s really a hoot!
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是live large,意思是生活挥霍。还有一个是hoot,意思是可笑、有趣。