美国之音《流行美语》 394 zone out...

 　　Larry和李华明天要考试，今天一起复习，但李华一直没法专心。她今天会学到两个常用语：zone out和now you're cooking with gas。

　　LL: So Reaganomics were the economic policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan - Li Hua? Are you listening?

　　LH: (Pause) 嗯？发生什么事了？

　　LL: Li Hua! How can you zone out when your final is tomorrow?

　　LH: Zone out? 你在说什么啊, Larry?

　　LL: To zone out means to lose concentration and to not notice what's happening around you.

　　LH: 喔，你是说我分心吗？

　　LL: Yes. A 'zone' is an area. If you 'zone out', you mentally drift away from the place you are currently¹ at, and go off into empty, dreamy space.

　　LH: 所以zone是指一个区域, zone out就是走神。

　　LL: Yup. So stop zoning out! We still have a lot of studying to do!

　　LH: 好吧。那你告诉我，什么是supply-side economics²？

　　LL: Supply-side economics argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services (supply) -

　　LH: 比如说降低所得税。

　　LL: Hey! Now you're cooking with gas!

　　LH: Cooking - cooking with what?

　　LL: Now you're cooking with gas! It means now you understand what I'm talking about.

　　LH: 啊, now you're cooking with gas是指我终于跟上了，了解你在说什么。是啊，我还是懂一点点的。不过now you're cooking with gas和了解一件事情怎么能扯得上关系呢？

　　LL: This comes with a little bit of history. In the 1930's cooking became more convenient as the kitchen evolved from the old coal/wood range into the wood/gas combination. So when we say 'now you're cooking with gas, it means you've crossed the barrier and progressed!

　　LH: 真有意思。原来是1930年代煮饭从依靠炭和木头进化成依靠天然气，生活方便了许多，所以说now you're cooking with gas就代表我进步了。

　　LL: Yes, that is correct. Wow you're really cooking with gas now! Learning so fast.

　　LH: 没错。我现在精神好多了。还是学习英文俚语比较有趣。

　　LL: But we have to keep going with Economics, or else we're both going to fail the exam tomorrow.

　　LH: 是啊。But if we keep talking about boring Economics, I'm going to zone out again!

　　LL: Hmm what should we do then...

　　LH: 要不这样！你先教我zone out和now you're cooking with gas的用法，让我变得有精神之后，我们再继续看经济学，怎么样？

　　LL: I guess that could work. Hmm....you seem to be able to use these two phrases already. Do you have any questions?

　　LH: 当然有。如果分心是zone out, 那很专注的时候就是I'm really zoned³ in, right?

　　LL: That's interesting. But no one says it that way. A lot of phrases are only used in one direction. Therefore, you can only say zone out, but there is no such thing as zone in.

　　LH: 啊，原来如此。分心是zone out, 但注意力集中时不能反过来说zone in.

　　LL: Right. What about "now you're cooking with gas?" Can you give me an example using that phrase?

　　LH: Even though I was zoning out at the beginning of this review session, I began to cook with gas.

　　LL: Hmm. The phrase 'now you're cooking with gas' is usually used together as one, so no words are changed. Therefore, we don't say that someone begins to cook with gas.

　　LH: 好麻烦。所以说，Now you're cooking with gas. 得要整句一字不露地用。通常是一个人对另一个人说，Now you're cooking with gas. 而不是用来形容第三者的。

　　LL: That's right. Now you're really cooking with gas! Do you think we can go back to Economics?

　　LH: 啊！我要回家了。今晚是美国偶像American Idol⁴的决赛。拜拜！

　　LL: Wait! Li Hua!

　　今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是zone out, 是走神，发呆的意思。另一个是now you're cooking with gas. 指一个人开始进入情况了。

1 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

2 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

3 zoned   

adj.划成区域的，束带的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的现在分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• This small town has been zoned as a shopping area. 这个小镇已划作商业区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They zoned the house into sleeping, sitting and dining rooms. 他们将房子区分成卧室、客厅和餐厅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。