Larry到李華住的地方,去看她新領養(yǎng)的貓咪小雪球。今天李華會學到兩個常用語:mental和pro.
LL: Snowball is adorable! She's so little and fluffy!
LH: 就是啊,我的貓咪小雪球是很可愛,可它也夠瘋的。你看看它把我的家具抓成什么樣了!
LL: Oh, don't worry. Your cat isn't mental. All cats love to scratch furniture. You just need to give her a scratching post to scratch instead.
LH: 你是說有辦法讓小雪球不再抓我的家具?噢!謝天謝地。我明天馬上去買你說的那種專門讓貓抓的柱子。不然,我的家具都要完蛋了。對了,你剛才說小雪球不是mental,那是什么意思???
LL: To be "mental" means to be crazy.
LH: Mental就是發(fā)瘋,瘋狂的意思。所以你覺得小雪球很正常,一點也不瘋???
LL: She's just being a kitten. You need to get her a scratching post. She also might be doing this because she's lonely when you're gone.
LH: Larry, 看不出來你對貓還有一套呢!你說小雪球太孤單了,才會到處抓,你該不是要我再領養(yǎng)一只貓和它做伴吧?你要真是那么想,那你可真的是mental,瘋了!
LL: Well, maybe you could adopt an older cat that's a little calmer.
LH: 再領養(yǎng)一只大貓?你出什么餿主意呀!我絕對應付不了兩只貓。那樣,我會被逼瘋的,成了mental。
LL: Okay, well then try getting her something to scratch. You should cut her claws, too.
LH: 對呀!我前天是要給小雪球剪指甲,可它像瘋子一樣,一直叫,一直抓我,最后還躲到床底下。
LL: Hmmm....maybe you need some professional help. When you take her to the vet to get her shots, then the vet can help you cut her claws.
LH: 我也希望獸醫(yī)能幫忙。我真不知道怎么幫貓剪指甲。不過我怕小雪球到時候發(fā)瘋抓人,連獸醫(yī)都會受不了。
LL: Don't worry, I'm sure the vet sees mental cats all day long.
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LH: 小雪球現(xiàn)在好多了。我?guī)催^獸醫(yī),也找了幾本有關養(yǎng)貓的書。我現(xiàn)在比較懂得怎么照顧它了。
LL: See, you're already becoming a pro. Pretty soon, you'll be able to handle a whole house full of cats.
LH: 哎喲!一只貓已經(jīng)夠我頭疼的了,一屋子的貓?甭提了!你剛才說我可以變成pro, 那又是什么意思?
LL: Pro is short for "professional." If you say someone is a pro, it means that she is really good at something.
LH: 原來,pro就是專業(yè)的意思。嗯,我還不敢說自己在這方面很專業(yè)啦!
LL: That's understandable. You can't become a pro overnight. It takes time and practice.
LH: 當然嘍!要當專業(yè)人員可不是一天一夜的事,需要花很多時間來實踐,積累經(jīng)驗。
LL: Hey, I'm sure that Yao Ming got frustrated once in a while when he was training to become a pro basketball player.
LH: 姚明在訓練過程中還會煩惱? 他根本不用練球,他是一個“天生的”籃球好手!
LL: Hey, even naturally talented people have to work hard to become a pro.
LH: 嗯,我從小就夢想成為職業(yè)排球運動員。能夠在沙灘上打排球一定是件很過癮的事!
LL: I'm sure it's not as much fun as it seems. Pro sports players have to work hard and they travel a lot. There's a lot of pressure on them to perform well.
LH: 是沒有象我們想像的那樣好玩。訓練是很辛苦的,還要到處旅行,壓力好大??墒?,這些職業(yè)選手能賺大錢。那些美式足球和籃球明星,年薪都上百萬呢!
LL: Don't you wish you'd get that much money for being a pro at caring for Snowball?
LH: 唉!專業(yè)管理寵物有什么好處?唯一的報酬就是有一只快樂健康的貓!
今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是mental,是指發(fā)瘋,瘋狂的意思。另一個常用語pro是指專業(yè)人員。