美國之音之流行美語racket / That does it!

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Popular American - #106

流行美語-第一百零六課

racket

That does it!

今天Larry和李華在學校的書店里買書。李華會學到兩個常用語：racket和That does it!

(Bookstore SFX)

LH:   Hey, Larry, 你不是想買下學期的課本嗎？那還不趁我們在書店趕緊買了？

LL:   I want to buy them, but these prices are ridiculous!  The textbook business is such a racket!

LH:  你想買書，可是又嫌這些書太貴呀？你還說出版課本的行業(yè)怎么啦？什么是a racket?

LL:   That's right.  I said the textbook business is a racket. A "racket" is an unfair criminal business that makes lots of money, like gambling or extortion.

LH:   Oh, racket這個詞在這里的意思是“牟取暴利”，就好比賭博和詐騙一樣的非法行為。Larry，你的意思是這些課本定價過高，就象是在敲詐勒索，有那么嚴重嗎？

LL:   Absolutely! Look at this!  This history book costs $90?!  The publishers know we have no choice but to buy the book, so the prices are really high.  What a racket!

LH:   哎喲，還真是的。這本歷史書要賣九十美元，是夠貴的。那些出版商明明知道我們沒別的辦法，只能買這些書，所以把價錢定這么高。這真是像敲詐勒索。那Larry, 你覺得還有什么是racket呢？

LL:   I think that cable TV is a racket.  There's only one company in town; they are always raising prices, and all the channels worth watching cost extra.  It's a racket!

LH:   對呀，我們這兒只有一家提供有線電視的公司。他們老是漲價?？墒荓arry, 看不看電視問題不大。你知道嗎 - 有的醫(yī)院還趁人之危，敲詐勒索孕婦呢！

LL:   Really?  What do you mean exactly?

LH:   比方說，我聽說有的醫(yī)院讓孕婦做一些不必要的檢查，收的錢還非常多，那些孕婦不懂，只能聽醫(yī)生的。這真是和詐騙一樣。

LL:   Wow, now that's a real racket.

******

LL:   Oh man, look at this!  $85 for a book of old essays on U.S. Politics?  That does it!  I'm buying my textbooks online.

LH:  這本美國政治論文集要賣85美元？你說 - "That does it"?  這是什么意思？

LL:   Well, when someone says  "That does it",  he means that he is so upset that he is no longer willing to accept something.

LH:    噢，"That does it"就是一個人對某件事非常生氣，以致到了寧可放棄的地步。 哎，那不就相當于中文所說的“得了，算了吧”？Larry, 你是說這些課本要價太高，所以你干脆不在這兒買，到因特網(wǎng)上去買了？

LL:   That's right!  If a situation gets so bad that you cannot stand it, you can yell "that does it!", and then do something about the problem.

LH:   Hmm... 要是你實在覺得忍無可忍，你就可以大聲說：That does it!哎，Larry, 我好象明白這個用法了，可是你能不能再給我舉個例子呢？

LL:   Well, for example, if an employee always comes to work late, one day the boss might say "You're late again?  That does it!  You're fired!"

LH:   Ah. 這正是我對我表妹說的話。她每天上班都遲到。我對她說總有一天他老板會覺得忍無可忍。你的老板會說：“得了，你今后別來上班了。”原來在英文里就可以說："That does it! You're fired!"

LL:   Now you know how to use "That does it!" Why don't you give me an example.

LH:   有了，Larry，有一天你會在照鏡子的時候?qū)ψ约赫f， "That does it!  我一定要減肥了！"

LL: (Angry) That does it, Li Hua!  I told you to stop making fun of my weight.

LH:  Hey! 別生氣，Larry!  我是跟你開玩笑呢！而且我發(fā)現(xiàn)你最近好像瘦了。你是不是在吃什么減肥食品??？

LL:   A special diet?  No way!  All those diet books and special foods are a racket.  I just decided to exercise regularly and eat less junk food.

LH:  這話我同意，那些減肥書和減肥食品都很貴，主要是為了騙錢，其實最重要的是鍛煉身體，少吃零食。Good for you, Larry!

今天李華從Larry那兒學到了兩個常用語。一個是racket, 意思是價格太高，就象敲詐勒索一樣。另一個常用語是That does it! 中文里可以說“得了，不干了！”