李华是在纽约上大学的中国学生。今天她的美国同学Michael 陪她练习开车,准备去考驾照。他们在路上几次遇到惊险的情况,尽管这样,李华还是学到了两个常用语,一个是:cop; 另一个是:to freak out.; l. s4 P( O e: r! U
5 l K H8 {) A2 Y' f
M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone. # G7 _8 B( Z4 O/ V, D/ k/ v3 `" C" V9 ~3 ]
L:这地区每小时只能开35英里呀?我是不是开太快啦?哟,我的天呐,警察车跟在我后面,那怎么办呐? 8 ^: d6 x- y7 u8 y0 O) I ' y9 s) G% U2 G3 O$ aM:Calm down, Li Hua. Just find a parking lot and stop the car. The cop will follow us, and come over to your window to talk to you.! t/ R- z6 [; ^7 b \* ^/ @% [- R
- ^6 ^. u4 _, A YM:Calm down! Sometimes the cops stop people just to warn them, not to give them a ticket. You weren't going very fast anyway. 4 W. ~' _2 v1 u9 |: ^3 m- z, j. w7 x$ I# E- h
L:你说警察可能过来只是警告我一下,不一定会给我罚单呀?但愿如此,我好象是没有开太快。Michael, 你刚才说"cops", 那警车里到底有几个警察呀? 7 A3 c8 q' e( A# `' f" a 0 T8 ~: q' b0 }1 S' OM:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.8 d. k: O$ _7 b9 X8 `$ Y
3 Z Z: A1 J& D
L:噢,cop 这个名词用复数的时候,cops, 可以总的指警察,而不是指某个警察。 我就把车停这儿吧。 Michael, 我能称呼警察"cop"吗?# l# G& t8 }8 s2 D
; I- `9 M1 d2 M4 ^6 h+ [
M:No! The word "cop" is too informal. You should show respect when talking to the cops. Call him "officer", don't call him "cop"! - C% }' O9 P5 a1 d2 r# w9 S) C0 r$ e0 F$ A% V4 j
L:天哪!原来"cop"是很随便的称呼,你干吗不早告诉我呀!我可不要惹警察生气! + Y* _( x5 K% c9 \ # x3 l- o9 Y1 m7 d' j& y; X/ ^M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious. . \7 }% b# d3 u: A/ s" x9 G+ S3 n( u4 d# p! b' G) R
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket. Q" O# N! G. A: ^, q
' L9 k" ^- C8 i$ i S
L:谢天谢地,他没有给我罚单。他要罚我好多钱的话,那我就糟糕了。- B; f, \' i* M. a
5 B' f" j0 r5 |5 ]: dM:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.) U% n5 X' x' b, d
8 p U3 B m/ e$ R) w) E5 o5 R
L:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车?/ W6 b4 p/ |' m3 {
- h9 A4 W/ p0 H, t' ^& R
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.5 h$ }! I- y; n+ B
7 @ c0 s' g! [% p0 f: n" z
L:是啊, 我经常听到一些人说 freak out,原来是指过于激动,显得非常紧张。对不对?0 [% ^4 M5 C5 ~: Q2 ?* n7 x: s/ \( W
: u- X1 V S+ H* \ e
M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!, @. `* y5 B4 B7 k1 a
6 j* T# W/ x/ p. ~. A! e& j/ AL:你才该感到紧张?为什么? , }' n* n& ]' \ ' D0 R8 e2 ~( |! f; f# ]. OM:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble. ; i5 c, A7 C! M' ?, j/ {3 Z9 J% H) Y2 c% d/ F; t p
L:这我就不懂了。是的,这是你的车,我只有一张学开车的许可证。可是,我开车出了问题,为什么警察会怪你呀?你为什么要freak out? & z& \ [9 |/ S/ b 2 g6 k. \8 E+ X) |9 X% t8 R* F" GM:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car! 0 I% x! y: X% I* s |" i5 a/ A% p: M# O: a J5 h2 k, v
L:Don't freak out, Michael. 我看见那辆车了。不过,那车差一点就撞到我们了!7 z. Y( G& P: z2 b: ~
0 K; s; ^# M) G8 ^. v6 J
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!! T7 v9 u% i0 t; @+ r
# }( E$ z3 q$ ~L:对,刚才是够险的,警察要看到他那么开车,准要给他罚单。不过,今天已经和警察打过交道了,够了。再要跟cops打交道,那我可真是要freak out了。 ! ]( D" |& `) i& N3 l6 v$ Z% w' R9 {! i/ g9 x" Q6 U5 ]
M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!( k9 ~* {8 K" K& T. U/ z
$ e& Y3 C' m0 c' r" t- X) a1 x) N; G
今天这两个年轻人真是够惊险的。不过,李华学到了两个非常有用的词汇: cop, 警察;to freak out,非常紧张和激动。这次<流行美语>到此结束,我们下次再会。4 D5 S9 n( Y5 L0 O, E4 Y$ l7 t J
% V5 q* N4 }7 a$ n# D/ d
Audio As Following:" R* [- O. m) O5 e