李華是在紐約上大學(xué)的中國學(xué)生。今天她的美國同學(xué)Michael 陪她練習(xí)開車,準(zhǔn)備去考駕照。他們在路上幾次遇到驚險(xiǎn)的情況,盡管這樣, 李華還是學(xué)到了兩個(gè)常用語,一個(gè)是:cop; 另一個(gè)是:to freak out.
M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.
L:這地區(qū)每小時(shí)只能開35英里呀?我是不是開太快啦?喲,我的天吶,警察車跟在我后面,那怎么辦吶?
M: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.
L:哪兒有停車的地方呀! 行,就停在這里吧!你剛才說誰會過來跟我說話?是警察嗎?
M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer.
L:警察要來跟我說話!我會不會倒霉呀?我該怎么辦呢?
M:Calm down! Sometimes the cops stop people just to warn them, not to give them a ticket. You weren't going very fast anyway.
L: 你說警察可能過來只是警告我一下,不一定會給我罰單呀?但愿如此,我好象是沒有開太快。Michael, 你剛才說“cops", 那警車?yán)锏降子袔讉€(gè)警察呀?
M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular.
L:噢,cop 這個(gè)名詞用復(fù)數(shù)的時(shí)候,cops, 可以總的指警察,而不是指某個(gè)警察。 我就把車停這兒吧。 Michael, 我能稱呼警察“cop”嗎?
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"!
L:天哪!原來“cop”是很隨便的稱呼,你干嗎不早告訴我呀!我可不要惹警察生氣!
M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious.
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket.
L:謝天謝地,他沒有給我罰單。 他要罰我好多錢的話,那我就糟糕了。
M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.
L:你告訴我什么?叫我別下車?
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.
L:是啊, 我經(jīng)常聽到一些人說 freak out,原來是指過于激動,顯得非常緊張。對不對?
M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!
L:你才該感到緊張?為什么?
M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble.
L:這我就不懂了。是的,這是你的車,我只有一張學(xué)開車的許可證??墒?,我開車出了問題,為什么警察會怪你呀?你為什么要freak out?
M:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!
L:Don't freak out, Michael. 我看見那輛車了。不過,那車差一點(diǎn)就撞到我們了!
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!
L:對,剛才是夠險(xiǎn)的,警察要看到他那么開車,準(zhǔn)要給他罰單。不過,今天已經(jīng)和警察打過交道了,夠了。再要跟cops打交道,那我可真是要freak out了。
M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!
今天這兩個(gè)年輕人真是夠驚險(xiǎn)的。不過,李華學(xué)到了兩個(gè)非常有用的詞匯: cop, 警察;to freak out,非常緊張和激動。這次<流行美語>到此結(jié)束,我們下次再會。