這是星期天的早晨。李華和Larry正在星巴克咖啡館里喝咖啡。今天李華會學(xué)到兩個常用語:on the spot和schmooze.
LL: I'm dreading my Chinese exam tomorrow. The teacher will give us a topic and she expects us to talk about the topic for two minutes on the spot.
LH: 你明天要考中文呀?老師給每個學(xué)生一個題目,讓你們當(dāng)場就這個題目講兩分鐘。這是好難。不過Larry,別擔(dān)心,你可以先跟我練習(xí)??!對了,你剛才說on the spot,那是什么意思?
LL: Oh, to do something "on the spot" is to do it immediately - right then and there.
LH: On the spot就是立刻,當(dāng)場的意思。所以你剛才的意思就是教授在考試的時候當(dāng)場給題目,你就得立即上臺講兩分鐘。
LL: Exactly. It's always nice to have time to prepare, but sometimes doing something on the spot can be fun.
LH: 有充份時間做準(zhǔn)備那當(dāng)然好呀。但是,我可想不出有什么事情馬上要做而能讓我感到有意思的。你給我舉個例子好不好。
LL: Well, we can decide right here - on the spot - to go to the movies. That would be fun, right?
LH: 嗯,我們現(xiàn)在就決定去看電影,那當(dāng)然好玩呀??墒俏覀儾恢揽茨牟侩娪埃侥睦锶タ茨?。
LL: That's a problem. Where can we find the newspaper or a computer on the spot!.
LH: 就是嘛,我們既不能上網(wǎng),也沒有報紙可以查電影時間表。而且你明天不是有中文考試嗎?你現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該在家里背單字嘛!
LL: I should. If I don't study the vocabulary, then I won't be able to come up with a speech on the spot.
LH: 對,要當(dāng)場發(fā)表兩分鐘講話,不熟悉有用的詞匯是不行的。
LL: No, it's more like a good strategy for failing my test. Hey, why don't you help me study?
LH: 一點(diǎn)沒錯,要是你不多記住一些單詞,那你肯定會考砸的。你要我就在這里幫你復(fù)習(xí)功課?On the spot?
LL: Why not? I brought my Chinese book with me.
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LH: 我真不敢相信,咖啡館的那個女服務(wù)員居然會送你一杯免費(fèi)的咖啡!
LL: Well, it helps that I schmoozed her a little bit.
LH: Larry,你對那個女服務(wù)員怎么啦?Schmooze是什么意思啊?
LL: To schmooze means that someone is extra nice to him or her, usually in the hope that you'll get something in return.
LH: 噢,schmooze就是對某人特別好,希望能得到一些回報。那不是“討好、獻(xiàn)殷勤”嗎?你想讓服務(wù)員對你客氣一點(diǎn),所以你就對她特別好???
LL: Well, no. I was actually hoping to get her to go out on a date with me, but I'll settle for free coffee.
LH: 原來你是想約那個女孩出去,現(xiàn)在喝了一杯免費(fèi)咖啡就滿足了。哎呀,你呀,你還不如去schmooze你的中文老師,讓她明天評分的時候?qū)δ憧蜌恻c(diǎn)。這不是更實(shí)際嗎!
LL: Hopefully, I won't need to schmooze my teacher in order to get a good grade.
LH: 不討好老師也能得好分?jǐn)?shù),你怎么一下子變得那么信心十足了呢。不過,你要我?guī)湍銖?fù)習(xí)功課,那至少也該schmooze我這個義務(wù)家教吧!
LL: Hey, you're my friend, you're supposed to do things out of friendship, not because you want something.
LH: 我知道啦。我是跟你開玩笑的!不過,你要是想對我好一點(diǎn),schmooze我一下,我也不會反對的!
LL: I'm always nice to you - and it's not because I'm trying to schmooze you.
LH: 那倒是,你一向?qū)ξ也诲e,算得上是我最好的朋友嘍!
今天李華學(xué)到兩個常用語。第一個是on the spot,就是即刻,當(dāng)場,馬上的意思。另一個常用語是schmooze,這是指討好某人,對某人獻(xiàn)殷勤,通常是想得到回報。