流行美语 第 43 课

今天是周末，Michael 和李华去 打台球。李华一边玩一边还学了两个年轻人常用
的词：to rule 和to blow money on something.

L: 哎呀，我不想玩了。我老是输给你，这样玩还有什么意思啊。
M: Hey! You don't need to get angry just because I rule at the pool table!
L: 啊？你在台球桌上做了什么？你是不是耍了什么花招，怕我生气啊？
M: Absolutely not! I said that I rule the pool table. That means¹ that I am the best at
playing pool. I can defeat anyone. Rule, R-U-L-E.
L: 噢，我明白了，rule 在这里指的是你玩台球玩得最棒，可以打败任何人。对不
对，Michael？
M: That's right! I am king of the pool table! I rule!
L: 嘿，你不要那么得意好不好。你忘了那天打乒乓球，你连连败在 我的手下。
你呀，对乒乓球这种体育运动简直是一窍不通。
M: Sport? Ping-pong is not a sport! It's a game! You might rule at that little game. But I
rule at pool, a man's game!
L: 你在瞎说什么啊。我不跟你争了。你还是多给我解释解释 rule 这个词吧。
M: Well, I can say "I rule the pool table"; that means that I dominate² the game. Or I can
say "I rule at" doing something. In either case it means the same thing: I am the best!
L: 好了，好了，就算你是最棒的吧。那 rule 还有什么别的用法呢？
M: Sometimes we just say something or someone rules without adding any other words.
For instance³, I can say "Chinese food rules!", that means I think it is great.
L: 噢，那如果我说：Michael Jordan rules!，就表示我认为他是最棒的篮球运动员，
对不对？
M: That's right. When we say a person rules, that means we think they are the best, or
at least that they are impressive⁴.
L: 哎，Michael，你看那边有个人老往我们这边看，没准他是想和你比赛，怎么
样，敢不敢跟他比？
M: Whatever, I rule the pool table, no matter who I play against!
L: Michael，你打得怎么样，输了还是赢了？
M: Not so well. Say, Li Hua, can I borrow five dollars? I just blew my money on
playing pool with them, and I need to put gas in the car so we can get home.
L: 你说你的钱怎么了？哎呀，你是不是在赌博啊？
M: No, I said I blew my money on pool. That means I spent all of my money very
quickly. Blew, B-L-E-W. It's the past tense for blow.
L: 噢，"blow money on something"就是为了做某件事很快把口袋里 的钱花光了。
M: That's right. Like when we were at the mall the other day, and you blew a whole
week's pay on shoes.
L: 我是花了一星期的工资买鞋，可你不觉得我买的鞋价廉物美，所以不能说我浪
费啊。
M: Well, I guess sometimes it's ok to blow one's money on something useful.
L: 就是嘛。哎，我倒是想起了一个你乱花钱的例子，记不记得你大 学一年级的
时候到赌城拉斯维加斯，blew all of your money on black jack⁵。
M: Ha ha ha....what a wonderful memory. But, I'll never blow all of my money like
that again. I am older and wiser now.
L: 得了吧，你年龄的确是越来越大，可脑筋并没有越来越聪明。要 不然你今天
怎么会玩台球把钱都花光呢？
M: Those guys are good. They play quickly, and they both beat me several times. Also,
we agreed that the loser had to pay for the pool table. So of course I blew all of my
money very quickly.

今天Michael 可是够倒霉的，输了球，还花光了钱；不过李华倒 是收获不小，她
今天学到两个很有用的词，一个是：to rule，是很棒的意思，另一个是：to blow one's
money on something，意思是把钱都浪费在了某样东西上。

1 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。

2 dominate   

v.支配，统治，高出，俯视，在...中占首地位

参考例句：

• They had the ambition to dominate this small country.他们有控制这个小国的野心。
• The strong usually dominate over the weak.强者常常支配弱者。

3 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

4 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。