流行美语 (Popular American) 303

李华陪Larry去买车。今天我们要学两个常用语： caught dead和deal breaker.

LL: Thanks for helping¹ me shop for a car, Lihua. It's always good to have advice from someone you trust when making a big purchase.

LH: 别客气。你昨天上网给我看了你要买的车，我就知道你需要有人给你出谋划策。

LL: You didn't like the pictures? I think that bright purple pickup² truck would have been great!

LH: 那辆皮卡是不错，可你要开亮紫色的车，先得换个女朋友才行。

LL: What do you mean? You wouldn't be caught dead riding in a purple pickup truck?

LH: Caught dead? 我的意思是说那辆车颜色太丑，难道安全也有问题吗？

LL: Actually, no. When you say you wouldn't be "caught dead" doing something, it means that you would never do it, because it would be really embarrassing if someone saw you.

LH: 没错，我绝不会坐那么难看的车。I wouldn't be caught dead riding in a purple pickup truck. 要是让别人看见，那我可真是没脸见人了。

LL: Oh come on...I do lots of things with you that normally I wouldn't be caught dead doing for you.

LH: Oh yeah? Like what?

LL: Well normally I wouldn't be caught dead singing in public, but last weekend I agreed to go to the karaoke bar with you.

LH: 别装了，我从来没见有人唱Ricky Martin的歌唱得那么投入的。

LL: Alright, maybe I enjoyed it a little bit. But don't tell anyone. I wouldn't be caught dead doing that in front of my male friends.

LH: 言归正传，你不如买辆双人自行车，咱俩可以一起骑？

LL: Are you kidding? Two-person bikes are so lame³. I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those.

LH: 你什么时候变得这么没情趣了！不想唱卡拉OK，不想骑自行车...you know, normally I wouldn't be caught dead with such a boring guy. 我一般情况下是绝不会跟这么乏味的男孩子交往的。

LL: Are you kidding? Nobody who has a purple pickup truck can be considered boring.

******

LH: Larry, 你觉得这辆车怎么样，又省油，又安全。

LL: Yeah, but just look at how boring it is. It's plain white, and it's not a convertible⁴.

LH: 买车可是件大事，你不能光看车的外表，还得考虑实用性。

LL: Yeah, but look. It doesn't even have a sunroof. I would still buy it even though it's not bright purple, but I'm afraid the sunroof is a deal breaker.

LH: 什么是deal breaker?

LL: A deal breaker is a critical condition that must be met in order for you to do something.

LH: 你的意思是，不是敞篷车没关系，不是亮紫色也没关系，这些都可以凑合，但是如果没有天窗，那就绝对没商量喽？

LL: That's right. Or say you were thinking of dating a guy. He might be really nice, good looking and funny, but if he lived with his parents, that would probably be a deal breaker.

LH: 在中国，男朋友跟父母住在一起是很常见的。这我可以接受，但是如果他开的是一辆亮紫色的汽车，那干脆免谈。That would definitely be a deal breaker.

LL: Really? Well in my case, I'm afraid a poor taste in cars would definitely be a deal breaker for me.

LH: 你生气了？我是开玩笑的。虽然我不愿意坐紫颜色的车，但你自己开，我还是没意见的。

LL: Well that's good. I need a car that can fully⁵ express my individuality. I wouldn't be caught dead in one of these boring, ordinary cars.

LH: 你如果真的这么喜欢紫色的话，那就买，我支持你。

LL: You know what Lihua, I think you're right.

LH: 不过你可想好了，一定要能负担得起保修费用才行。

LL: If it breaks down, I will just live in the back. That's how much I love that purple truck.

LH: 好，那咱们可得讲清楚，我的男朋友可以住在父母家，但绝不能睡在车里。That is definitely a deal breaker!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是caught dead意思是打死也不愿意。另一个是deal breaker，意思是不能通融的条件。
 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

3 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

4 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。