流行美語-第八十課
to kick oneself
raw deal
今天Michael和李華正在談?wù)撚嘘P(guān)買汽車的事。李華會學(xué)到兩個常用語:to kick oneself和raw deal。
L: Michael, 你沒有買Jerry的車?。课乙詾閮r(jià)錢很公道??!怎么回事???
M: Please don't mention that! Jerry sold the car to someone else yesterday. I'm still kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance.
L: Kicking yourself, kick不就是k-i-c-k,踢球的踢嗎?你為什么要踢你自己呢?
M: No, no Li Hua. "To kick oneself" means to feel regret for missing an opportunity, or making a mistake that could have been avoided.
L: 噢,to kick oneself不是真的踢自己,意思是:自己失去了一個好機(jī)會而埋怨自己太笨。Michael, 那到底是怎么回事?。?/p>
M: Well, I told Jerry that I wanted to check out some other cars before I made a decision. Someone else bought the car before I had a chance to decide. I'm still kicking myself for waiting too long.
L: 原來你是想等看看別的車以后再做決定,結(jié)果Jerry就把車賣給別人了。哎喲,Michael, 你不用埋怨自己啦。不管做什么交易,作決定前仔細(xì)考慮清楚總是好的。
M: Well, I guess you're right. When I bought the car I have now, I wasn't careful enough. Later, I found out the car was in very poor condition, and I have been kicking myself ever since.
L: 你看,我說得沒錯。你買現(xiàn)在這輛車的時候不小心,所以現(xiàn)在老要出問題。哎,Michael, 你呀,買得不好也怨自己,沒有買到也埋怨自己。你累不累呀!
M: Hey, speaking of regret, I heard that your ex-boyfriend Ding Yu is doing really well these days. I bet you are kicking yourself for dumping him, huh?
L: 你在說我以前的男朋友丁余?告訴你,不管他現(xiàn)在多有錢我都不會因?yàn)楦质侄蠡凇?/p>
M: Hmm, I know, when you're a famous professor at a top U.S. university, Ding Yu will be kicking himself for not being nicer to you when you were together.
L: 我要是在美國當(dāng)了名教授,他再捶胸頓足地后悔也沒有用。
******
L: Michael, 你沒有買Jerry的車,那你是不是還想找一輛舊車呢?
M: Yes, I still want to replace my car. But I'm sort of afraid... The last time I bought a car, I got a really raw deal!
L: 你上回買車怎么啦?什么是raw deal?是不是不好的意思?
M: That's right! A raw deal. Raw. A "raw deal" means an unfair deal, or to be treated roughly and unfairly by someone.
L: A raw deal就是吃了虧的交易。你的意思是,你上次買這輛車的時候,賣車的人讓你吃了大虧?
M: That's right. The week after I bought the car, the engine broke down, and I had to completely replace it! The guy I bought it from refused to pay for it.
L: 車才買了一個星期就出問題。這實(shí)在是太倒霉了。這就是所謂的a raw deal。那么,Michael, raw deal是不是只能用在買賣方面的?
M: No, not necessarily. For instance, my Uncle George worked at a factory for over twenty years. Unfortunately, the factory was shut down and George lost his job right before he had a chance to retire. That was a raw deal!
L: That's really a raw deal! 我聽到好幾個這樣的例子了。一個人在一個公司做了幾十年,還沒來得及退休公司就關(guān)門了。退休金全完了。我舅舅的工廠關(guān)門前,他工作了八個月,到現(xiàn)在還沒拿到工資呢!
M: That's really a raw deal!
今天李華學(xué)到了兩個常用語:to kick oneself和raw deal。To kick oneself是由于錯過了機(jī)會而怨恨自己。Raw deal就是在跟別人打交道時吃了虧。