Michael是个美国学生,在纽约上大学。他的一个要好同学是从中国大陆来的李华。今天Michael刚好在校园里碰到李华。李华会在谈话中学到两个常用语:couch potato和nuts。( t9 F$ K0 ?, l: X5 Q9 J
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L:嗨,Michael, 你上哪儿去呀? $ A6 j6 c/ i. P # x8 X7 j5 i0 R5 A6 e7 q4 Z2 MM:I'm going to meet Jon at the subway. You've met Jon, haven't you?. j3 B% P' S8 j6 R/ a
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L:嗯,是不是上次在一次party上你给我介绍的那个带眼镜的人?0 S- v! q1 _8 l! q) i! R
( ]# e* u! s# g* a/ ?M:Yes. I want to drag him out to do something. You know, he's such a couch potato., [; o" [3 m5 g9 r( b5 R* T
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L:他是什么? Couch potato? 什么是couch potato? 他爱吃土豆?& c+ { h) n8 b' d0 m$ a' M, |
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M:No, couch potato is an expression used to describe someone who sits in front of the TV all the time eating junk food, such as potato chips. % [- u) I& h/ H4 {+ J/ J+ @& s" j8 h( q$ b$ {1 q7 `3 A. r& P
L:噢,原来coach potato是指一个人老坐在电视机前吃零食。这个常用语挺有趣。那couch potato是不是只能指人呀?. |, J. }- @4 [. F$ j; W
( T$ i5 P3 Q [, P6 P& B/ [M:Yes, it is only used to describe people, those who are lazy and unmotivated. 8 i2 K' l4 T! p) ]$ |0 K. e 4 s% P! ?: E7 nL:噢,只能指人,指那些懒懒散散,没有动力的人。好,下回我就叫我哥哥couch potato。他老是看电视,一看就看到三更半夜,吃的东西撒在地毯上,沙发上,到处都是。! q5 ^7 M1 g* m! b9 V2 E# j
* _9 d" k- ]+ c; pM:My father's like that too. My mother is always angry with him. But he doesn't care.; [1 ^. K _4 K* M4 I2 x
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L:哟,你爸爸也是这样呀!要我是你妈,我也会生气的。' ?7 [! [4 O, q2 |
5 R. _8 ?* j, v1 J8 b# DM:But sometimes, after a really hard week at school, I also just want to collapse and be a couch potato. 2 o; ~3 R3 g, E; F- n3 O& ~ 9 J) s2 w0 c7 o* D. a: ~: }4 iL:一个星期在学校念书实在很累了,回家当一回couch potato,我想这还是可以的,只要不是每天这样就行了。2 @6 v( c8 _2 a
: ?$ e% G7 r' w( t1 z& O, A) ^M: Yes, I agree. Li Hua, would you like to join us? Jon and I are going to play tennis. ; {( X2 j% f: P' [) \' E- i4 g3 Q- Z- M* J. D9 X' x
L:你们要打网球呀,那太好了,我正在学打网球呐。 V( m A+ A9 o! J# X 7 q3 k4 y6 ?7 I wM:That's wonderful. You know, some people think I'm nuts to have a friend like Jon. ' j( ~ J: E* D) i2 |' W 0 w5 M2 k1 w# \L:有的人认为你是什么? Nuts?Nuts不是花生,杏仁那样的果仁吗?你跟Jon交朋友跟吃花生有什么关系呀?3 V5 Z* v4 ]; j
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M:No, nuts here means someone who is crazy. 9 |4 _$ F. z8 L y1 s9 a/ O [1 j$ ]/ j, p N4 q% g) t9 \
L:原来nuts在这里是说一个人做的事很怪。大概就象中文里说的:你疯啦!对吗? ' h" x9 }& r4 T6 u- E% |9 F3 v3 i& H1 |
M:That's right. Jon can be rude, and he also argues a lot. Sometimes he does drive me nuts.- n; s' T7 ]8 z9 V: u1 c1 V
# K; b4 G3 x$ hL:他看起来不象会对别人无礼,爱跟人争论的人哪!你刚才说drives me nuts 是什么意思啊? , A, r- C( k( k# V! F: I% W ! |( p0 x& }5 `6 m2 V; q- BM:Drives me nuts means he makes me crazy.% B c: a6 S# [% Y1 L) {& @, c0 e
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L:噢,还可以说drive me nuts, 或者是drive someone nuts。嗨,Michael,那天我上移民局去办手续,排队好长,我站了一小时,我真是火死了。我能说:They drove me nuts 吗?" v9 W5 M( e. P5 L+ B4 w
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M:Of course. You know, my mother used to make me clean my room every night when I was in high school and that drove me nuts." o( R4 Z5 c' @5 Y) L
4 i5 W1 v1 s. ^/ o' WL:你念中学的时候你妈妈每天晚上要你打扫房间?那是有点受不了。嗨,Michael,你认识我的朋友张红吗? / M% Y2 C4 Z7 s+ I# ~6 M# X( I4 Q ^4 k. A0 m! ?$ g
M:Oh, yes, she is nuts. She spent !00 for a dress, and it's ugly. - Z! O* \3 ]+ o9 X0 Z9 M 0 T/ L# @% K+ s; ]' ~: LL:对,张红这个人是有点问题,化两百美元买件难看的衣服。不过,Michael,你总是批评别人买的东西。 You sometimes drive me nuts too. ! T! }: q) T4 R" ^: q0 U# j- A* u) Z
M:Li Hua, I think you are learning these words too fast.; k0 O8 q7 i6 N