Desperate Housewives 1《绝望主妇》1（视频精讲七）

影片对白

Tom: Wow, honey, look, this place looks spotless!

Lynette: Thanks.

Tom: Listen, I have come up with this killer¹ idea for the Spotless Scrub campaign.

Lynette: Great! You wanna run it by me?

Tom: No. I'm good. But, thanks.

Lynette: Okay.

Tom: Well, that's the thing. You know how whenever I pitch in the boardroom at work, how Kennesey always tears my ideas down in front of the partners?

Lynette: Yeah?

Tom: I invited the partners and their wives over so I could pitch to them here. And I thought we could make a formal dinner for six. We could sit, we could...

Lynette: And when exactly would this formal dinner take place?

Tom: Uh... day after tomorrow!

Lynette: Tom!

Tom: Yeah, I know, I know, I know, I know I know it's short notice.

Lynette: You think? How am I supposed to pull off a formal dinner with no warning?

Tom: I don't know. Bree Van de Kamp does this kind of thing all the time...

Lynette: What did you say?

Tom: Well, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. That's - you know what, forget it. I'll call and I'll cancel. Don't worry about it.

Lynette: No, no. Let's, let's do it.

Tom: Really?

Lynette: Yeah, it's good for your career. I'll pull it off.

Tom: Yes. Honey, thank you. So much. You know what, I promise. I land this account, and I'm gonna buy you something awful pretty.

Mary Alice Young: Luckily for Tom, Lynette had a recipe for success... unfortunately for her, she was missing the secret ingredient.

Principal Stark³: Mr. and Mrs. Van de Kamp. So, your son decided⁴ to entertain some of his friends yesterday by shoving a freshman's head into a locker⁵.

Bree: This was the Johnson boy?

Principal Stark: Yes. He broke the boy's nose. Because of our no tolerance⁶ policy, your son may face expulsion.

Rex: You're going to ruin his whole future over a little rough housing?

Bree: Rex, this was practically assault.

Rex: Mrs. Stark, what Andrew did was clearly wrong, but in his defense⁷, his mother and I are going through severe marital⁸ problems.

Bree: Is that relevant?

Rex: Our marriage is disintegrating⁹. Of course Andrew is acting¹⁰ out. He has every right to be angry.

Bree: If Andrew is angry about you moving out of the house, then perhaps he should shove your head into a locker!

Rex: All I'm saying, is that we need to take some of the responsibility here.

Bree: So does Andrew! Blaming his actions on our problems...which are not so serious... does not help him.

Rex: Our problems are serious!

Bree: Mrs. Stark, you handle this however you see fit.

Rex: Bree, I've gone to an attorney. You're gonna to be served with divorce papers later today.

Bree: You went to an attorney?

Rex: Yeah! And a good one too!

Bree: Well he better be good, because when I'm finished with you, you won't have a cent to your name!

Rex: Bring it on!

Principal Stark: Perhaps detention¹¹ is the way to go.

Susan: Hey, Edie!

Edie: Wow! Get a load of you! You look so pretty. I hardly recognize you.

Susan: Oh this? Well, I have a date. Right now. With Mike. We kissed. FYI. Ooo, love that jacket. Good choice.

Mike: Um, look, Susan, I'm really sorry, but I've got to cancel. I have an -unexpected house guest.

Kendra: Coming through! Oh, sorry. Hi, I'm Kendra.

Susan: Susan.

Kendra: I'm gonna run to the car and get my stuff.

Mike: I know how this looks, but there is nothing between us. Kendra is just an old friend.

Susan: Old friend?

Mike: Yeah, you know...

Susan: Yeah. Yeah. No, actually no, I don't know. So, by old friend, do you mean college pal², bowling¹² buddy¹³, saved you from drowning?

Mike: It's hard to explain.

Susan: Could you give it a shot?

Kendra: Mike, I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower.

Mike: Look, I promise, I'll make this up to you. And you look... amazing.

