Jen和Lawrence是老朋友,很久沒見面了。真巧,倆人傍晚時分在路上不期而遇。
Professor: But, Winnie, today is a special day: It's Christmas Eve! Shouldn't they be at home celebrating
with their families? What are they doing walking around on the street on Christmas Eve?
對啊,我差點忘了,今天是圣誕節(jié)前夜! 那他們兩個怎么會在大街上閑逛呢? 我們來聽聽看吧!
Jen: Lawrence, is that you? !
Lawrence: Hey Jen! How are you doing?! I don't think I've seen you in over a year!
Jen: I know! It's been a long time. It's funny to run into you on Christmas Eve!
Lawrence: Yeah, isn't that funny. Why aren't you at home with your family?
Professor: So Winnie, how long has it been since Lawrence and Jen last met?
Lawrence說,他都一年多沒見過 Jen了。不過, professor Bowman, Jen說,她 “ran into Lawrence”,這難道是說他們在街上“撞車”了嗎?
Professor: (laugh) No,Winnie! When you say you "run into" something, it means you meet it unexpectedly. For example, I was doing very well on the test, but I ran into trouble when I got to the math part.
哦,所以run into 就是“不期而遇”。
Jen: My family doesn't live here. They live in Texas.
Lawrence: I see. Well why didn't you fly home to Texas for the holidays?
Jen: I have to work tomorrow, so I didn't have time to fly to Texas. Why didn't you go home?
Lawrence: I wanted to, but I didn't have enough money to buy a plane ticket.
Professor: So Winnie, why didn't Jen go home for Christmas?
她家在德州,可是她要上班,沒時間回去過圣誕。
Professor: Exactly. And why didn't Lawrence go home for Christmas?
Lawrence更慘,說自己買不起機票。對了,Professor Bowman, Lawrence 說的“the holidays”是指圣誕節(jié)么?
Professor: Not really. "The holidays" means all the religious holidays that happen in December. If a person doesn't celebrate Christmas, you can wish him or her "Happy holidays."
原來如此,圣誕節(jié)是基督教的宗教節(jié)日,對那些不信基督教,不過圣誕節(jié)的人,你就可以說 happy holidays。
Jen: I'm sorry you couldn't go home. How is everything else going?
Lawrence: I'm OK, but I'm having trouble finding a job. What's up with you?
Jen: I can't complain. My job is going well and I have a nice apartment.
Lawrence: That's great. I'm happy everything is working out for you.
怪不得Lawrence買不起機票,原來他沒有找到工作。過圣誕節(jié)獨自一人,又沒有工作,真可憐。不過,Lawrence問Jen “what's up”,這是在問什么呢?
Professor: Asking "what's up" is like asking how someone is doing, but "what's up" is a very informal expression.
我明白了,"What's up"和 "how are you doing"都是問候別人,就是“你怎么樣?”的意思,不what's up更輕松隨意一些。
Professor: That's exactly right. But Winnie, did you hear Lawrence say he is happy everything is working out for Jen? What do you think "working out" means?
嗯...work out是鍛煉身體的意思, 不過在這里,應該是“有好的結(jié)果”,“情況不錯”的意思吧。
Professor: That's right. For example, "John asked Emily to go on a date with him 10 times, but it never worked out."
???請人家約會十次被拒絕?真是百折不撓!
Jen: You know, since we're both alone, we should have dinner together.
Lawrence: Sounds great! But can we go someplace that isn't too expensive?
Jen: Don't worry, Lawrence, tonight I'll treat you. That will be my Christmas present to you.
Lawrence: Thanks! But next time, I promise I'm buying.
Professor, "I'm buying" 和 “I'll treat you" 都是“我請客”的意思吧?
Professor: Correct. You could also say "It's on me."
哎,學這么多“請客”的說法,要搶著付錢么?我還是想學學怎么蹭飯呢!
Professor: That's easy. Just say, "I forgot my wallet."
那好,Professor Bowman, 咱們?nèi)コ允フQ大餐吧! 不過,我要先告訴你,"I forgot my wallet!"
這次的美語三級跳就播送到這里。