332 fish out of water...

李华和Larry因为暴风雪,都不用去上班,俩人商量该干点什么。今天我们要学两个常用语:fish out of water和have a crack at something.

LH: Larry, 下大雪真是太好了,堆雪人、打雪仗比上班好玩多了。

LL: Yeah it's really nice that we don't have to go to work or class. But I am a little worried that I might freeze to death in the snow!

LH: 冻死在雪里?你也太夸张了吧。下雪天儿其实 一点儿都不冷,多穿两件衣服就行了。

LL: Lihua, I'm from the southern United States, where it never snows. I feel like a fish out of water in all this snowy weather.

LH: 你说什么?感觉自己象是a fish out of water? 这是什么意思呢?

LL: When you are in a strange environment, or feel like you are out of place, you can say that you feel like a fish out of water.

LH: 哦,a fish out of water感觉好象离开水的鱼一样不自在,跟周围陌生的环境格格不入。

LL: Exactly! For example, Roger grew up living in the city, so he felt like a fish out of water when his girlfriend took him on a camping trip.

LH: 我刚从中国到美国来读书的时候,那才叫不适应呢!

LL: Right! I bet when you came to America for the first time and were in a totally new environment, you felt like a fish out of water.

LH: 绝对的!不过,我很快就认识了很多象你这样的好朋友, 没过多久就适应了。So I don't feel like a fish out of water anymore.

LL: That's great, Lihua! You know, I felt that way too when I visited New York. I grew up in a small town, so I really felt like a fish out of water in the big city.

LH: 不提过去那些事儿了,快穿上衣服,我们出去玩雪!

LL: Ok, Lihua. If I freeze to death, will you tell my parents that I love them?

LH: 好了,Larry, 别闹了。在雪地里玩儿一会儿是死不了人的!

******

LH: Larry, 你想先玩什么?是堆雪人还是滑雪橇?

LL: I've got a great idea! Let's build an army of snowmen. We will make a snow version of the Terra Cotta Warriors!

LH: 兵马俑?Larry, 你知道兵马俑一共有多少个吗?我们还没堆完,雪就化光了。

LL: Come on, we'll never know for sure unless we try! Let's have a crack at it.

LH: Have a crack at it? 这是什么意思啊?

LL: When you try to do something that is not very likely to succeed, you can say that you "have a crack at it." Crack is spelled c-r-a-c-k.

LH: 你是说,明知不太可能用雪堆出兵马俑来,你还是想试试看, to have a crack at it?

LL: Right! Or for example, even though I knew it was unlikely that I would win American Idol, I decided to have a crack at it anyway and try out for it.

LH: 慢着慢着,你去参加美国偶像的选秀了?我怎么不知道。Larry, 我了解你唱歌的水平,你当选美国偶像的机会,恐怕还不如我们用雪堆出个兵马俑来的机会大呢!

LL: Don't worry, even though I might not have a great voice, I can make up for it with my hot dance moves.

LH: 你的热舞?那就更可怕了。不过言归正传,Larry, 我以前听人说过"take a stab at something"这跟have a crack at something是一个意思吗?

LL: Yes. They mean the same thing.

LH: 那你能不能给我举个不会让我做恶梦的例子?

LL: Sure. My math teacher gave the class a really hard problem to do. Even though he knew we probably wouldn't be able to do it, he told us to take a stab at it anyway.

LH: 这位数学老师真够损的,明知学生做不出来,还要他们去试。那我可以说,明知教你跳舞是浪费时间,可我还是决定要take a stab at it?

LL: Very funny. Now come on, let's start making these snowmen!

LH: Larry, 你还是自己堆吧,我要去那边山坡上滑雪了。

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是fish out of water, 意思是在陌生的环境里觉得格格不入,不自在。另一个是have a crack at something, 或是 take a stab at something, 意思是明明知道可能不会成功,可还是要去尝试一下。