Larry和李华正在去学校的书店。 李华今天会学到两个常用语hip and square。
LL: Wow, Li Hua, that is a really hip book bag!
LH: Hip? Hip不是人的臀部吗。这跟我的书包有什么关系呢？
LL: “Hip” is a slang word that means something is really cool and neat. I think your back pack is cool, so I said it was hip.
LH: 我明白了， hip在这里是个俚语。意思是很棒， 很时髦。 你喜欢我的背包？这还是我在中国上大学的时候买的呢。这么旧的包有什么好的呢？
LL: I think it is hip because it has Chinese characters on it. Things with Chinese characters on them are really cool – Really hip.
LH: 有中文字的东西都好啊？这种背包在中国到处都是。我们并不觉得这种背包特别时髦。
LL: Well, most Americans can’t read the Chinese, but they still think having something, like a t-shirt or jewelry, with Chinese characters on it is really hip.
LH: 那到是很有意思，美国人不懂中文，可是却喜欢有中文字的东西。我是看到有不少美国人的体恤衫上有中文字。中文字那么时髦， 说不定还能吸引一些人来我的班上学中文呢。
LL: I am sure it will. Have you ever noticed some of the students have tattoos with Chinese characters?
LH: 是啊，有的美国人纹身，刺的是中文字 。可惜有的时候他们恐怕不知道这些字的意思。
LL: What do you mean?
LH: 我有一次在校园里看到一位很时髦的男生，他的胳膊上写着”只能干洗。”
LL: Ha, ha! That is really funny. And decidedly un-hip.
LH: 是啊，”只能干洗”不仅不酷而且很可笑。 Larry, 我们快到书店了。听说时髦的学生都喜欢坐在书店的咖啡厅里边喝咖啡边看书。你要不要也喝一杯咖啡呀？
LL: I don’t know, Li Hua. . . Are we hip enough to drink coffee with all the cool students on campus?
LH: 你够不够时髦我不知道，反正我有资格，别忘了我有一个时髦的背包。
LL: Well, maybe some of your hip-ness will rub off on me!
LH：行呀，你就沾点我的光吧！
******
LL: Wow, sitting here with all of these hip college students is making me feel a little square.
LH: Larry, 你看上去既不是方的，也不是圆的。不过如果一定要给你定型的话，我觉得你更圆一些。
LL: I’m not talking about my physical shape, Li Hua. You know how “hip” means something cool? Something that is “square” is not cool at all.
LH: 噢，原来square跟我刚才学到的hip意思正相反。Square就是不时髦，很土得意思。
LL: That’s right. And right now I am feeling square.
LH: 你为什么感觉自己跟不上潮流很土呢？
LL: Well, I’ve been out of school for a while, and I’ve been working. Every one here seems so young and carefree. It seems part of growing up is to become square.
LH: 不错，你已经毕业，开始在公司做事了，学校里的人年龄也比较小。可是我不同意你的看法，成长并不等于越来越保守呀！
LL: Look – I’m wearing a dress shirt with a tie, khaki pants and glasses. This is the uniform of a square.
LH: 这我还没有听说！衬衫加领带，一条卡基其布裤子，再带上一付眼镜，这就成了赶不上潮流的典型制服？
LL: Right.
LH: 可是Larry, 我觉得你的眼镜很好看，很时髦。你看上去很有学问。
LL: Thanks, Li Hua. But squares often look smart and read and study all the time.
LH: 噢，不时髦的人看起来都很聪明，经常读书学习。那我这个研究生每天都看书，一定就是不时髦喽。I am a true square!
LL: Well, I guess that means we two squares can hang out together then!
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是hip, 意思是很棒、很酷、很时髦。还有一个是square， 意思是保守，不时髦。