夏天到了,酷暑難當(dāng),李華和Larry一起去游泳。 今天我們要學(xué)兩個(gè)常用語:few and far between和take the plunge.
LH: Larry, 這幾天怎么這么熱??! 每天都有快40度!
L: I know! I have my air conditioner turned all the way to full power, and my apartment still feels really hot.
LH: 華盛頓每年夏天都這么熱。
L: Even though summers in Washington DC can be hot, summers that are this hot are few and far between.
LH: 你說這么熱的夏天是few and far between? 這是什么意思?
L: Something that is few and far between is very rare.
LH: 哦, few and far between就是很少見的意思。你是說,雖然華盛頓的夏天比較熱,但像今年這么熱的還是很少見的。
L: Right! Here is another example. Hurricane Katrina caused a lot of terrible damage in Louisiana. Luckily, hurricanes that big are few and far between.
LH: 對(duì),像卡特里娜那種威力的颶風(fēng)也是很少見的。Larry, 你看天氣預(yù)報(bào)了么?不知道什么時(shí)候會(huì)下雨,能涼快涼快?
L: Not any time soon.. we can have a nice day having fun swimming. I've been so busy lately that my chances to relax have been few and far between.
LH: 是啊,你最近好像特別忙。怎么那么多工作???
L: Well there is a promotion opportunity for a great job at my company. Chances like this are few and far between, so I'm working really hard to get it.
LH: 現(xiàn)在經(jīng)濟(jì)不好,能有升職的機(jī)會(huì)的確不容易,你要好好爭?。〔贿^今天我們還是在游泳池里好好輕松一下吧! 咱們?nèi)ツ膫€(gè)泳池?
L: We're not going to the pool. My friend Andy is taking us out to swim in the ocean on his boat!
LH: ???你朋友Andy有船?這么有錢的朋友我怎么一個(gè)都沒有!
L: Well that's true, friends with boats are few and far between, so you have to be careful to maintain the friendship.
LH: Larry, 你不會(huì)是因?yàn)锳ndy有錢才跟他當(dāng)朋友的吧?
L: Of course not! But you know, Lihua, in heat like this, some friends might be more important than others.
******
Larry和李華上了Andy的船,準(zhǔn)備在海中暢游一番。
LH: Larry, 在游泳之前,我得問問你,這海里到底有沒有鯊魚???
L: Hmmm ... probably. But to be honest, right now I am more afraid of the sun than I am of any sharks.
LH: 你不在乎,我可在乎! 我不想成為鯊魚的下午茶!
L: Lihua, I understand that you are a little nervous. But sometimes you just have to take the plunge.
LH: Take the plunge? Plunge,不是往下跳的意思么?你是說,讓我不管三七二十一,跳進(jìn)海里就好了?
L: Right! But you know, you can also say that you "take the plunge" any time you do something risky or scary.
LH: 哦,take the plunge就是冒險(xiǎn)一試。你是說,雖然我有些害怕,但還是應(yīng)該果斷地下水?
L: Right! For example, Anthony was really nervous about quitting his job and switching careers, but eventually he decided to take the plunge.
LH: 哦,Anthony在辭職和改行的問題上一直挺猶豫的,但最后他還是決定冒險(xiǎn)一試。這么說起來,我也有類似的經(jīng)歷,我來美國留學(xué)就是這樣的!
L: Exactly! I bet it was a big decision to leave China and come to America, but you decided to take the plunge. Aren't you happy you did?
LH: 哈,那可不好說,如果下面有鯊魚,我被吃了,那我來美國的決定可就是大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)了!
L: Trust me, Lihua. The sharks out here are few and far between. And even if there are any around, I don't think sharks like Chinese food.
LH: 哦?你說鯊魚不愛吃中餐?不如這樣吧,Larry,你先跳下去,咱們看看鯊魚是不是比較愛吃美國飯!
L: Well, let's find out! This sun is so hot that I'm willing to take the plunge. Are you ready, Lihua?
LH: 好吧! 大海,我來啦!
今天李華學(xué)了兩個(gè)常用語。一個(gè)是few and far between, 表示很少見。另一是take the plunge, 意思是冒險(xiǎn)嘗試。