【大紀元1月15日訊】
今天Larry和李華在學校的書店裡買書。李華會學到兩個常用語﹕racket和That does it!
(Bookstore SFX)
LH: Hey, Larry, 你不是想買下學期的課本嗎﹖那還不趁我們在書店趕緊買了﹖
LL: I want to buy them, but these prices are ridiculous! The textbook business is such a racket!
LH: 你想買書﹐可是又嫌這些書太貴呀﹖你還說出版課本的行業怎麼啦﹖什麼是a racket?
LL: That’s right. I said the textbook business is a racket. A “racket” is an unfair criminal business that makes lots of money, like gambling or extortion.
LH: Oh, racket這個詞在這裡的意思是“牟取暴利”﹐就好比賭博和詐騙一樣的非法行為。Larry﹐你的意思是這些課本定價過高﹐就象是在敲詐勒索﹐有那麼嚴重嗎﹖
LL: Absolutely! Look at this! This history book costs $90! The publishers know we have no choice but to buy the book, so the prices are really high. What a racket!
LH: 哎喲﹐還真是的。這本歷史書要賣九十美元﹐是夠貴的。那些出版商明明知道我們沒別的辦法﹐只能買這些書﹐所以把價錢定這麼高。這真是像敲詐勒索。那Larry, 你覺得還有什麼是racket呢﹖
LL: I think that cable TV is a racket. There’s only one company in town; they are always raising prices, and all the channels worth watching cost extra. It’s a racket!
LH: 對呀﹐我們這兒只有一家提供有線電視的公司。他們老是漲價。可是Larry, 看不看電視問題不大。你知道嗎 – 有的醫院還趁人之危﹐敲詐勒索孕婦呢﹗
LL: Really? What do you mean exactly?
LH: 比方說﹐我聽說有的醫院讓孕婦做一些不必要的檢查﹐收的錢還非常多﹐那些孕婦不懂﹐只能聽醫生的。這真是和詐騙一樣。
LL: Wow, now that’s a real racket.
******
LL: Oh man, look at this! $85 for a book of old essays on U.S. Politics? That does it! I’m buying my textbooks online.
LH: 這本美國政治論文集要賣85美元﹖你說 – “That does it”? 這是什麼意思﹖
LL: Well, when someone says “That does it”, he means that he is so upset that he is no longer willing to accept something.
LH: 噢﹐”That does it”就是一個人對某件事非常生氣﹐以致到了寧可放棄的地步。 哎﹐那不就相當于中文所說的“得了﹐算了吧”﹖Larry, 你是說這些課本要價太高﹐所以你干脆不在這兒買﹐到因特網上去買了﹖
LL: That’s right! If a situation gets so bad that you cannot stand it, you can yell “that does it!”, and then do something about the problem.
LH: Hmm… 要是你實在覺得忍無可忍﹐你就可以大聲說﹕That does it!哎﹐Larry, 我好像明白這個用法了﹐可是你能不能再給我舉個例子呢﹖
LL: Well, for example, if an employee always comes to work late, one day the boss might say “You’re late again? That does it! You’re fired!”
LH: Ah. 這正是我對我表妹說的話。她每天上班都遲到。我對她說總有一天他老闆會覺得忍無可忍。你的老闆會說﹕“得了﹐你今後別來上班了。”原來在英文裡就可以說﹕”That does it! You’re fired!”
LL: Now you know how to use “That does it!” Why don’t you give me an example.
LH: 有了﹐Larry﹐有一天你會在照鏡子的時候對自己說﹐ “That does it! 我一定要減肥了﹗”
LL: (Angry) That does it, Li Hua! I told you to stop making fun of my weight.
LH: Hey! 別生氣﹐Larry! 我是跟你開玩笑呢﹗而且我發現你最近好像瘦了。你是不是在吃什麼減肥食品啊﹖
LL: A special diet? No way! All those diet books and special foods are a racket. I just decided to exercise regularly and eat less junk food.
LH: 這話我同意﹐那些減肥書和減肥食品都很貴﹐主要是為了騙錢﹐其實最重要的是鍛煉身體﹐少吃零食。Good for you, Larry!
今天李華從Larry那兒學到了兩個常用語。一個是racket, 意思是價格太高﹐就象敲詐勒索一樣。另一個常用語是That does it! 中文裡可以說“得了﹐不幹了﹗”
(轉載自美國之音)
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