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 A+ K; P! l+ W1 N& q+ s7 ?! y J- I: G/ R: c6 r: S* E1 [
M:Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you'd better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.# Q+ E) ?8 z6 p+ n& h& S& D s
9 V/ j3 l3 \$ j7 I, G, LL: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? . Q% f0 S% S9 d/ Q X+ g, R, l8 @ + u: O! G: u- aM: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.- A2 Z" Z1 k+ W9 { |
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L: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? 6 X6 L, o) M# G. T! _7 u+ e( f2 L d7 q) G. a; u
M:That's right. "Cop" means police officer. % D& |/ p, m2 i* ?% I J% J; E6 i7 W, ]7 u- i4 I" jL:警察要来跟我说话!我会不会倒霉呀?我该怎么办呢? $ m' b% n. |) O0 @( }9 k6 S2 Q" J/ u7 Y% N
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. 3 g0 L; C7 p$ X f+ Q; ?" l" z6 y- G+ y" K
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? " V! u3 r' x) Q 9 K4 u5 B& B. O- ZM:When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I'm not talking about any cop in particular. / ?( }# W# T6 P* F$ s% m$ ]0 M7 f) J$ W, s7 w+ A; y8 p
L: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? 2 ^ O( Y1 }& A1 }- }! G. r6 Q5 k8 ^4 a2 C
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"!# R) |$ T$ |0 f' y
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L:天哪!原来"cop"是很随便的称呼,你干吗不早告诉我呀!我可不要惹警察生气!9 d! {& e) b: J Q
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M:Li Hua, don't worry. I'm sure this isn't very serious. 8 Q$ K6 ?8 _, T+ c9 W! C- e7 Y9 Z( f: b9 _
M:See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn't give you a ticket. , V; `. H& b1 {- f2 a3 W: _- v( u& K1 P- j+ I, u. g+ G
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。0 H* l7 J. |6 N( ?3 ~
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M:I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you. # Y9 ?' o. x! x1 ` 0 i2 |$ @7 h7 V3 p; j# ^& M) rL:你告诉我什么?叫我别下车? 1 L) Z, y) w. A J" _6 j0 z# O' |8 ^3 W% l) Z- x8 L+ \
M:No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.' [/ o* \( ~. Q
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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? ; { V; w: b n1 L X( | ; J% N* R; J. {3 {M:That's right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!$ h% D, v1 @9 X- U
4 {1 a( g* }/ @7 O; ?M:Because this is my car, and you only have a learner's permit. I'd be responsible if you got in trouble.) c* x4 P: R1 z$ B6 ]0 ^5 [2 p
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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? V6 ?- `4 f6 p- |% m3 w; ] M . H' @1 b, Y& B# bM:Hey! Li Hua, look out for that car!/ }2 B$ K6 `% F) Y% ^4 j, J
0 e8 `- c3 O" S* K zL: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! , i1 r) W, ]* _9 f& c5 S4 H# ^* N! B- o6 J/ H. L/ q
M:Oh, man! that was close! That guy is crazy! I wish the cops were here to see that!* z+ H! S' {" L( b7 L
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L: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。 ' Q& x" h/ s6 U' ~# t! E8 f: E 6 O6 h4 _4 g. ~( u. W! _M:Me too. Now, drive carefully!' z) S& n; b H. Y