Larry和李华一起坐地铁回家。今天我们要学两个常用语：get the ball rolling和mull it over.
LH: Larry, 这两天天气真好，我看，过不了多久树就要发芽了。我真巴不得春天马上就到。
LL: Me too. I can’t wait until we can walk outside comfortably and not have to wear a jacket. Spring is my favorite time of the year. It’s a time for new beginnings!
LH: 说起new beginning新开端，我今天遇到Jeff了。他告诉我说，这个春天他计划多认识一些女孩子，找个固定的女朋友。
LL: Good for Jeff. It’s always nice to have a steady girlfriend. So what is he doing to get the ball rolling? Has he made plans for the weekend?
LH: 他说星期五约好了跟朋友一起去看电影，星期六要和好久不见的大学同学一起喝咖啡。
LL: Well, it sounds like Jeff has already gotten the ball rolling with a new social agenda. Now what about his goal of getting a steady girlfriend?
LH: Larry, 你刚才两次说到get the ball rolling, 是什么意思啊？我猜肯定不能按字面理解为让球滚起来吧？
LL: Oh, by get the ball rolling, I just mean what has Jeff done to start or to initiate his plan. When you get the ball rolling, you do something which starts an activity.
LH: 噢，get the ball rolling就是开始做一件事情，开始把计划付诸行动。
LL: Exactly, Lihua. It’s like in a sport the game usually doesn’t start until the ball starts rolling
LH: 我明白了。Jeff 找女朋友的计划，确实已经落实到了行动上。Jeff has gotten the ball rolling.
LL: Oh yeah, so tell me, if you don’t mind, how has he gotten the ball rolling?
LH: 他已经加入了一个网上交友俱乐部，而且还问我认不认识什么合适的女孩子，可以帮他介绍呢！
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Larry问李华晚上要不要一起去看电影。李华说自己没心情。李华有什么烦心事呢？我们一起听。
LH: 我前天接到一份聘书，就是我上个月申请的那份工作，那家公司希望雇佣我，可我却很犹豫，不知道是不是要接受。
LL: So how long do you have to make your decision?
LH: 我跟人家说下星期一给他们答复。
LL: Well that still gives you some time to mull it over.
LH: 你说mull it over是什么意思？
LL: Mull it over just means to think about something or to consider something deeply. Like for this decision about your job, you still have the whole weekend to mull it over before making the decision.
LH: 哦，你说的mull it over就是仔细考虑的意思。
LL: Yeah, a lot of people suggest that the best way to make a decision is to mull it over. One expression often used is “Why don’t you mull it over and decide in the morning.”
LH: 啊？建议别人睡一觉，仔细琢磨琢磨，早上再做决定。那这一夜还睡得着吗？我也在想啊，可是越想越拿不定主意。
LL: It sounds like you’re being really hard on yourself and taking the decision really seriously. Maybe you should try and loosen up and forget about it for a while.
LH: 好主意。我今天吃完饭就去打乒乓球，分散一下注意力。不过，Larry, 一味逃避也不是法子；我迟早还是要做决定啊。
LL: When you mull it over, it might help to go over the positives of the new position and compare it with the positives of the job you have now.
LH: 新工作不仅有福利，工资高，而且也比现在的工作更有意思，唯一不好的地方是上班太远，坐地铁单程就要花一个小时。
LL: Hmm… Sounds like there are both positives and negatives to the new job. I can see why you are having trouble deciding. But look at it this way, neither job is perfect and the decision isn’t for life.
LH: 你说的一点没错，工作又不是一辈子的事，以后真觉得不适合还可以再换。
LL: So why don’t you just forget about it tonight, and mull it over during the weekend?
LH: 好，就听你的，我们今天晚上什么都不想了，去看电影，周末再做决定。
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是get the ball rolling, 意思是开始做一件事情。另一个是mull it over意思是仔细考虑。