Larry陪李華去買電腦。今天我們要學(xué)兩個常用語:do the trick和a grain of salt.
LH: Larry, 你覺得我應(yīng)該買PC還是蘋果?
LL: Well, I'm not a computer expert, but I think Macs are a lot more user friendly.
LH: 我也老聽人說蘋果機怎么怎么好,可是我從沒用過蘋果,而且PC價格也比較便宜。
LL: Well, they are both really good computers. I think either one would do the trick.
LH: Do the trick? Larry, 我買電腦是查資料,學(xué)論文用的,可不是為了玩游戲。
LL: Actually Lihua, when you say that something does the trick, that means that it will be successful, or good enough.
LH: 哦,do the trick就是足以達到預(yù)期效果的意思。你是說不論PC還是蘋果,都夠我用的了。
LL: Right! Here's another example. Joe doesn't need to live in a big house. Since he lives by himself, a small apartment will do the trick.
LH: 我明白。這句話意思是,Joe反正是一個人過,有個小公寓就夠了,用不著住大房子。那 Larry, 你說我們?nèi)ツ募业曩I電腦呢?
LL: Well we could go to a big computer store, but the Internet will do the trick too. You can order your computer online.
LH: 上網(wǎng)定購?不好,不好,要不,咱們上蘋果專賣店去轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn),我去玩玩蘋果機,你也可以看看是不是買個iPhone.
LL: That's OK. I don't need a lot of fancy features on my phone. My simple old cell phone still does the trick.
LH: 老實說,你那手機再不換,就要變成古董了。你上星期不是說不好用了嗎?
LL: Actually, just the battery broke. But I went to the store and got a new battery, which did the trick.
LH: 所以你就換了塊電池準備接著用?我真服了你,省錢固然沒錯,可也不能太落伍呀!現(xiàn)在的新手機上什么功能都有,你就不想要?
LL: Who needs all this technology? When I want to be entertained, reading a book always does the trick.
LH: 對了,蘋果公司新推出的iPad, 就有讀電子書的功能,要不你買個iPad吧!
LL: As far as I'm concerned, Lihua, old-fashioned paper books still do the trick.
******
Larry和李華來到百思買看電腦。
LH: 嗨Larry! 你覺得這臺電腦怎么樣?我需要的功能上面都有,價錢也還可以,只要2000塊。
LL: Two thousand dollars? That sounds pretty expensive to me. Are you sure it's worth it to buy such an expensive computer?
LH: 當然值了,你沒聽剛才那個店員說么,這是他最喜歡的一款電腦,強力推薦。
LL: Well, the salesperson always wants you to buy the most expensive item, so I would take what he says with a grain of salt.
LH: A grain of salt? 加撮鹽?你什么意思啊?
LL: When you slightly doubt something you are told, you can say that you take it with a grain of salt.
LH: 哦,with a grain of salt意思就是有所保留,半信半疑。你是說店員總想把貴的商品推銷給顧客,所以他的話不能全信?
LL: Right. Here is another example. Emily always exaggerates about her talents, so when she told me she is fluent in Japanese, I took it with a grain of salt.
LH: 沒錯,Emily總喜歡夸大其詞,所以她的話不能全信。
LL: So Lihua, what are the features that make this computer so good?
LH: 產(chǎn)品介紹上說,這款電腦的電池可以連續(xù)用15個小時,是市場上其他電腦的兩倍。
LL: You know, companies often make exaggerated claims about their products, so I would take that with a grain of salt.
LH: 可是我朋友Tammy買的就是這個牌子的電腦,說特別好。
LL: But Lihua, Tammy only uses computer to check emails. I would take her opinion on computers with a grain of salt.
LH: 可你也不是高科技專家啊,就看你那只老古董的手機就知道了。
LL: That's true. I don't know much about technology, so I would take all my advice with a grain of salt.
LH: 別擔心,你對手機、電腦這類高科技產(chǎn)品的建議,我總是反著聽的,只要是你說不買的東西,買了一定沒錯。
LL: Haha... very funny....
今天李華學(xué)了兩個常用語。一個是 do the trick, 意思是足以達到預(yù)期效果。另一個是 a grain of salt, 意思是有所保留。