LH: Munchies? 讓我看看?(翻塑膠袋的聲音)。薯條、花生、開心果,I don"t see anything called "munchies."
LL: Munchies is a general word for snacks or things to "munch" on, Li Hua. When watching a football game, I love to eat munchies like chips and pretzels.
LH: 噢,原來munchies是零食的意思!有不鹹的嗎?
LL: Yes, Li Hua, I do. In the refrigerator, I have some other munchies that I"ve prepared. I also made a vegetable tray and some sour cream dip.
LH: Wow, 你準備了這麼多東西! 看超級盃原來這麼重要啊!
LL: Watching the Super Bowl is something many Americans look forward to all year. And part of the fun is inviting friends over to watch the game and share some munchies.
LH: 這跟中國球迷看足球世界盃差不多。他們也是圍著電視機,邊吃邊看,熱鬧極了。
LL: Every body loves munchies. Speaking of munchies, are you hungry, Li Hua?
LH: 我確實有點兒餓了,不過我不想把這些零食開啟,我們還是等客人都到了再說吧!
LL: Oh, don"t worry about it, Li Hua. There are plenty of munchies. Go ahead and open what you like.
LH: 那好,我先吃點花生,我最愛吃花生了。
LL: I"ve got a bad case of the munchies, too, Li Hua. But instead of peanuts, I think I"ll munch on some potato chips.
LH: A *case* of the munchies? 你拿的明明是一帶零食啊!
LL: When I said I have a case of the munchies, I meant I was really hungry for snacks.
LH: Well, I guess I have a case of the munchies, too, Larry. 這些花生真是太好吃了。
LL: The trouble with munchies is that once you start eating them - it is hard to stop.
LH: 那我們還是忍忍吧,可別把這些零食都吃完了,否則一會兒看球賽的時候就沒的吃了。
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LL: Thanks for helping me put out the food, Li Hua. I hope this is enough of a spread for the Super Bowl party.
LH: Enough of a spread? 這又是什麼意思啊?你是說足夠大家吃的吧?
LL: A spread does refer to food, Li Hua - and specifically food set out on a table for a party. And the goal is to have lots of food!
LH: 你準備的可真夠豐盛的,That"s quite a spread, Larry. 你看,有薯條、花生、開心果、蔬菜、飲料、啤酒,真是應有盡有。
LL: Well, when one puts together a spread, Li Hua, you not only want there to be lots of food, but you also want the spread to look good.
LH: 所以說,spread不光是要準備充足的食物,還要擺放得整齊好看,讓人看了賞心悅目?
LL: That"s right. Like for this spread, I put the snacks in nice bowls, arranged the vegetables so they look attractive, and got these festive football napkins and cups.
LH: 太棒了,Larry。我知道,你這一桌子食物,從盤子到紙杯,到餐巾紙,都跟橄欖球有關,最適合超級盃的party了.
LL: Thanks, Li Hua. I"m glad you like it.
LH: Larry, 你準備這一桌子東西要花很多錢嗎?
LL: This spread wasn"t very expensive. But I have been to parties where the hosts clearly spent a lot of money on gourmet foods and expensive wines.
LH: 我還記得去年到市中心的一家大飯店去參加春節聯歡活動。They had quite a spread!
LL: I bet it was some spread. You know how much I like Chinese food.
LH: 那明年咱們一起去,你可以親眼看看!
LL: While the spread I put together isn"t as fancy as that, I just hope my friends will enjoy it.
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是munchies, 是零食的意思。另一個是spread, 指豐盛的食物。
日期:2008-4-10 10:52:38
美國習慣用語第267講
今天我們要講的兩個習慣用語都含有懲罰的意思。要是一個人是懲罰的物件的話,這兩個習慣用語會使他感到很痛苦的。一個人在一生中沒有受到任何形式的懲罰是很少的。小的時候做錯了事激怒了父母而受到懲罰也是常事。例如像不準吃晚飯,不準出去玩等。不過,我們今天要講的是成年人犯了錯誤,或做了違法的事而受到懲罰。
現在我們先來講第一個習慣用語。To lower the boom. To lower就是把什麼東西放低,boom在這裡解釋為帆船的帆下面的槓。用這個槓可以按當時的需要把帆升高或降低。要是一個人正在把槓往下放,而你的頭正在槓下面的話,那個槓就會打到你的頭。這可能使你感到非常痛。作為一個習慣用語,to lower the boom就是很嚴格的懲罰,或者是採取步驟嚴格地執行法律。下面是一個電臺報導的一條訊息。
例句-1: The new chief of police announced today that he was going to lower the boom on drug peddlers by putting a lot more officers in neighborhoods where the situation is worst.
