流行美语 第 36 课

Michael 和李华好几天没见了，今天刚好在校园里碰到，两个人就聊起来了。李华
会学到两个常用语：to chip in 和snail¹ mail。

L: 嗨，Michael，Bob 明天开生日party，你去吗？
M: Yes, I'm going with a few friends. We decided² to chip in and buy him a leather
jacket. He's been talking about buying a jacket for a long time.
L: 你要和几个朋友一起去参加 party，还要给他买一件皮夹克。可是皮夹克很贵，
你们是不是准备大家凑钱给他买？你刚才说chip in 是不是就是这个意思呀？
M: That's right. To chip in, means³ to each contribute⁴ money to buy something.
L: 那就是我们中国人说的凑钱买东西。
M: Usually you say "chip in" if each person in a group of people gives some money to
buy someone a present.
L: 要是每个人都出一些钱给谁买个礼物，人们一般就会说to chip in。
M: To give you another example, my mother said her colleagues⁵ always chip in to buy
gifts to celebrate someone's birthday or when someone has a new baby.
L: 你妈妈的同事往往会凑钱买礼物给过生日的同事，或者给刚生孩子的同事。这
跟上面你说的几个朋友凑钱给Bob 买皮夹克差不多。To chip in 还可以用在其它什
么场合吗？
M: You can also use "to chip in" if you are going out with a group of people for dinner
or a drink.
L: 噢，几个朋友一起出去吃饭，喝酒，每个人出一些钱来付帐也可以说是chip in。
M: Yes, the guys and I usually each chip in a few dollars when we go out for pizza on
Friday nights。Last week, I paid 10 dollars, Bob chipped in $4, John gave $2. There is
one guy who never chips in. He's cheap. It really makes me mad.
L: 等等，上星期五你们几个人出去吃比萨饼，你付了十美元，Bob 出了四美元，
John 出了两美元。还有一个小气鬼，从来不出钱。他真好意思！Why don't you ditch
him, 甩了他不得了！
M: Oh, we've been friends for many years, and it's only a few bucks⁶!
L: 哟，既然朋友多年，也就几块钱的事，你不愿意甩了他，那你就别生气啊！
Michael, 你手里拿的是什么？好象是信吧！现在还有人写信呀？
M: I got two letters today from a couple of old friends! I hardly ever get snail mail
anymore.
L: 你收到两个老朋友给你的来信。你说什么？Snail mail, snail 不就是蜗牛吗？
mail 就是信。信和蜗牛又有什么关系呀？
M: "Snail" is an animal known⁷ for its slow movement. "Snail mail" means real letters
that you get in your mailbox.
L: 噢，我知道了。蜗牛走的很慢，所以snail mail 就是指通过邮局寄的信。以前
怎么没有听说snail mail 这个说法呢？
M: Well, ever since e-mail became popular, people have used "snail mail" to talk about
paper mail, because it is slower than e-mail.
L: 对，邮局寄的信和电子邮件相比真是要慢多了。叫它"蜗牛信"倒也挺形象的。
M: Yes, everyone is so busy nowadays, no one seems to have time to write snail mail
anymore.
L: 你说得一点不错。大家都很忙，没有多少人还会坐在那儿写信。邮局里送来的
邮件不是账单，就是广告。这些也能叫做snail mail 吗？
M: No, only a letter written to you by a friend or family member can really be called
"snail mail".
L: 噢，人们只有把亲友写的信叫做snail mail。说起写信，我真是应该给我爸爸
妈妈写信了。
M: I'm just too lazy to write snail mail. I think I'll go write some e-mails.
L: 你的亲友都在美国，都有电脑。我的父母在中国，他们还没有电脑，所以，I have
to write snail mails to them。我得走了，下回再聊吧！
M: Okay, bye!

李华今天学到两个常用语，一个是：to chip in，意思是凑钱买什么东西，或者是
凑钱付大家一起吃饭的钱。另一个是：snail mai，这是指通过邮局寄的信。今天的
[流行美语]就学习到这里，我们下次节目再会。

1 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 contribute   

vt.有助于，捐助，投稿；vi.出力，捐献，投稿

参考例句：

• The rich will be asked to contribute money;the strong to contribute labour.有钱出钱，有力出力。
• The three sons also contribute to the family business.这3个儿子也为家族事业做出了贡献。

5 colleagues   

n.同事，同僚( colleague的名词复数 )；同人

参考例句：

• He wanted to confer with his colleagues before reaching a decision. 他想与他的同事先商议一下再作出决定。
• She is held in high esteem by her colleagues. 她深受同事的敬重。

6 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。