大家都知道Michael這個(gè)美國(guó)學(xué)生正在學(xué)中文。他和中國(guó)學(xué)生李華約好每個(gè)星期至少在一起活動(dòng)一次。今天他們決定到一個(gè)公園去滑冰。李華會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ):loser 和to bug。
L: 今天的天氣真好呀!正是運(yùn)動(dòng)的好天氣。我已經(jīng)好久都沒(méi)有滑冰了。
M: You're a very good skater. I just keep falling down.
L: 學(xué)滑冰總是會(huì)摔跤的。多練習(xí)練習(xí)就好了。
M: I know, but I feel like such a loser. I keep getting passed by little kids. They laugh at me.
L: 小孩肯定比我們滑得快,別怕他們笑話(huà)你。你剛才說(shuō)你覺(jué)得自己是什么? Loser? 滑冰又不是比賽,怎么會(huì)輸?shù)裟兀?/span>
M: I said I feel like a loser, it means that I feel like a failure. It doesn't mean I lost a game.
L: 你是說(shuō)loser就是一個(gè)人做某件事總是做不好。嗯, 我們?cè)谥形?里常說(shuō):“我怎么老學(xué)不好,真是個(gè)笨蛋”。這跟loser的意思 差不多吧?不過(guò),Michael,我肯定你在滑冰方面不是個(gè)笨蛋,你只 要多練習(xí)就行了。
M: Thanks for the encouragement, Li Hua. But I've always been kind of a loser at sports. Growing up, I was always picked last for the baseball and soccer teams.
L: 原來(lái)你在體育方面從小就不行。不過(guò),Michael, 在其他方面你 一點(diǎn)也不笨。
M: What do you mean, Li Hua?
L: 這還不明白嗎?女孩子都很喜歡你呀,你還有其他好多朋友呀。
M: You're right, I do have a lot of friends. But if they could see how many times I fell down today, I'm sure they would not want be friends with such a loser.
L: 得了吧,Michael,要說(shuō)笨蛋,那天晚上我們見(jiàn)到的那個(gè)人才是呢。 他自以為挺帥,老是想去和女孩子搭訕,可是,誰(shuí)都知道他是個(gè) 沒(méi)出息的人,誰(shuí)都不要和他交朋友。Michael,我們能叫這種人 loser嗎?
M: Yeah, very good, Li Hua. That guy really is a loser. He never studies at all. I think he's in college just to party.
L: 他從來(lái)不念書(shū)呀?Michael,你還滑不滑?
M: I guess so...Just wait up for me, in case I fall down again. Okay, let's go!
(滑完冰以后)
L: Michael,運(yùn)動(dòng)一下真舒服。
M: Yeah, you had been bugging me about going skating for so long, I guess it was about time that I came along with you.
L: 什么是bugging ? Bug不是小蟲(chóng)子嗎?
M: No, bugging means to bother or annoy someone about something. I didn't mean it in a serious way, I was just kidding.
L: 噢,to bug就是為了某件事去麻煩別人,讓人討厭。 Michael, 你 再舉一個(gè)例子好嗎?
M: Sure. You can say that something is bugging you, such as an assignment that you haven't been able to finish or a problem that you cannot solve. You could also...
L: 等等,讓我先弄清楚你說(shuō)的。你是說(shuō),我沒(méi)能完成的功課,或者解決不了的問(wèn)題都可以用to bug這個(gè)動(dòng)詞。那就是說(shuō):"This assignment is bugging me",或者是:“This problem is bugging me",對(duì) 不對(duì)?
M: Yes, you can also say that a habit someone has really bugs you.
L: 我知道,象Mary,她老是打斷我說(shuō)話(huà),讓我很煩,很討厭。
M: You could say "It really bugs me when Mary interrupts me in the middle of a sentence." I can also say it really bugs me when you try to tell me what to do.
L: 嗨,我告訴你該怎么做是為了你好。老實(shí)說(shuō),it bugs me that you never listen to me.
M: It seems that you've learned how to use "loser" and "to bug". Let's go home.
李華今天學(xué)了一個(gè)名詞“loser",指一個(gè)人老是不會(huì)做某件事;她還學(xué)了一個(gè)動(dòng)詞“to bug",意思是為了一件事老是去麻煩別人,讓人討厭。這次這次[流行美語(yǔ)]就學(xué)習(xí)到這里,我們下次再見(jiàn)。