343 right up one's alley...

李华和Larry到夏威夷渡假,假期结束后,坐飞机回家。今天我们要学两个常用语: right up one's alley和out of the question。

LH: Larry, 我这次玩儿的真高兴! 躺在沙滩上,懒洋洋地晒太阳,这种日子我永远也过不厌。

L: Yeah, I had a great time too. I love relaxing vacations on the beach, and eating fresh seafood every night for dinner makes it even better.

LH: 不过Larry, 虽然夏威夷的风光很美,但我也喜欢去一些有人文特色的地方,比如逛逛博物馆,看看历史风情。

L: Well then, for our next vacation we can go to Paris! It sounds right up your alley.

LH: Paris sounds right up my alley? 你这话是什么意思啊?

L: You can say that something is right up your alley if it is perfectly suited to you.

LH: 哦,right up one's alley, 就是指正合某人的口味。 你是说,巴黎是艺术、文化、还有历史之都,所以去巴黎旅行一定特别符合我的兴趣。

L: Right! Here is another example. Roger loves to argue all the time, so I think a career as a lawyer would be right up his alley.

LH: 可不,对于那些喜欢争辩的人来说,当律师最适合,如果做顾客服务,得天天跟人吵架。对了,Larry, 咱们这趟班机上会播什么电影啊?我爱看喜剧。

L: They're going to play the new Jim Carrey movie, so I think that should be right up your alley.

LH: 要播Jim Carey的喜剧,太好了,正合我意!

L: I'm not really interested in watching a movie right now. I think reading a book might be more up my alley.

LH: 你想看书?那我就自己看电影吧!对了,待会儿空姐过来你帮我拿副耳机。

L: Sure, but you know you have to pay for them.

LH: 耳机还要钱? 下次旅游,我不坐飞机了!

L: Well then, it sounds like the train might be right up your alley.

******

LH: Larry, 我觉得好难受啊,飞机的座椅怎么这么窄,坐得真不舒服! 唉,航空公司的服务越来越差了!

L: You're right, the airlines have really been reducing the quality of service to save money.

LH: 是啊。现在飞机上的吃的和饮料都要钱,托运行李也要钱,不知道以后会不会连随身行李都要交钱。

L: That would have sounded crazy a few years ago, but today it's not out of the question.

LH: Out of the question? 这是什么意思?

L: When you think that something is totally impossible, you can say that it is out of the question.

LH: 哦,out of the question, 就是绝不可能。 你是说,放在几年前,没人会想到随身行李也可能收钱,可是现在,这已经不是不可能的事儿了。

L: That's exactly right, how about the time my friend Amy asked to borrow my new car. But since she got in three accidents in the past month, I told her it was out of the question.

LH: 哦,因为Amy开车老出事,所以你绝不会把自己的车借给她开。

L: Exactly.

LH: 这倒让我想起来,你什么时候把你那辆破车扔了,换辆新车开开啊?你那旧车说不定那天在路上开着一半就散架了。

L: Well, I just spent all my money on this Hawaii vacation, so buying a new car is out of the question for right now.

LH: 这样的话,你不如骑车上班。省钱,还能锻练身体。

L: I don't think so. My office is really far away, so biking there every day is out of the question.

LH: 哦,对啊,你公司离家太远了,骑车要累死了。你想过换工作么?找个离家近的。

L: I have, but the company I work at now is pretty good.

LH: 可是,如果能找一个又好又离家近的工作,不是更好么?

L: Well I guess you're right. It's not totally out of the question.

LH: 啊,不知不觉,已经飞过一大半的旅程了。你说这趟飞机能准点抵达,而且不弄丢乘客的行李么?

L: Now that, Lihua, is totally out of the question!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是 right up one's alley, 表示正合某人的口味。另一个是out of the question, 意思是绝不可能。