李华和Larry一起去附近一家新开的中国餐馆吃自助餐。李华今天要学两个常用语:yum和yuck.

LL: There is so much good food at this buffet, Li Hua. I can’t wait to eat some of those spring rolls. Yum!

LH: 你说yum,那你肯定很喜欢吃春卷!因为我知道,yum在英语里就是可口,好吃的意思。

LL: Hey, Li Hua, you are right! Where did you learn about the word “Yum”?

LH: 我前不久跟一帮美国朋友去吃pizza,其中一个人刚咬第一口,就大喊yum!他说自己最爱吃的东西就是pizza.

LL: Well, I really enjoy eating spring rolls – especially when they are fresh. And these spring rolls look especially tasty. What makes you say “Yum!”, Li Hua?

LH: 我最爱吃的菜是鱼香茄子,想想都会流口水。Yum!

LL: Well, I am afraid eggplant is not one of my favorites, Li Hua. I don’t find eggplant dishes to be very yummy.

LH: Yummy肯定是从yum来的吧!

LL: Right! Yummy is used to describe a thing – Like yummy spring rolls or yummy eggplant.

LH: 所以yummy是形容词,yum则是发感慨的时候说的。

LL: Speaking of being about to eat, let’s take our plates over to the table and enjoy this yummy food.

LH: 对啊,我们得赶紧吃,吃完第一盘,马上再回来拿,你看他们正在上龙虾呢! Yum!

LL: But don’t fill up too much, Li Hua. You’ll want to save room for dessert. The almond cookies look especially yummy.

LH: 杏仁酥看起来确实比红豆面包好,那些红豆面包看起来好像不太新鲜的样子。

LL: Well, I think most of the food here is yummy. What do you think, Li Hua?

LH: 跟其他中国餐馆比,味道确实还不错。

LL: But – is it as yummy as the food you used to eat back home in China?

LH: 这里的饭菜当然没办法跟我妈做的饭比了!

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LL: What’s that on your plate, Li Hua? Is it a snake? Yuck!

LH: 我如果没有理解错的话,这个yuck一定是yum的反义词吧?你觉得吃蛇肉很恶心吗?

LL: Right again, Li Hua. Yuck is an exclamation of disgust. And I am sorry, but I find the idea of eating a snake disgusting.

LH: 我可不是故意要恶心你。不瞒你说,蛇肉可好吃了,而且在美国,你想吃到蛇肉可不容易。刚才你说yuck的样子,突然间让我想起了我第一次吃奶酪的感觉。

LL: Cheese? Cheese makes you say “Yuck!”, Li Hua? What’s wrong with cheese anyway?

LH: 中国人做饭不用奶酪,以前我在中国的时候也没吃过。 可是美国人都很能吃奶酪。我到美国后,第一次吃奶酪的时候,简直难以下咽。 Yuck! 那种感觉,现在还记忆犹新。

LL: That is interesting. Actually, Li Hua, there are some kinds of cheese that I find pretty yucky, too.

LH: Yucky? Yucky肯定又是从yuck来的!就好像yummy是从yum来的一样。

LL: Yucky is used to describe disgusting things. In this case, I was talking about disgusting cheeses. I find blue cheese to be especially yucky.

LH: 你也有不爱吃的奶酪?我是从来没有尝过blue cheese, 可是如果连你都觉得yucky的话,那我也就不用尝了。

LL: I don’t blame you, Li Hua. No one should have to eat something that yucky.

LH: Larry, 你拿的鱼香茄子怎么也没吃啊?不好吃吗?你不会觉得鱼香茄子也yucky吧!

LL: I think I told you earlier, Li Hua, that I don’t find eggplant to be very yummy. In fact, I do think it is pretty yucky.

LH: 既然觉得鱼香茄子难吃,那你干嘛还要拿呢?

LL: You told me fish fragrant eggplant was your favorite dish, Li Hua. So even though I think eggplant is yucky, I thought I should still try it.

LH: 这就证明,一个人觉得yummy的食物,换个人完全可能会觉得yucky. Larry, 我看你呀,还是去吃春卷吧!

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是yum或yummy, 是指食物可口好吃的意思。另一个是yuck或yucky, 是指食物难吃,难以下咽。