李華和Larry在夏威夷渡假, 倆人今天坐著帆船出海。今天我們要學兩個常用語:the ropes和get the hang of.
LH: Wow, Larry, 我太喜歡坐帆船了。你看,藍天白云,海天一色,微風拂面,我好象已經(jīng)融化在大自然里了。
LL: Yeah, this is really great! Do you think the captain would teach me how to sail the boat?
LH: 你想試試看嗎?可是Larry, 這么大一條船,駕馭起來可沒那么簡單,肯定不是一下子就能學會的。
LL: That's OK, Lihua. I don't expect to become an expert in one day. I just want to learn the ropes a little bit.
LH: Learn the ropes? 你是指如何用這些繩子來控制船帆嗎?
LL: Exactly! Actually, when you learn the basic rules of how to do something, you can say that you learn the ropes.
LH: 哦,the ropes, 就是指最基本的知識和技巧,那你的意思是,不是真要學會駕駛帆船,只是要了解一些皮毛。
LL: Right! Or, here is another example. When you start a new job and don't know how to do things, you should find a more experienced colleague to teach you the ropes.
LH: 沒錯,到了一個新的工作單位,是要找個熟悉工作的同事帶你入門,給你介紹一下工作的基本要求和流程。
LL: So Lihua, do you like sailing or surfing better?
LH: 坐帆船出海更放松,去海邊沖浪更刺激,嗯,我更喜歡沖浪,而且我沖浪已經(jīng)入門了,可以自己練習了。
LL: Right. Once the surfing instructor has shown you the ropes, you can practice by yourself.
LH: 今天出來坐帆船算是休息,明天我們加大活動量,去爬山!
LL: Sure! But since we are visitors and don't know anything about hiking in Hawaii, we should find a local guide to show us the ropes.
LH: Come on Larry! 你的冒險精神都跑到哪里去了?好了,我們還是去找船長,讓他教我們幾招show us the ropes, 好不好?
******
兩小時后,Larry和李華回到岸上。
LH: Wow, Larry, 看不出,你還真有兩下子,船長教了你一下,你就自己把船開了回來,真是讓我刮目相看。
LL: Thanks, Lihua. You weren't nervous when the captain let me sail the boat?
LH: 那有什么好緊張的?你的飛車我都敢坐,更別說帆船了,大不了掉到海里去,反正我會游泳。駕駛帆船難不難?
LL: Well learning to sail was pretty hard at first, but after a little while I got the hang of it.
LH: You got the hang of it? 這是什么意思???
LL: When you get the hang of something, that means that you succeed in learning it.
LH: 哦,我明白了,to get the hang of something, 就是學會、掌握的意思。你是說駕駛帆船雖然并不容易,但是練習一會,就能學會基本技巧。
LL: Exactly. Or for another example, I could say that John is a really talented athlete in whatever sport he tries. When I showed him how to play football, he got the hang of it very quickly.
LH: 就是說John有體育天分,凡是體育項目一教就會,所以沒用多久就掌握了橄欖球的基本技巧。
LL: Right. So Lihua, you don't think I'm a good driver?
LH: 這么說吧,我倒是覺得在海上開船更安全,地方大,足夠你橫沖直撞。
LL: Well driving is hard! Remember when I taught you? It took a long time before you started to get the hang of it.
LH: 怎么會,我可是天生的司機,考駕照都是一次通過。對了,Larry, 我們明天真的要去釣魚嗎?我可從來沒釣過魚,you have to show me the ropes. 你得手把手地教我。
LL: Sure. Fishing is pretty simple. so I'm sure you won't have problem getting the hang of it.
LH: 好,如果咱倆明天真能釣到魚,我保證回去做給你吃。
LL: That's a great idea. I've never got the hang of how to cook Chinese food. All the dishes I make taste terrible!
LH: Right...Larry, 你難道就想不出更好的借口逃避做飯嗎?
LL: Haha... I'm still trying to get the hang of it.
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是the ropes, 意思是基本技巧和要領(lǐng)。另一個是get the hang of, 意思是學會,掌握。