今天Michael和李華要出去買東西。李華會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語:down with that和to pay through the nose。
M: Hey, Li Hua. What do you want to do today? I don't have any special plan, so we can do whatever you want.
L: 你今天沒事干呀?太好了,我正想去買幾件春天穿的衣服。那些舊的都已經(jīng)過時(shí)了。
M: I'm down with that. I need to buy some new tennis shoes. My old ones are really gross. My roommate is threatening to throw them out.
L: 我也注意到你的球鞋了,實(shí)在不像話,怪不得你的室友要把它扔掉呢。哎,那太好了,咱們就一塊兒去買東西吧。不過,Michael,你剛才說I'm down with that。那是什么意思呀?就是你愿意去的意思嗎?
M: Yes, the expression "I'm down with that" means going shopping is okay with me and I'm willing to go.
L: 這很有意思。那要是你問我,要不要跟你一塊兒吃晚飯,我很愿意的話,我能不能說:I'm down with that?
M: Yes, that would let me know that you are willing to have dinner with me. What would you say if I suggested we go to my friend's party on Saturday night.
L: 你建議我們星期六晚上上你朋友家去聚會(huì)啊。嗯,那一定很好玩,我愿意去,I'm down with that。
M: Right. Now, where do you want to go shopping? There are lots of places close by.
L: 去哪兒買東西呀?學(xué)校附近有很多買東西的地方。去附近那個(gè)購物中心,好不好?
M: Okay, that's fine with me. That mall has a shoe store and it's close. Let's go.
L: Okay, I'm down with that. 我們可以搭公共汽車去,幾分鐘就到了。然后我們有一整天去買我們要買的東西。還可以在購物中心吃飯呢!
M: Okay, I'm down with that.
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L: 哎,Michael,這家店看起來真好。我們能不能進(jìn)去看看呀?我肯定他們有很好的衣服。
M: That's Neiman-Marcus. They have nice stuff, but they're really, really expensive. You have to pay through the nose to buy even a shirt there.
L: 我也猜想它們的衣服一定很貴。你說要在他們這里買件襯衣就要pay through the nose? 東西貴和鼻子有什么關(guān)系呀?
M: To pay through the nose is to pay a lot of money for something, usually way more than the item is worth. For instance, a shirt in a normal store costs about $40. However, a shirt in Neiman-Marcus easily costs $200. That's paying through the nose.
L: 我懂了。To pay through the nose就是用高價(jià)買一樣?xùn)|西,往往要比原來的價(jià)值高很多。像普通店里一件襯衣要40美元,在他們這里就要200美元。可是,Michael, 我還是不懂,一個(gè)人的鼻子和錢有什么關(guān)系呀?
M: Yeah, it is a strange expression, but that's the way it is. Do you still want to go into that store?
L: 不要,不要,我不進(jìn)去了。我只是個(gè)學(xué)生,沒那么多錢,I can't afford to pay through the nose for things. 我啊,付不起這么高的價(jià)錢。
M: I agree. I don't want to pay through the nose for anything either. It's stupid to waste so much money on something you can buy cheaper somewhere else.
L: 就是呀,能夠用便宜的價(jià)錢買到的東西為什么要浪費(fèi)那么多錢去買呢?對(duì)了,Michael, 那什么時(shí)候我們還可以用to pay through the nose這個(gè)說法的呢?
M: Well, some people are willing to pay through the nose to buy tickets to see their favorite singers.
L: 噢,花好多錢買票去聽他們喜歡的歌手唱歌。我就有幾個(gè)朋友愛買名牌的東西。她們就愿意pay through the nose。
M: I don't understand paying through the nose to eat at fancy restaurants either. Food is food. Li Hua, I'm getting hungry. Can we go eat first?
L: I'm down with that. 我也有點(diǎn)餓了。但是,I don't want to pay through the nose.
李華今天學(xué)到了兩個(gè)常用語。一個(gè)是:down with that, 意思是“同意”,或者是“愿意”。另一個(gè)是:to pay through the nose, 意思是“出高價(jià)買東西”。