這則訊息說:新的丨警丨察局局長今天宣佈,他將派很多的丨警丨察到販毒最嚴重的地區去,以此來對那些販毒者進行嚴格的管制。
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美國的犯罪率比較高。這是政府和公眾都很關心的問題。人們在如何解決犯罪這個問題上議論紛紛。下面就是一個受害者在發表自己的看法。
例句2: I was robbed in broad daylight last year. The police caught the guy but set him free after six weeks. I don"t understand this, why can"t they lower the boom on these criminals so that they will think twice before they do something bad.
這個人說:去年,我在光天化日之下遭到搶劫。丨警丨察抓住了那傢伙,但是關了六個星期就把他放了。我真是弄不懂,他們為什麼不能對這些罪犯更嚴格一些。這樣他們才會在幹壞事前先考慮一下。
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上面那個受害者一定很願意用下面這個辦法來對待罪犯,但是沒有一個罪犯願意受到這種懲罰的。這種嚴厲的懲罰就是我們要講的第二個習慣用語:To throw away the key. To throw away就是把什麼東西扔掉,key就是鑰匙。
美國的法律並不是全國統一的,各州有權制定自己的法律。但是,對大多數的州來說,最嚴重的懲罰恐怕就是把犯人關進監獄,然後throw away the key。大家也許已經猜出了to throw away the key是什麼意思了。把犯人關進監獄,然後把監獄的鑰匙扔掉。那當然就意味著這個犯人永遠也出不了監獄了。也就是無期徒刑。
我們來舉一個例子。這是一個人在告訴他朋友關於一件搶銀行案件的判決。
例句3: You remember that man who shot three people when he held up a bank? The judge locked him up and threw away the key: she sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole.
這人說:你還記得那個在搶劫銀行的時候打死三個人的那個罪犯嗎?法官把他關進監獄,讓他永遠也出不來。她判他無期徒刑,連保釋的機會都沒有。
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剛才說無期徒刑在美國許多州是最嚴重的懲罰。這是因為美國有許多州是沒有死刑的。應不應該有死刑是美國人爭論的一個主題。有的人認為,儘管那些罪犯確實犯了嚴重的罪行,但是死刑是不人道的。然而,對那些受害者和某些公眾來說,只有嚴厲處決才能控制犯罪率不斷上升的趨勢。下面是一個人在發表他的觀點。
例句4: I don"t think to throw away the key is the answer to the ever increasing rate of criminal cases. We must impose death sentences on those murderers who kill people without even blinking an eye? Only that may stop them killing so freely.
這人說:我認為無期徒刑不是解決犯罪率不斷上升的辦法。我們必須對那些殺人不眨眼的謀殺犯處以死刑。只有那樣他們才可能不再隨便殺人。
日期:2008-4-10 10:54:48
美國習慣用語第268講
今天我們要講的兩個習慣用語,一個跟手腕有關。另一個跟鞋子有關。我們先來講第一個。A slap on the wrist. Slap就是打一下,比如說,a slap on the face就是打耳光。Wrist就是手腕。A slap on the wrist就是在手腕上打一下。在手腕上打一下並不怎麼痛。
要是一個孩子伸手去拿他不該拿的東西,為了阻止他,他媽媽就很可能會在他手腕上打一下。作為習慣用語,a slap on the wrist就是輕微的懲罰,而且往往是指某人得到的懲罰要比他應該得到的懲罰要輕。
我們來舉一個例子。一個喝醉了酒的人在開車的時候把別人的車撞壞了。雙方都被招到法庭作證。被撞的人對法庭的裁決非常不滿意。他說:
例句-1: I hoped the judge would send this guy to jail. But all he gave him was a slap on the wrist - he fined him two hundred dollars and suspended his driver"s license for 30 days.
這個人很不滿地說:我本來希望法官會把這傢伙送進監獄。可是,他僅僅讓他罰款兩百美元,吊銷他的駕駛執照一個月。這真是清描淡寫的懲罰。
在美國,酗酒的人開車是一個大問題。每年都有不少因為喝醉了酒開車而造成的車禍,有的導致受害者終身喪失正常生活的能力,還有的因此而喪生,給受害者的家庭和孩子帶來莫大的悲劇。美國政府對酗酒駕車的人有各種不同的懲罰。
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