李華和Larry在夏威夷渡假。倆人今天去沖浪。今天我們要學(xué)兩個常用語:make light of something和in over one's head.
LH: Larry, 我早就想學(xué)沖浪了,聽說夏威夷是世界上最適合沖浪的地方。
LL: Really? I've also heard that the waters have big sharks. Are you sure you wouldn't rather build sand castles?
LH: 在海邊用沙子堆城堡?哈,Larry, 你是不是害怕了?放心,鯊魚看見咱倆,一定會選擇我。
LL: I wouldn't make light of the situation, Lihua. There really are sharks!
LH: Make light of the situation? 那是什么意思???
LL: You can say that you make light of a situation when you joke about something that is actually very serious.
LH: 哦, to make light of 一件事情就是拿正經(jīng)事當(dāng)兒戲。那你是說海水里真的有鯊魚,我不應(yīng)該拿咱倆誰的肉更香開玩笑嘍?
LL: Right! Now, Lihua, you're a good swimmer, right? The ocean is pretty strong here.
LH: 我以前上中學(xué)的時候還是游泳校隊的呢。這點海浪難不倒我,Larry, 你怎么今天好象特別的婆婆媽媽。
LL: Well, I just wouldn't make light of the fact that the currents can be very dangerous.
LH: 看,這么多孩子在水里玩,如果你有什么事,他們一定會去救你的。
LL: Haha, very funny. You know, you can also say that you take something lightly when you don't treat it as seriously as you should.
LH: 哦,就是不把正經(jīng)事當(dāng)回事兒的意思。Larry, 我是來渡假的,不是來學(xué)英語的,咱們還是趕快下水吧!
LL: Wait! First we should put on some sunscreen. Getting a sun burn is really unhealthy, so we don't want to take that lightly.
LH: 對對對,被太陽曬脫皮可非同小可。
LL: Yeah, we shouldn't take skin cancer lightly, so I always try not to get a tan.
LH: 怎么樣,現(xiàn)在可以讓教練帶我們下水了吧?
LL: Sure. You go in first and make sure the sharks aren't hungry. I'll follow once I know it's safe.
LH: 真夠紳士的。
******
李華和Larry結(jié)束了沖浪課程,回到岸上。
LH: Wow, Larry, 太過癮了。我準(zhǔn)備辭掉工作,留下來做職業(yè)沖浪運(yùn)動員。
LL: Not me. I think half the water in the ocean went up my nose.
LH: 別灰心,只要堅持練習(xí),一定會熟能生巧,到時候,別人看到你沖浪就會驚呼,WOW...
LL: I don't know, Lihua. I think I might be in over my head.
LH: 你說什么?In over your head? 你意思是站在深水里,水快要沒過頭了嗎?
LL: Right! You can say that you are in over your head when you are facing a challenge that you aren't able to handle.
LH: 哦,我明白了,in over one's head意思是太難了,難以駕馭。你是說自己學(xué)不會沖浪嗎?
LL: Right. For another example, in college, I once tried to take a physics class, but I soon realized I was in over my head because I'm really bad at math.
LH: 這我太能理解了,我數(shù)學(xué)也不好,所以物理課一直是我的弱項。你說Larry, 咱們明天到底干嘛?去爬山如何?
LL: You want to hike on one of the volcanoes?
LH: 當(dāng)然了,如果能在上面宿營就更棒了。
LL: Well Lihua, neither of us is an experienced hiker. I don't want to go far out in the forest and realize we are in over our heads.
LH: 要不找個導(dǎo)游?對了,Larry, 我有個更好的主意。我們可以騎車環(huán)島游!
LL: I don't know....I'm not in good shape, and that is a really long bike ride. I think I would be in over my head.
LH: 那你說,咱們干點什么才能不讓你in over your head呢?
LL: Well you know, our hotel offers an all-day massage and spa treatment. I think I could handle that.
LH: 什么,你想一整天都待在旅館里,休息按摩?那我們來夏威夷干嘛?我公寓旁邊就有按摩院啊。
LL: Well, it's important to rest on vacation. I don't take relaxation lightly.
LH: 我有個折中方案,既好玩,又不會太累。
LL: Really? What's that?
LH: Sailing! 坐船出海去。
今天李華學(xué)了兩個常用語。一個是make light of, 意思是不認(rèn)真,當(dāng)兒戲。另一個是in over one's head, 意思是太難。