李华是在纽约上大学的中国学生。今天她的美国同学Michael 陪她练习开车,准备去考驾照。他们在路上几次遇到惊险的情况,尽管这样,李华还是学到了两个常用语,一个是:cop; 另一个是:to freak out. 5 @& N$ Y+ ~( Q2 X \ * H& f3 B, N% Z- N! R0 D1 pM:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone. ! @( Y. X+ R, ^* v5 Z$ E9 I$ L7 f- j" t, D
L:这地区每小时只能开35英里呀?我是不是开太快啦?哟,我的天呐,警察车跟在我后面,那怎么办呐? 5 ?' i K+ C- m: B9 B X* X; {2 ~! S" }7 U; xM:Calm down, Li Hua. Just find a parking lot and stop the car. The cop will follow us, and come over to your window to talk to you. 2 y i, `$ y) B- h* @5 r, ^6 {/ Z1 ^ 4 X: ], n5 C, Q& J3 ^2 d4 F; C. wL:哪儿有停车的地方呀!行,就停在这里吧!你刚才说谁会过来跟我说话?是警察吗?, W' t) s2 M( }% T
* W" p" V2 q) G2 xM:That's right. "Cop" means police officer. ) y4 c4 O G! z / G3 |2 d: |( C- _; qL:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢? : q+ v' t8 ]* p2 l* w1 e1 L$ j! I1 B0 X x) L: x2 a2 @/ V
M:Calm down! Sometimes the cops stop people just to warn them, not to give them a ticket. You weren't going very fast anyway. 1 c+ p- F- Y' \* Q) F; X; Q/ r" v& w- H. S8 t# I9 V
L:你说警察可能过来只是警告我一下,不一定会给我罚单呀?但愿如此,我好象是没有开太快。Michael, 你刚才说"cops", 那警车里到底有几个警察呀?- a4 {9 O- c! P X* j
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M:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular. ! O G, _6 }7 V- c: T" E 6 v* P3 T+ s, @9 X: c2 t$ ^& H- wL:噢,cop 这个名词用复数的时候,cops, 可以总的指警察,而不是指某个警察。 我就把车停这儿吧。 Michael, 我能称呼警察"cop"吗?+ y5 P9 A2 S2 q: O' P
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M:No! The word "cop" is too informal. You should show respect when talking to the cops. Call him "officer", don't call him "cop"!1 a) s {. Q9 E, E) m8 T: K
# f, j/ }) k* H0 R, s- vM:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket. . S# t8 I5 J) @; l" a# r# v9 H! m
L:谢天谢地,他没有给我罚单。他要罚我好多钱的话,那我就糟糕了。 8 c& A9 L Q+ b1 k 0 F4 k# ?5 x" xM:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you., T- ^7 k( J; y
( M2 C" p) A% {" I- v j3 ]8 j' YL:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车? + U0 r6 c6 S- U8 ?* `" u5 K, R & R2 m$ I1 T7 VM:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited. : ~, _4 B3 X! b; \( k; ]' t; X- S8 j L2 O1 Q$ k$ J/ m/ d4 F3 T
L:是啊, 我经常听到一些人说 freak out,原来是指过于激动,显得非常紧张。对不对? ; e0 @' _" u% ]* v; \; @) j/ F8 p- z8 `5 Y; D/ ?
M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out! $ b! l5 k3 x6 h! x; I 6 H: u% `4 k5 |3 lL:你才该感到紧张?为什么? / L2 Z& K; Q( h/ o" P; S' a5 s0 G, |# J% I1 J
M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble. 6 ]% K3 h! Q! K$ F: y. Z/ N. S L& T% M5 p( N, I
L:这我就不懂了。是的,这是你的车,我只有一张学开车的许可证。可是,我开车出了问题,为什么警察会怪你呀?你为什么要freak out? % R" p7 i& A# A% p6 _' R j: A* R9 y3 Q. dM:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car! 4 L3 W m! M& y! Q2 r1 Z5 n ) o4 ?7 q. T/ p$ F+ Q9 t7 Q) pL:Don't freak out, Michael. 我看见那辆车了。不过,那车差一点就撞到我们了! " d+ b, g4 M. e+ H3 z. a' D; L) a( P* Y
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that! * s! Q$ A) a* g/ v! F ! ]) g! Y$ j0 A/ YL:对,刚才是够险的,警察要看到他那么开车,准要给他罚单。不过,今天已经和警察打过交道了,够了。再要跟cops打交道,那我可真是要freak out了。* O. @! L% {' \) v