114 cop out; get worked up



李华和Larry在学生中心的咖啡馆里休息。今天李华会学到两个常用语:cop out和to get worked up.

LL: Hey Li Hua. Some friends and I are planning to go camping and hiking next month. Do you want to come along?

LH: 嗯...去露营啊?嗯,下个月我可能会很忙耶!噢!对!那个周末我已经答应帮我邻居照顾他的狗。

LL: What? I didn't even tell you when we're going! Sounds like a cop-out to me!

LH: 对,你还没有告诉我是哪个周末。不过,A cop? cop不是警察吗?我不去露营和警察有什么关系?

LL: No, no, I don't mean "cop" as in "police officer". A cop out, is a weak excuse for not doing something.

LH: 噢,原来cop out是想推脱做某件事,但是理由又很牵强。哎呀,好啦!我招了,我是不喜欢露营!要走那么多路,又会被虫咬,还得睡睡袋,而且我还听说美国有很多熊呢!

LL: Bears? Don't tell me you won't go just because you're afraid of bears. That's an even stupider cop out.

LH: 好啦好啦!跟熊没有关系,我就是懒惰!不喜欢露营嘛!

LL: That's what I thought. Well, it's better to be honest than to cop out. So do you understand what "cop out" means now?

LH: 嗯,我想我大概懂cop out的意思了!给你举个例子吧!我的朋友Jeanna老是说她想学中文,可是当我主动提出要教她时,她又总是说没时间。这就是cop out喽!

LL: Yeah, that sounds like a cop out to me. Most people just aren't willing to put the time and effort into really learning another language.

LH: 说到学外语,Larry,我记得不久前,你也叫我教你读中文报纸,怎么样?你明天有时间吗?

LL: I, um... I think I'm busy tomorrow. The plumber is coming to my house sometime in the afternoon, so I have to wait for him, and...

LH: 得了吧! 什么等工人来修水管?谁会相信这种借口。你这才是真正的cop out!

******

LH: (Growls) 嗨!这些学中文的学生,我真不想教了!怎么考试考得这么糟!我看啊,这学期他们一个也别想拿A!

LL: Calm down, Li Hua. Don't get so worked up over it.

LH: 你要我别work up?你是说我不必那么努力,那什么意思呀?

LL: No, I don't mean you have to work harder. I mean, you shouldn't get worked up. To get worked up means to get angry or excited.

LH: 噢,don't get worked up是别生气的意思!不生气?你看看他们写的中文有难看,而且还老是写错别字。

LL: Let me see those. Hmm... Wow, this isn't bad at all. I can tell they're a lot better than they were a few weeks ago. Don't get so worked up over a few small mistakes!

LH: 你觉得他们比几个星期前进步多了?我看看...嗯,也许你说的对,也许我对他们要求太高了。

LL: That's right. I can tell most of these students want to learn Chinese. If you always get worked up when they make mistakes, you won't notice when they improve.

LH: Larry,你说的对,大多数学生都是真的想学,我不应该看到他们的错误就生气,应该多多鼓励他们。

(Sound of distant argument)

LH: 嘿!Jack和Ben两个人在那儿那么生气吵什么啊?

LL: Oh, nothing. It's election year, and those two are always getting worked up over politics.

LH: 噢,我知道美国人在竞选总统方面意见不一致,但是没有想到有些人会争的面红耳赤。

LL: Yeah, sometimes when you get worked up about something, it shows that you really care about it. Just like you with your students!

LH: 那倒是,关心某件事才会激动,就象我很在乎我学生的成绩。说到学习,Larry你准备好上中文课了吗?

LL: Um... well... OK. No more cop outs. Let's get started.

今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是cop out,意思是用牵强的借口来逃避做某件事。另一个常用语是to get worked up,就是为某件事生气。
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