李华和Larry星期六早上一起去吃午饭。今天我们要学两个常用语：get a leg up on和crush.
LH: Larry, 一星期没见，你最近是不是特别忙？
LL: Hi Li Hua. It has been a busy week.
LH: 下星期是不是就没事了？你陪我去看Disney On Ice冰上迪斯尼怎么样？
LL: Unfortunately I think next week might be even busier. We are bidding against our top competitor for a huge advertising contract, so everybody is going to have to work especially hard to win it.
LH: 那家公司不是特别厉害吗？不过没关系，我相信，你们公司一定能赢。
LL: Yes, although they have a lot of talent, I think we'll be able to get a leg up on the competition.
LH: A leg up一条腿在上？这是什么意思？
LL: Haha...A leg up on the competition means that we have an advantage over them.
LH: 噢，a leg up就是具有优势。
LL: Yes exactly. Because we have got a leg up on our competitors, I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to win the contract.
LH: 这份合同是做什么的？
LL: It's a contract to advertise soda.
LH: 你为什么觉得自己have a leg up on the competition比对手有优势呢？
LL: Although the other company has worked with them in the past, their last ad campaign was not so successful. We on the other hand have been very successful with similar products, so I think we have got a leg up on them.
LH: 那太好了。
LL: It is VERY good, especially because if we win this contract, we might all be able to get a bonus this year.
LH: 拿到合同就发奖金？那你们还不得使出吃奶的劲儿来。
LL: What's new with you Li Hua?
LH: 好消息，我们排球队刚刚杀进小组前四名，下一场比赛是这星期五晚上。你一定要来。虽然对手很厉害，可我们还是有优势。We have a leg up on them.
LL: Why do you say that Li Hua?
LH: 虽然他们球员的个人技术都不错，但整体配合不如我们有默契。
LH: That's great. What time is the game?
LL: 星期五晚上七点一刻。
******
星期五晚上，Larry来看李华比赛。
(Whistle Sound)
LL: Congratulations!
LH: Hooray! We won!
LL: Won? You crushed them!
LH: Eh? crushed them? 那是什么意思？
LL: Crushed them, it means you beat them severely.
LH: 你是说我们狠狠地打败了他们。太夸张了，比分还是挺接近的。
LL: I don't know, Li Hua, your team was clearly on top. I'd say you crushed them.
LH: 你别忘了，刚开始的时候，她们可是一路领先，I thought they would really crush us.
LL: Well it certainly seems like you were able to come back from behind then for the victory.
LH: 是啊，她们耐力不够，比赛一开始劲头十足，可没多久主力队员就累得不行了。
LL: I guess that is when you were really able to start crushing them.
LH: 是啊，我们今天超水平发挥。
LL: It was a really good game to watch. You were on fire out there.
LH: 我的表现只能说一般，还是大家的功劳。对了，你最近忙吗？
LL: Have I ever! You remember that account I told you about? The ad campaign that we were competing for?
LH: 当然记得，结果怎么样，合同拿到手了吗？
LL: We got the contract! We crushed our competitors and now we'll be in charge of this huge new account.
LH: 太棒了，I'm glad to hear that you crushed them.
LL: We were able to show our past successes, and our rates were much lower than their old company. We really crushed them.
LH: 这个合同由谁来负责呢？
LL: Well the boss is still trying to decide who to put in charge of the project, but I am hoping it will be me.
LH: 那你是不是会忙上加忙呢？
LL: It will mean a bit more responsibility, but no real change in the hours.
LH: 我们得好好庆祝一下。去吃饭？
LL: Sounds good to me!
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是get a leg up on, 意思是占据优势。另一个是crush, 意思是彻底打败。