Kendra (calling from inside): Mike, where are the towels?

Susan: Thanks.

Edie: Hey, how was your big date?

Susan: Mike had to reschedule.

Edie: Oh. Because of the hot girl? With the suitcase? Over there? Gosh, how devastating¹⁴ for you. FYI.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. pitch in

“To set to work vigorously. 努力/使劲投入工作”。比如：If I really pitch in, I may be able to finish the paper before the deadline. 如果我确实努力工作的话，我应该可以在截止日期前完成论文。

2. tear down

这里的意思是to vilify¹⁵ or denigrate，贬低，诋毁。我们来看个例子：He's always tearing down someone or other. 他总是诋毁别人。

3. short notice

提前很短时间通知某人要做某事，可能来不及准备，这样的通知就叫做 short notice。Short notice 常和on/at连用，意思是“在短时间内”，例如：They told us to be ready to move out on short notice. 他们告诉我们准备好在短时间内搬出去。

4. pull off

“Succeed in something，成功；努力实现；赢得”，例如 pull off a coup¹⁶ / deal / scoop¹⁷ 做好一件漂亮事/做成一笔生意/抢先获得独家新闻。Eg. I'll pull off the plan. 我会努力实现这个计划的。

5. land this account

"To get the business done successfully." Tom这里的意思是：After I get the business done successfully, I'll buy you something.

6. Bring it on

“放马过来！”用在面对别人挑衅的时候。

7. get a load of

"Look at or listen to". 比如：
Get a load of Mike feeding the baby. 看，迈克在喂孩子呢！
Through those thin walls we really got a load of their fight. 这墙壁很薄，我们能听到他们吵架的声音。

8. FYI

"For your information"，意思就是“知会你一下，你知道怎么回事就可以了（不用你有什么反应）”。

9. shot

Shot 在这里的意思是“努力/试图（做……）”。例如：
Let me have a shot at it. 让我试试看。
He's having a shot at cooking the dinner. 他在试着做饭。

文化面面观

离婚在美国

都知道美国人有两怕：一怕死，二怕离婚，尤其是中产阶级和富人更怕离婚。这是因为在美国，办理离婚程序复杂漫长，离婚诉讼律师费用异常高昂。

离婚程序复杂最短需要一年

美国离婚率高，是世界有名的。不过，办理离婚却是一件很麻烦的事。动辄斥资上万元律师费，还要拉拉扯扯好长时间。据统计，以往美国人办理离婚所需的法律费用平均为1.5万至2万美元，时间一般要历时1年。而富翁和名人的离婚就更是难上加难了，通常要耗费数百万美元，更令人哭笑不得的是，有的办离婚手续的时间甚至比整个婚姻还要长。

在美国，办理离婚诉讼分为两种，即简易离婚程序和普通离婚程序。简易离婚虽然比较简捷方便，但由于美国各州的法律不尽相同，目前各州设置了不同的适用条件，同时也对当事人的权利设了一定的限制性条件。

一般情况下，离婚诉讼通常由夫妻一方或双方共同向法院提交离婚申请书，然后法院提请离婚一方派专人送达或通过邮寄的方式，向对方发出传票及离婚申请书，但在简易离婚程序中，这个程序就可以减免了。

在普通离婚程序中，诉讼程序正式开始于提出申请人向对方送达传票的那天起。自该日起，需要经过6个月的等候期之后，法庭才会下达最终离婚，夫妻关系才可以终止。不过，在简易离婚程序中，诉讼程序开始于夫妻双方共同向法院提交简易离婚联合申请书之日，也就是说，6个月的等候期自夫妻双方向法院提交联合申请之日起算。

别以为这6个月就是办理离婚的时间了，如果在此期间无法解决所有与离婚相关的问题，那么，双方当事人的夫妻关系仍然无法解除。所以，夫妻双方就要请律师或向相关咨询机构进行咨询。这段时间往往非常漫长，一般需要一年时间，多则几年。

