流行美語 第220課

Larry和李华在谈论他们的朋友Dave。 Dave的老板刚刚给他加了一大笔工资。李华今天要学会两个新的习惯用语，live large和a hoot¹.

LL: It is a good thing that Bob got such a big raise. He likes to live large!

LH: Live是生活，你说live large那是什么意思呀?

LL: By living large, I mean Bob likes to buy expensive things, wear the best clothes, and eat out at fancy² restaurants.

LH: 谁不喜欢那样生活奢侈呀？买贵的东西、穿最好的衣服、下高级饭馆？I like to live large too。

LL: Right. And Bob does live large. The minute after he heard about his new raise, Bob went out and bought a brand new Mercedes.

LH: Wow，他可真够大手大脚的，钱还没拿到手就已经花出去了。 一辆Mercedes至少要几万美金吧。不过，喜欢live large的人还挺多。教我英国文学的史密斯教授最近买了一座豪宅，里面有六个卧室， 四个洗澡间，还有一个马厩。

LL: Wow, maybe someday, I'll be able to live large, too.

LH: 我不知道你， 反正我是没有希望了， 靠教中文这点收入连做梦也不会live large.

LL: I don't earn that much at my job either. I will need more than one big raise to be able to live large. I'll need several raises!

LH: 要加薪好多次才能过上奢适的生活， 那要等到什么时候啊。 不过Larry，过不上那种日子也没关系，我并不羡慕那种生活。

LL: What do you mean? You don't want to live large?

LH: 生活奢适是要付出代价的， 比如，保养和维修奔驰车要花很多钱。 大房子也要费时间打扫。

LL: Those are good points, but it sure is fun to dream about living large.

LH: 过不了那种生活光是梦想有什么好玩的呀！ Larry，如果你有了钱，可以挥霍地生活， 你想作什么呢？

LL: Well, I would first buy my own private jet³.

LH: 买一架私人飞机？ That would be living large.

LL: And then I would fly my jet to my own private island in the Caribbean.

LH: 你还想开着飞机到自己在加勒比海买的一个岛上去！你真是在做梦！

******

LL: I loved your reaction when I told you I wanted to buy my own private island in the Caribbean. It was a hoot!

LH: "A hoot"是猫头鹰的叫声。你说我刚才的反映是猫头鹰的叫声？你这是什么意思呀？

LL: No, that's not what I meant. You looked so amazed⁴ I thought it was really funny. Something that is really funny is a hoot.

LH: 我刚才听你说要买一个私人岛屿是让我非常惊讶！想像你在加勒比海的私人海滩上悠闲地喝着果汁，那情景很可笑的哟。

LL: Say, you know what else was a real hoot? Did you see that show on the comedy channel last night?

LH: 你是指昨天晚上那喜剧节目频道播出的节目吗？我当然看了。

LL: Yes! Wasn't it the funniest thing you have ever seen? I thought it was such a hoot.

LH: 我也觉得很有趣。 有个人模仿总统，模仿的真好笑。 都快把我笑死了。 He was a hoot!

LL: Hey, I hadn't really thought about this before, but doesn't our friend Bob look like the guy who impersonated the president?

LH: 是啊， 模仿总统的人很像我们的朋友Bob 。真有趣 - What a hoot!

LL: Speaking of Bob, did I tell you that he took me out for a drive in his new Mercedes?

LH: Bob开着崭新的奔驰车带你去兜风了？ 下回我也要让他带我去兜风。

LL: Well, you wouldn't believe what happened. We were stopped behind a garbage truck at a stoplight when all of the sudden⁵ the truck dumped⁶ trash into the Mercedes all over me and Bob!

LH: 什么， 垃圾车突然把垃圾倒出来，把你和Bob弄得全身都是垃圾？Larry，那卡车司机把你们当成了垃圾场了。 这真可笑 - It's really a hoot!

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是live large，意思是生活挥霍。还有一个是hoot，意思是可笑、有趣。
 

1 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

2 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

3 jet   

n.喷气发动机，喷气式飞机；v.喷出，喷射

参考例句：

• Put a match to the jet to light the gas.将火柴放在煤气喷嘴上点燃煤气。
• I don't see the jet of your plan.我不明白你的计划的要点。

4 amazed   

adj.吃惊的，惊奇的v.使大为吃惊，使惊奇( amaze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Just the size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。
• I was amazed at her knowledge of French literature. 她的法国文学知识之丰富使我大为惊奇。

5 sudden   

n.突然，忽然；adj.突然的，意外的，快速的

参考例句：

• All of a sudden he turned about and saw me.他突然转过身来看见了我。
• The horse was badly frightened by the sudden noise.那匹马被突然而来的嘈杂声吓坏了。

6 dumped   

adj.废弃的v.倾倒( dump的过去式和过去分词 )；丢下；随便堆放；释放

参考例句：

• Too much toxic waste is being dumped at sea. 太多的有毒废料在向大海里倾倒。
• They dumped his belongings unceremoniously on the floor. 他们粗暴地把他的物品摔到地板上。