美國(guó)之音之流行美語(yǔ)Lesson 127 - big shot / bent out of shape
李華和Larry正在討論是不是要去聽有關(guān)中國(guó)歷史的演講。今天李華會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)：big shot和bent out of shape.
(Ambience sound in the Hallway)
LL: Hey Li Hua! Are you going to the guest lecture this evening? Some big shot Harvard professor is going to speak tonight.
LH: 你說今天晚上來演講的教授是什么？big shot？什么是big shot?
LL: I said he is a big shot. A big shot is an important or influential person.
LH: 噢！Big shot是指一個(gè)很重要，很有影響力的人。那不就是我們中文里說的“大人物”嘛！哎！哈佛大學(xué)的教授就是大人物，big shot呀？
LL: Actually, this guy is a big shot because he's an American who lived in China for thirty years after the revolution, and got to know some of the leaders of China personally.
LH: 喲，他在中國(guó)住了30年，還認(rèn)識(shí)一些中國(guó)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人。聽起來倒挺象大人物的。那他為什么要到我們學(xué)校來呢？
LL: Well, the president of our university and some other big shots from the city government are good friends of his. They invited him to come here and give a lecture.
LH: 原來他和我們校長(zhǎng)還有市政府的官員都是好朋友。嗯，我很想去聽聽他的演講。對(duì)了，Larry，你聽說Jack找到一份新工作嗎？
LL: Oh yeah, I heard that he's working for a big shot lawyer now. I'm really happy to see him doing so well after graduation.
LH: 我希望那家大律師事務(wù)所能好好待他。有時(shí)候，為這些大人物工作，未必是件好差事。
LL: Yeah, I guess so. Still, it's better to work for a big shot lawyer than to be a waiter at a coffee house. A lot of us history majors end up doing jobs like that after graduation.
LH: 話是不錯(cuò)，給大律師工作總比在咖啡館當(dāng)服務(wù)員好?？墒?，歷史專業(yè)的畢業(yè)生也不見得都到餐館去當(dāng)服務(wù)員。我將來就要爭(zhēng)取成為一個(gè)有名的教授, a big shot professor!
LL: That's good to hear. Just be sure you don't forget about me after you become a big shot!
******
LH: 嘿！Larry, 昨晚我去聽演講，怎么沒看見你呢？那位教授講得很有意思！
LL: Well, that's good to hear. I couldn't make it because some idiot crashed his car into mine last night on the way over here. I'm still pretty bent out of shape about it.
LH: 什么！你昨晚出車禍啦？Bent out of shape? 你是不是受傷了？
LL: I'm fine! (chuckles) I said I am bent out of shape. That means I am very angry and upset about the accident last night, even though it wasn't very serious.
LH: 噢！原來你是為了車子被撞而生氣。Bent out of shape就是生氣，發(fā)火的意思。嗨，沒受傷就好，車子壞了有保險(xiǎn)公司，別生氣啦？
LL: But I'm bent out of shape because the other guy was really rude. I had the right of way at a stop sign, but he drove through the intersection first and bumped into my car. Then he started yelling at me for not letting him go first!
LH: 哼，他不守交通規(guī)則，搶先過了馬路撞上你的車，還對(duì)你大聲嚷嚷？怪不得你要?dú)鈮牧四兀?/p>
LL: (Angry) That guy is an idiot! Otherwise, I wouldn't get so bent out of shape. Let's talk about something else. What about the lecture?
LH: 對(duì)！別談這事了。昨晚那個(gè)演講我覺得很有意思，不過，在那位教授講完要離開會(huì)場(chǎng)的時(shí)候，有一群學(xué)生對(duì)他大吼大叫，好像是不同意他的某個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。
LL: Did the guy get all bent out of shape about it?
LH: 沒有耶，那位教授沒生氣，也沒有理會(huì)那些學(xué)生。后來大家都離開會(huì)場(chǎng)了。
LL: Well, that's good. If someone gets bent out of shape about different opinions, it usually means he's narrow-minded.
LH: 所以，Larry，盡管撞你車的人不講道理，你也不要小心眼，為這事生氣。
今天李華學(xué)會(huì)兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)，第一個(gè)是big shot,是形容很重要，有影響力的大人物。另一個(gè)常用語(yǔ)是bent out of shape，意思是很生氣。