离一次婚损失过半财产

除了程序复杂外，费用高也令不少离婚夫妇苦不堪言。与结婚相比，离婚绝不是件划算的事情。且不提婚姻破裂给双方当事人内心造成的伤害，光是高额的离婚费用就足以令他们心痛不已。有专家指出，在美国一个人一旦选择离婚，那么，他（她）在经济上失去的不只是共有财产的一半，其平均损失约为夫妻双方共有财产的3/4。

一位专门负责离婚官司的律师为记者开列了一个在美国离婚诉讼中的一些额外开支：按每小时收费，低冲突离婚，即有谈判但在最后裁定时没有争议的案件，离婚双方都雇用律师的费用为350美元至16500美元；有限争议离婚案件，没有孩子，共同财产分配需法庭裁定的情况，费用为4.5万美元；争议离婚案件，即对儿女的监护权有争议，但在审判前达成协议需要7.5万美元；严重争议案件，要开庭审理的要15万美元；对财产分配和儿女抚养权有严重争议的案件，要求抚养权评估人员及法庭估价专家参与的案件，需要花费25万美元。

专家认为，离婚双方的个人资产在离婚前4年就已经开始流失。因为根据美国法律，在最终离婚前夫妻双方需要先分居一段时间。从这时起，两个人必须各自负担自己的生活，而这样就会加大双方的开销。

网上离婚应运而生

 

现在，与既浪费时间又耗费金钱的传统离婚相比，一种网上离婚方式被越来越多的美国人所接受。网上离婚，双方不用见面，可以尽量避免法庭离婚时，双方吵得面红耳赤的难堪场面，为夫妻和平分手创造了条件。

更重要的是，网上自助离婚非常经济。要离婚的夫妇，在谈好财产分割及孩子监护等重大问题后，无须律师插手，只需在网上填写好相应的表格，夫妻二人就算完成离婚。美国律师协会的柯比特说："过去十年，人们越来越喜欢将离婚转向互联网，许多网站都有完善的表格。"一名叫克里斯蒂的女子说，她和前夫离婚只花了450美元，前后用了3个月时间，这只相当于她婚礼费用的3%，筹备婚礼时间的1/3。

（节选自：东方网 作者：丁雨 ）

 

我观之我见

中国人有句老话叫“家丑不可外扬”。Bree 忠实地实践了这一点。当老公为了给儿子开脱罪责而把婚姻问题在学校老师面前抖落出来的时候，Bree被激怒了。两个人就在儿子的老师面前吵了起来，以老公提出离婚收场。想昨日人人羡煞鸳鸯，看今天唇枪舌剑相向，除了叹息和无奈还能怎么办呢？

考考你

将下面的句子译成汉语。

1. Of course Andrew is acting out. He has every right to be angry.
2. Mrs. Stark, you handle this however you see fit.
3. Well he better be good, because when I'm finished with you, you won't have a cent to your name!

The Lake House《触不到的恋人》（精讲之六） 考考你 参考答案

1. 婚礼的事让他们忙得不可开交。
They have been swamped by the preparation work for the wedding.

2. 在今天的足球赛中这个球员的表现简直好极了！
In today's football game, the performance of this player was stunning¹⁸.

3. －我听说你今天要约珍妮出去。
   －没错。
-I heard that you plan to take Jenny out today.
--You can say that again.

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 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。

5 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

6 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

9 disintegrating   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• As a poetic version of a disintegrating world, this one pleased him. 作为世界崩溃论在文学上的表现，他非常喜欢这个学说。 来自辞典例句
• Soil animals increase the speed of litter breakdown by disintegrating tissue. 土壤动物通过分解组织，加速落叶层降解的速度。 来自辞典例句

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

12 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

13 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

14 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

15 vilify   

v.诽谤，中伤

参考例句：

• But I also do not want people to vilify.但希望我也别给人诬蔑。
• Two chose not to vilify Skilling,however.然而，也有两个人并不愿诋毁思斯奇林。

16 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

17 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

18 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。