李華和Larry在一家中餐館吃飯。李華今天會(huì)學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)bite the bullet和benchwarmer。
LH: Larry,你點(diǎn)的陳皮牛肉真好吃。 (Groans in pain) Oww!
LL: Hey, what's wrong? Was there something in the beef?
LH: 不,是我的牙。我的一個(gè)牙齒壞了,早該去看牙醫(yī), 可是一直不敢去。
LL: Really? Well, if it hurts that much, I guess you have to bite the bullet and see a dentist!
LH: Bite the bullet!? 咬子彈?Larry ,我咬肉都痛,還叫我咬子彈!
LL: No, no, I'm not being mean. To bite the bullet means to resign yourself to doing something that is difficult or unpleasant.
LH: 所以,你的意思是硬著頭皮去難做的事,或不愉快的事。噢,我知道了,以前打仗的時(shí)候有時(shí)沒(méi)有麻藥,傷員動(dòng)手術(shù)時(shí)只好咬著子彈,忍住疼痛。這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)就是這么來(lái)的吧?
LL: I guess so. Anyway, your painful tooth will affect your studying, and it might get worse if you keep waiting. Just bite the bullet and see a dentist!
LH: 牙痛當(dāng)然影響我的學(xué)習(xí)。我一會(huì)兒就打電話給牙醫(yī)生約時(shí)間。對(duì)了, Larry,你上星期因?yàn)橥\嚩涣P款有沒(méi)有去付?。?/p>
LL: (Sighs) No, I haven't paid them off yet. I guess I'd better bite the bullet and pay them, otherwise the charges will be doubled.
LH: 還沒(méi)有付呀!逾期不付會(huì)加倍罰款的。 Larry,今年你已經(jīng)吃了好幾張罰單了, 你平時(shí)很少用車,為什么不把它賣掉呢?
LL: Hmm... I like the freedom of having a car, but owning one is pretty expensive in this city. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and sell my car.
LH: 有車是方便, 可是要交停車費(fèi)、保險(xiǎn)費(fèi),車壞了還要修理費(fèi)。 你知道嗎?Ben最近把他的車賣掉了。
LL: Really? You know what else Ben did recently? He finally bit the bullet and asked his girlfriend to marry him! She said yes!
LH: 真的呀?那就是說(shuō)Ben和他的女朋友要結(jié)婚了。這是好事啊, 可你為什么你說(shuō)He bit the bullet? 為什么要硬著頭皮求婚呢?
LL: No! It's just that a making a marriage proposal takes courage sometimes. I'm sure Ben was nervous. That's why I say he had to bite the bullet.
LH: 那倒是。求婚是要有勇氣的,特別是對(duì)Ben這么內(nèi)向的人來(lái)說(shuō)。
******
(Sounds of indoor court basketball)
LH: Hey, Larry! 沒(méi)想到你還會(huì)打籃球。
LL: Hey! I've been a part of this recreational league here at the gym for a few months. Years ago I played in high school, but I was just a benchwarmer, really.
LH: 你參加這體育館的球隊(duì)已經(jīng)好幾個(gè)月了? 我怎么不知道呀? 你說(shuō)你在中學(xué)時(shí)只是個(gè)benchwarmer,那是什么位置呀?我只知道有前鋒,中鋒和后衛(wèi)。
LL: (Chuckles) It's not really a position, Li Hua. A benchwarmer is a reserve player on a team. They aren't as good as the starting players, so they have to sit on the bench and wait.
LH: 原來(lái)benchwarmer就是我們中國(guó)人常說(shuō)的板凳隊(duì)員。 因?yàn)樗麄兊募夹g(shù)比較差,入場(chǎng)打球的機(jī)會(huì)比較少,老坐在板凳上等教練的命令,把板凳都坐暖了。Benchwarmer,這很有意思。
LL: Yeah, well, being a benchwarmer on my high school basketball team was not funny, for me at least. That's why I quit the team after one season.
LH: 這我完全理解。 我以前在大學(xué)也參加過(guò)藍(lán)球隊(duì), 也是老坐板凳,所以不久就退出了。
LL: That's too bad! If I was forced to be a benchwarmer on this team, I'd probably quit too. It's not worth my time if I can't play.
LH: 光坐在那里看而沒(méi)機(jī)會(huì)打球的確不值得。 Larry,你現(xiàn)在差不多每場(chǎng)比賽都參加,球技一定很棒噢。
LL: Heh, not really, this team only has seven players, and everyone always gets a chance to play. No one has to be a benchwarmer on this team.
LH: 你們只有七名隊(duì)員,那是沒(méi)有人坐板凳了。我也想打籃球,不過(guò)我誰(shuí)都不認(rèn)識(shí),不知道怎么報(bào)名。
LL: Oh, what are you worried about, Li Hua. Just bite the bullet and ask someone about joining!
LH: 好吧,我明天就去問(wèn)問(wèn)。
今天李華學(xué)到了兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)。一個(gè)是bite the bullet, 意思是硬著頭皮、鼓起勇氣去做不想作或是很難做的事。還有一個(gè)是benchwarmer, 意思是指球隊(duì)的后備隊(duì)員。他們老是坐在板凳上,打球的機(jī)會(huì)不多。