239 hand-me-down; hands down



Larry和李华一起去购物。Larry准备去参加朋友的婚礼,可是原来的西装太旧了,所以需要买一套新西装。李华今天要学两个常用语hand-me-down和hands down。

LL: Hey Li Hua, I need your help with something. I want to go to the mall and buy a new suit to wear for my friend Jack's wedding.

LH: 要我帮你购物?这可是我的专长。你想买什么牌子的西装?是Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, 还是Dolce & Gabbana?

LL: Wo! Wo! Don't overwhelm me already. Any department store will do. All I need to do is find something to replace this old hand-me-down suit that I always wear.

LH: 什么?你这套旧西装是什么质地的?Hand-me-down? 我怎么没听说过这种西装布料呀?

LL: No. Hand-me-down is an expression. It refers to something that is given to you because someone else does not want it any more. My father gave me the suit that I wear now because he could not wear it any longer.

LH: 噢,我明白了,hand-me-down是说从别人那儿捡来的旧东西,是别人不要的东西。你现在这套西装原来是你老爸穿不了给你的,怪不得看起来不太合身,而且还有些旧旧的。要这么说的话,我的鞋也是hand-me-down。

LL: What? Your wingtip dress shoes?

LH: 就是啊,这双鞋其实是我的好朋友Jane不要了给我的。她还告诉我说,她的另外两个朋友Sarah和Lily也都穿过这双鞋。

LL: Wow! Now that's a hand-me-down. How have those shoes lasted so long?

LH: 这种鞋之所以结实,是因为鞋底可以换新的,我已经换过两次了。对了,你老爸有没有给你什么hand-me-down的鞋,让你穿着去参加Jack的婚礼啊?

LL: No, unfortunately, my big feet won't fit into his hand-me-down shoes.

LH: 你的脚确实不小。那就走吧,大脚,我们买东西去。

******

[Li Hua and Larry arrived at store]

LH: Larry,你有三种选择,这种黑色或是棕色的单排扣两件套西装,还有就是这件灰色的双排扣西装,你更喜欢哪个?

LL: I think the gray double-breasted suit is better looking than any of the others, hands down. And it makes me look pretty sophisticated.

LH: 这件灰西装看上去确实不错,穿在你身上也挺精神的,但是你刚才说的hands down是什么意思呀?

LL: Oh. hands down is an expression that means that something is easily better than something else; that a comparison or competition between two things is uncontested.

LH: 噢, 我明白了。你是说这件灰色西装比其它的都强得多,根本没有好比较的。你说的不错,那套棕色的好像有点儿容易皱,黑色的看起来又太一般了。这件灰色的样子确实不错。

LL: Yeah, and it costs half as much as the others. You know Li Hua, I would never have found this suit at such a good price without your help. Hands down, you are a much better shopper than I am.

LH: 而且价钱也不贵,算是让你赶上了。你也知道,我这人就是喜欢逛街。下次你要买什么东西,可以再找我。我们俩儿也算是各有所长,谁都知道,要打篮球,我绝不是你的对手,可是,hands down,毫无疑问。

LL: Yeah you're right about that. Let's go to the check-out counter and pay for this suit so I can finally get rid of my old hand-me-down suit.

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是hand-me-down, 意思是别人用过的旧东西。还有一个是hands down,意思是毫无疑问。
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