這是個周末,Larry和李華在Larry叔叔的農場里摘了一天的蘋果。李華會學到兩個常用語:chock full和doohickey。
LL: Wow, Li Hua, your basket is chock full of apples.
LH: Chock full of apples?你是不是說我的籃子都裝滿了?
LL: Yeah, chock full means full to the point of overflowing, and I don't think you could put another apple in that basket.
LH: 噢,chock full是指籃子不僅滿了,而且是滿得快掉出來了。那也是,我這籃子里是一個也放不下了。Larry,你的籃子怎么還沒有裝滿呀?
LL: You are right. My basket is not as chock full of apples as yours, but I have an excuse!
LH: Excuse! 什么理由?
LL: When I'm out picking apples on a nice, sunny day in the fresh air, I start to think about things. Soon my mind is chock full of ideas, but I'm afraid my basket isn't chock full of apples.
LH: 我才不信呢!什么一到陽光明媚,空氣新鮮的環(huán)境里摘蘋果,你就開始動腦子。那你倒說說,今天都想了些什么呀!
LL: I was thinking of things we could do with these apples. My aunt has a cabinet in the kitchen chock full of recipe books.
LH: 你在想怎么處理這些蘋果? 得了,這是你動作慢的借口罷了。不過,我對你說的你阿姨廚房里的食譜倒很感興趣,咱們去找她聊聊吧。
LL: And while we are in the kitchen talking to my aunt, we can have a little snack. She has a jar on the counter that is chock full of cookies.
LH: 餅干我就不吃了, 太油太甜,They are chock full of sugar and fat.
LL: Oh, a little sugar and fat won't hurt you, Li Hua. Besides the cookies are chock full of things that are good for you, like nuts, oatmeal and peanut butter.
LH: 餅干里有果仁,麥片和花生醬?這些都是對身體有好處的?多吃了也是一樣不好,你只是嘴巴讒而已!
LL: Ha, ha, Li Hua. Very funny. Hey, while we on are way to the kitchen, let's stop by my uncle's tool shed.
LH: 你要先去看看你叔叔的工具房? 好呀!
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LL:Boy, I forgot my uncle has so many tools. Can you hand me that doohickey on the tool bench?
LH: Doohickey是什么呀?
LL: Oh, I should have been more specific, Li Hua. A doohickey is a generic term for a tool or a gadget.
LH: Doohickey是工具或小型工具的總稱。那你要的是哪個呀?
LL: I want the doohickey in the middle of the bench。
LH: 在板凳當中的那個, 給你。Larry,這個東西是干什么用的?
LL: This doohickey is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It is an apple corer, peeler and slicer.
LH: 這玩藝兒既能削皮,挖掉蘋果的核還能把蘋果切成片,有這么多功能呀。怪不得你說它是最偉大的發(fā)明之一。
LL: Yes, it does. This doohickey may look simple, but it is a good tool to have in a country kitchen when you have a lot of apples.
LH: 當然啦,在這樣的農村廚房里,摘了那么蘋果,有這么一個工具當然好呀!這個工具怎么用的?
LL: Well, first you stick the entire doohickey on a flat surface of a table.
LH: OK, 先把這工具放在平的桌面上。我來試試, 看看這個東西是怎么切蘋果的。
LL: Put the apple here like this. And then turn the handle of the doohickey. And there you have it -- a cored, peeled, and slice apple!
LH: 把蘋果放在這里,然后轉動這個把手。真的耶,你看,皮也削了,核也沒了,而且已經切成片了。
LL: Isn't this doohickey great?
LH: Wow! 真有意思, 你叔叔的工具房里還有什么好的小玩藝兒呀? Any other interesting doohickeys ?
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是chock full , 意思是裝的滿滿的。還有一個是doohickeys,意思是工具。