李華正在開車和Michael一起去學(xué)校。今天李華會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語:to be on crack和to get the hang of something。
L: 喲,我的天啊,我車后面的一個(gè)輪胎爆了!Michael, 一個(gè)輪胎爆了還能開一段路,對(duì)不對(duì)?
M: Li Hua!? Are you on crack? You can't drive with a flat tire, you'll ruin your car, and probably get in a wreck!
L: 哎喲,我也不想弄壞我的車,也不想出車禍。不過,你剛才問我Are you on crack?這是什么意思啊? crack這不是一種毒品嗎?on crack不就是吸毒嗎?
M: Yes, "crack" -- as in "crack cocaine". "To be on crack" means to be high on cocaine. Of course, when I say, "Are you on crack?" I really mean -- "Are you crazy"?
L: 等等,這得弄清楚。你的意思是,to be on crack可以指吸毒,但是你剛才對(duì)我說的不是這個(gè)意思。你是說:我要在一個(gè)輪胎破了的情況下繼續(xù)開車,簡直是瘋啦!哎,你可得解釋清楚了,我從來不吸毒的!
M: Calm down, Li Hua. People use this phrase all the time. I was just alarmed that you would try to drive your car with a flat tire. You'd have to be on crack to do something crazy like that.
L: 噢,我懂了,你的意思是:我準(zhǔn)是吸了毒才會(huì)想干這種傻事 -- 輪胎破了還想繼續(xù)開車。Michael, 我們把輪胎換了吧。現(xiàn)在還來得及。
(sound of trunk opening, tools rattling, sound of car jack, etc.)
L: 說到發(fā)瘋,我認(rèn)為George Wilkins才真是瘋了呢。我聽說他要到阿富汗一個(gè)村莊去給他的論文做實(shí)地調(diào)查。
M: He's going to be traveling in Afghanistan! Is he on crack? Can you imagine how dangerous that place must be right now?
L: 我也覺得真是太危險(xiǎn)了。不過他想要當(dāng)國際水平的人類學(xué)家。那他就得做出犧牲啦!
M: Yeah, well that Ph.D. won't be much good to him if he gets shot. I still think anyone who chooses to go to Afghanistan right now is on crack.... it's just crazy!
L: 就是,要在阿富汗給打死的話,什么博士學(xué)位都沒用了。行了,輪胎裝好了,我們快走吧!
(sound of trunk closing)
******
L: (Horn honking) 噢,應(yīng)該讓他先走。我開車的技術(shù)實(shí)在太差了。老是犯這種錯(cuò)誤。
M: Don't worry Li Hua, you're not a terrible driver! You haven't been driving for very long. You'll get the hang of it, eventually.
L: 你說我最后會(huì)什么?Get the hang of it?
M: I said you will "get the hang of it". "To get the hang of something" means to become proficient at something through practice.
L: 噢,to-get-the-hang-of-it就是多練習(xí),多實(shí)踐,一些事情就會(huì)做得更好。這不就是中文里說的“熟能生巧”嗎?但愿你說得對(duì),我多開車,技術(shù)就會(huì)改進(jìn)嘍!
M: I know I'm right! Remember when you first started school, you had trouble with your writing assignments? I think you've gotten the hang of writing English essays now, right?
L: 就是哎,我剛來美國的時(shí)候不會(huì)寫學(xué)術(shù)報(bào)告?,F(xiàn)在是好多了。
M: You've been living in the U.S. for some time now. You must have gotten the hang of a lot of new skills?
L: 嗯,我在美國已經(jīng)三年了,是學(xué)到不少東西。
M: And you've gotten the hang of teaching, haven't you? Your students seem to like you.
L: 對(duì)呀,我在教中文方面也比較熟悉了。I've got the hang of teaching Chinese, 對(duì)不對(duì)?
M: Absolutely!
今天李華學(xué)到了兩個(gè)常用語。一個(gè)是:to be on crack, 這可以指“吸毒”,但是也可以指:“你瘋啦!”。李華學(xué)到的另外一個(gè)常用語是:to get a hang of something, 意思是通過練習(xí),熟能生巧。