105 push one's luck; crackpot



Larry和李华正在课间休息的时候聊天,李华会学到两个常用语:to push one's luck和crackpot。

LH: Larry, 我已经好久都没有为我的论文做研究了。我想今天不去上Wilkins教授的课而去图书馆。

LL: I dunno, Li Hua. You'll really be pushing your luck if you miss class again.

LH: Pushing-my-luck? Pushing是推的意思,luck是运气,我不懂耶!pushing my luck是什么意思。

LL: I said you will be pushing your luck. "To push your luck" means to take a chance when you've already done something risky.

LH: 噢,pushing-your-luck就是已经做了冒风险的事,可是啊!还想再进一步碰碰运气,是这个意思吗?

LL: That's right. The first two times, the professor didn't give you any trouble. But every time you miss a class, you are taking an even bigger risk. You are pushing your luck.

LH: 对噢,那两次没去上课,教授没说什么。要是我今天再不去上课,万一教授不高兴,我不就麻烦了吗? Larry,你不也是这样吗?你那台车,煞车都坏了,你还到处开,不也是碰运气,希望它不出事吗?

LL: That's right. One day, I was almost in a car wreck, so I decided to stop pushing my luck and have the brakes fixed. I was so stupid.

LH: 我还不知道你差一点出车祸呢!哎呀,你看,你非要push your luck,非要到差一点出车祸的时候才去修车。真危险! Larry,这么说,to push one's luck只能指冒风险,碰运气吗?

LL: Generally yes. But sometimes, if someone keeps asking you for favors, you might tell them "don't push your luck!"

LH: 我最近就碰到这么一个人,我帮了她一点忙,她就没完没了了,要求一个接一个。下回我就可以对她说:Don't push your luck! 对了,Larry,我还真想要你帮个忙,我能再借你的电脑用吗?这不算是push my luck吧?

LL: No, of course not. You're welcome to use my computer.

LH: 谢谢,Larry,你总是那么大方。我今天下午能借你的车吗?

LL: Yeah, OK... I guess...

LH: 那我能不能把你的电脑搬回家用一个礼拜呢?

LL: You're pushing your luck, Li Hua!

LH: 哈哈... 跟你开玩笑嘛!

******

LH: 哎哟,老天爷, Wilkins教授真是怪。他在上课的时候花了最后二十分钟给我们讲他每天吃多少维他命,为什么要吃这些维他命。

LL: What? (laughs) Don't worry about it, Li Hua. Everyone knows Professor Wilkins is a crackpot.

LH: 他是什么?你是说他吸毒吗?

LL: No, of course not... I said that he's a crackpot. A crackpot is a crazy person. Or maybe just someone who holds very strong, crazy opinions and ideas.

LH: 噢,crackpot是一个很怪的人,有稀奇古怪想法的人。嗨,Larry,有名的人是不是也是很怪的?

LL: Let me think... you know, most real crackpots don't become famous. But in his time, a lot of people thought that Christopher Columbus was a crackpot.

LH: 没错,真正怪的人一般是不会成名的。可是哥伦布的情况就不一样了。当时人们认为他很怪,有神经病,因为他说航行可以围绕地球转,但是事实证明他是对的,所以他是聪敏,不能算是crackpot。

LL: I wonder if I or other students should talk to Professor Wilkins, and ask him to not talk about off-topic subjects in class. Would we be pushing our luck?

LH: 你和其他学生去跟Wilkins教授说别在上课时讲那些离题的内容?我想他不会在意的啦!

LL: What if we just told him to stop talking about his crackpot ideas in class.

LH: 你说什么?叫他别在课堂上讲他的那些神神道道的想法!Now that would be pushing your luck!

今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是:to push one's luck。意思是已经做了有点风险的事,还想进一步碰碰运气。李华学到的另一个 常用语是:crackpot。这是指那种想法很奇怪的人。
Related Articles
  1. 104 out of whack; goofy (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  2. 103 clunker; don't sweat it (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  3. 102 hook sb. up; buzz off (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  4. 101 eye candy; bazillion (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  5. 100 blast; lighten up (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  6. 99 sleep in; slacker (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  7. 98 what's her face; thingamajig (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  8. 97 rock; letdown (08/6/15 19:54:24)
  9. 96:pick-me-up; lay off (08/6/15 19:53:12)
  10. 95:jack; kaput (08/6/15 19:53:12)