今天Michael到李華的宿舍串門,李華會學(xué)到兩個常用語:have a cow和pack rat。
M: Hey, Li Hua, what are you doing?
L: 哎喲,我在找我的眼鏡,急死人了,找不到眼鏡我怎么上課?。?/p>
M: Calm down. Li Hua, don't have a cow. I'm sure you'll find them.
L: 你說什么?Don't have a cow? Cow, 這不是“母牛”的意思嗎?哎,我這兒是學(xué)生宿舍,怎么能養(yǎng)母牛呢?
M: No, I said "don't have a cow", it means don't get too excited about something. I'm sure you'll find your glasses if you are patient enough.
L: 噢,我懂了,你是讓我耐心點兒。你叫我Don't have a cow, 意思就是別著急、別慌,可是,Don't have a cow字面的意思明明是“別有母牛”。這跟“別驚慌”一點關(guān)系也沒有,好奇怪喲!
M: Yeah, it is a little strange, but we still say it.
L: 好吧,就聽你的, I won't have a cow, 再想想看,我可能把眼鏡放在什么地方了。
M: Well, where did you see them last?
L: 我記得昨晚睡覺前把眼鏡放在床邊桌子上了。
M: Have you looked under the bed?
L: 有啊,我在床底下找過了,讓我再看看。哎呀,你還真說對了,就在床底下呢!
M: See, I told you not to have a cow and I was right.
L: 可是,Michael, 你肯定平時也有驚慌失措的時候。比方說,要是我對你說,我把你的電腦弄壞了,你肯定會have a cow。
M: Yes, I would have a cow because I can't afford to buy a new one. Hey, Li Hua, You didn't really break my computer, did you?
L: Don't have a cow! 我是在跟你開玩笑啦!
******
M: Li Hua, you really have a lot of stuff. Is that the movie ticket from last week? You even saved that?
L: 噢,這是上星期的電影票。你說我這兒東西多啊,那是因為我喜歡把各樣?xùn)|西留起來。你看,除了電影票,我還有報紙雜志什么的。誰知道呢,說不定什么時候會有用呢!
M: You're really a pack rat. Look at all this stuff! No wonder you couldn't find your glasses.
L: 哎喲,Michael, 雖然我找不到眼鏡可能是因為我這兒東西太多,可你也不該罵人?。扛蓡嵴f我是rat? Rat 那不是“老鼠”嗎?
M: No, I didn't call you a rat. I said you are a pack rat. A pack rat is someone who saves everything and has lots of stuff.
L: 噢,原來,pack rat是指“什么東西都不肯扔的人”。我什么東西都不愿意扔 -- I guess I am a pack rat.
M: My mom is a pack rat, too. We have so much stuff in our house. She even saved every drawing I ever made when I was a kid.
L: 原來你媽媽也是個pack rat. 你說連你小時候畫的畫她都舍不得扔?我倒希望我媽也是個pack rat, 把我小時候畫的畫啦或者玩過的玩具也留到今天。
M: So you can have them here and add to your "collection"? You're really a pack rat, but Li Hua, have you ever thought how difficult it would be for you to move to a new place?
L: 說的也是,我什么都留著,東西越積越多,要是哪天想搬家,那可就成問題羅。
M: Well, my folks have been in their house for more than 20 years, probably because my mom is such a pack rat, they have too much stuff to even move.
L: 什么?你爸媽在一個地方住了20多年,可能就是因為你媽是pack rat,弄得家里東西太多了?Maybe I shouldn't be a pack rat anymore!
今天李華學(xué)到了兩個常用語,一個是to have a cow, 意思是“驚慌失措”;另一個是pack rat, 意思是“什么東西都不肯扔的人”。