Larry 在告诉李华关于他们的一个同学最近和女朋友闹别扭的事．今天李华会学到两个常用语： high maintenance 和 dating 101。
LL: You know, Li Hua, I feel bad for Tom. His girlfriend is so high maintenance.
LH: 什么？ High maintenance不就是指一些需要精心维护的机器吗？
LL: Exactly. And in this case, Rachel is very complicated, and Tom needs to put a lot of efforts into maintaining his relationship with her.
LH: 啊～，把 high maintenance 这个说法用在人身上！不过也有道理吔，要是一个人需要 high maintenance，那不就是很难伺候嘛！我和 Rachel 不熟，可是她看起来好像是个很好的人啊！为什么你会认为她很难伺候呢？
LL: Well, she gets upset if Tom doesn't call her every day. If he takes her out to eat, it has to be to a very expensive restaurant or she'll complain. It is hard for Tom to keep her happy.
LH: 真没想到她那么难伺候啊．不每天给她打电话，不去高级餐馆就要生气．听起来倒是和我朋友美玲很像吔．美玲啊也是个需要 high maintenance的人。
LL: Yeah, Meiling is a high maintenance friend. I know she doesn't like it when you spend time with me and not her.
LH: 就是啊．她经常抱怨我花太多时间和你一起．我得经常和她解释我是在跟你学英语，还得跟她道歉．对了， Larry，你觉得我会不会像他们一样很难伺候啊？
LL: Of course not, Li Hua, you are a very relaxed and easy-going person. In fact, as friends go, you are pretty low maintenance.
LH: Low maintenance，你是说，和我交朋友，你不需要为了避免我生气而费尽心思啊．那就好．我可不想变成朋友心目中很难搞的人呢。
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LL: Well, Li Hua, I just talked to Tom. Rachel just broke up with him. It is back to Dating 101 for Tom.
LH: Tom 和 Rachel 分手啦？！你说 Tom 需要上约会 101 的课？我怎么没听说学校有开这门课啊？
LL: Of course the university doesn't offer such a class! But it does offer History 101, English 101, and Chinese 101. They are all basic classes.
LH: 哦～，像历史 101，英语 101 这些啊都是指一些基本课程，所以 dating 101 就是指学习有关约会的一切，就好像他到学校里修一门基础课学习怎么样约会。
LL: Right. And Tom isn't the only one who needs to take Dating 101. I haven't had a date in a long time.
LH: 嘿！ Larry，说到约会啊，你还记得我很喜欢的那个男孩儿，上星期我和他出去了一次．我们去一家气氛还不错的餐厅，可是啊他的话实在不多吔。
LL: Sounds like he needs to enroll in Conversation 101. He should at least be able to keep a conversation going through dinner.
LH: 嗯嘿，没错，看来啊他的确需要修一门对话 101 的课．吔，不过他人是真的很好，就是非常害羞。
LL: Then maybe what he needs is Confidence-Building 101, instead.
LH: Larry，你真有意思吔，居然说他该上一门建立自信的基础课， Confidence-Building101！
LL: And as for you Li Hua, you could use a little Relaxation 101. You are always so worried about your grades.
LH: 没错，我是很担心学习成绩，所以你建议我修一门学会放松的基础课， Relaxation 101．你呀！我看你应该修一门有关整理家务的 101 课，看你的房间乱成那样。
LL: Well, as you probably guessed, I failed Housekeeping 101. Dating 101 is a lot more fun.
今天李华学到了两个常用语．一个是： high maintenance，这是“形容一个人需要别人小心谨慎来对待，否则就会不高兴”，也就是“很难伺候”的意思．另一个常用语是： dating101，这是“指有关约会的最基本知识”。
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