Larry在学校的电脑室里见到了李华。李华今天要学会两个常用语ASAP和crank out。
LL: Hey Li Hua! What are you working on? A paper?
LH: 不是，我在写申请威廉森中国历史奖学金的申请书。
LL: What? But that’s due tomorrow! You’d better finish that ASAP.
LH: 我知道明天是申请的最后期限，所以我在赶呐。ASAP, 那是什么意思啊？
LL: ASAP means “as soon as possible”. You need to finish that application as soon as possible!
LH: 噢，原来ASAP就是尽快 – as soon as possible 的缩写。 Larry，那你为什么不说as soon as possible而是说ASAP呢？
LL: Well, people say “as soon as possible”, but if you are in a hurry, it’s easier to just say ASAP.
LH: 匆忙的时候说ASAP，这能节省多少时间呢， 顶多半秒钟吧。
LL: Well, it also sounds more forceful. For instance, if your boss tells you, “Li Hua, I need you to get this done ASAP!” you know that he is in a hurry!
LH: 那倒是。ASAP听起来比较干脆，比较有力。
LL: Or if your mechanic tells you that you car is leaking oil, and that you need to have it fixed ASAP, you’d better take his word for it.
LH: 你别举这种让我倒霉的例子。不过，要是我的车漏油了，我当然得尽快修理。I need to have it fixed ASAP。
LL: Wait, Li Hua, you promised me yesterday that you would proofread my Chinese composition. Have you done that yet? I need to hand it in ASAP!
LH: 天啊， 昨天我答应帮你修改中文作文，我怎么把这件事给忘了呢？真的好对不起。那你今天下午交还来得及吗？
LL: I need to go to work ASAP, so I need to hand this in before I go.
LH: (Sighs) 如果你一定要在上班之前把作业交上去， 那我现在就帮你看吧。
LL: Thank you so much, Li Hua. You’re such a good friend.
******
(Larry returns to the computer lab later in the day.)
LL: Hey Li Hua! I am back from work. Are you still working on that statement?
LH: 是啊， 我还在写申请。哎，Larry, 写申请有什么窍门吗？你怎么每次都写得那么快呢？
LL: Oh, I don’t know. I guess because I have written so many of them, now it’s easy for me to crank them out.
LH: Crank them out? 这是什么意思呀？
LL: To crank something out means to produce something quickly and mechanically, without much thought.
LH: 嗯，To crank something out就是不需要太多思考，很机戒地做成某种事。
LL: Well, when I was an undergraduate, I would just crank out essays and term papers, no problem. Of course, it’s not that easy these days.
LH: 我听说了，你读本科的时候是写作高手， 论文和学期作文都难不倒你。现在当研究生就不一样了；你要作大量研究才能有根有据地写。
LL: Exactly. So, did you ever just crank out essays when you were a student in China?
LH: 当然了，我在中国读中学的时候， 半个小时就能crank out两页的政论文章。Larry, to crank out这个短语还能用在别的地方吗？
LL: Sure, for instance, at McDonald’s, they crank out hundreds of hamburgers every day.
LH: 麦当劳每天制作成千上万个的汉堡包。这一点也不错。
LL: And Hollywood cranks out stupid action movies every other week.
LH: 我从来不看好莱坞制作的那种武打片，所以我就不太清楚了。
LL: Anyway, I have another piece of homework for Chinese class that I need you to look at ASAP. Can you help me?
LH: 没问题，我可以帮你看中文作业，不过你得帮我修改一下我写的申请书。I need to drop it in the mail ASAP。
LL: Ok, no problem. Show me what you’ve written so far。
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是ASAP, 意思是尽快。还有一个是crank out， 意思是不需多加思考地，机戒地制作某种东西。