大家可能还记得Michael 这个美国学生以往几次考试都考糟了,这一次情况可大不相同。今天他和他的中国同学李华约好了在图书馆见面。李华会学到两个常用语,一个是:to ace;另一个是:peanuts。' p. f5 J; D* c0 b9 k) H& P
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L: 嗨, Michael,今天考得怎么样? - w; }* p8 q4 x$ H* U1 M4 e# E! c( i) b3 L7 N, H W
M: Not bad! I aced today's history test! ! j0 P7 _" }" \/ o# e7 t0 b+ h6 f# W+ J* W; m9 J2 _& ?
L: 你历史测验又考糟啦?那你还那么高兴!3 U5 @$ t; q0 X3 C) X2 W
7 w' B `, r' j- yM: No, Li Hua, I didn't bomb my test. I said "I aced the test". I did very well on it!% f* d+ X; Q% B" N
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L: 你考得很好,那太好了,Michael!最近你每天都到图书馆来念书, 我知道你会考得比以前好的。你刚才用的是哪个字啊? ' w! e( G, }, r& P/ h ( H/ b- X- f1 I7 I1 W6 b/ mM: Ace. Here, ace is a verb, and you can add a "d" to make it past tense." N- T$ z2 o3 g1 n9 @* z
" f9 v0 s' y2 f. ~) N) K" UL: 噢,在这里,ace是个动词,过去时就是在后面加一个字母 "d",变成 了aced。这个字是不是和扑克牌里的那张牌A,或者叫"尖子"的那 张牌一样的呢?' I% U9 ~7 J0 u: K* y$ d7 A+ A
( T; X$ r% A' W4 N6 OM: That's right. The "ace" card is usually the highest value in a card game. Therefore, "ace" means to do well.- u2 @ ?; z* d
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L: 对,在玩扑克的时候ace往往是价值最高的一张牌,所以ace就是 指某件事做的很好。那ace作为动词还能用在什么场合呢? - s# j; d8 Z! l2 h 7 m. W/ v' z( VM: Usually we can use "ace" to describe how we did on a test, or on things similar to tests. For example, I can say I aced my last job interview. & _- o e1 r4 r3 }, r/ K5 t' E" U, J* T2 k" I: w. u$ u; B
L: 噢,一般都用在和测验考试之类的情况,你上次找工作去面谈谈 得很好也能用"ace" 这个词。再说一遍你刚才说的那句话,好 吗?, u. G. J# A" D2 G, l% r$ z' \
/ J) p/ e5 a9 d q4 HM: I aced my last job interview. & f% J7 o8 |. w+ K [2 w; _8 C+ c$ T7 a
L: 你大概回答问题答得很好,所以老板就要你了。 ' s3 Z, R2 B- m& p r: X! T * A: T: J# h& X5 s0 M, `& u+ [" [M: That's right. Li Hua, if someone is very good at something, we can call him an "ace". I can say, for example, you are an ace at taking tests. + S) G+ I# G$ c3 j/ `- e- Y i' A& q1 l3 x
L: I'm an ace at taking tests, 你说我非常会考试!这也不见得,我考糊 的时候也有的。不过,比你少一点就是了。 ' o0 g3 k: @5 P2 P) W* H . A/ f% C. n3 F) A8 I$ ^7 bM: Yes, you're right! 1 d7 ]4 U: g& u$ C5 K, l; E 4 l5 y1 B& _' S1 J( C9 y) }# _L: Michael, 借我$.75 买杯咖啡好吗? # Y% x- n8 y. C8 R$ }- ] , a) [' x) {: w, x, hM: Well, okay. Li Hua, how much money do you earn as a teaching assistant, if you don't mind my asking? 6 O& U2 `7 p/ R2 H' v1 U. ]; ]3 v8 q0 g4 `, [
L: 你当然不在意你问我赚多少钱。 当助教的工资很低,才8美元一 小时。* p0 O$ G, A. F
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M: Eight dollars? That's peanuts!. n' I- o) v* s% w, L+ s9 P# f
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L: Peanuts? Peanuts不是花生吗?你是什么意思呀?! t3 z# C, \( M2 B* S7 D- {
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M: That's really not much! You only make eight dollars an hour? Your wages are very low, so I said that's "peanuts"!' U) O7 |5 J) v* o) Q. ^
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L: 原来你的意思是我的工资很低。你说的peanuts是不是和我们吃的 花生一个字吗? 9 W: }* Z* q0 Y% x3 M9 [& D9 a 1 ?! ]9 w5 |" SM: That's right. % Q6 `: g1 ?( l ) `0 v* |& G4 fL: 我在想另外找个工作呢。我的同学王燕在图书馆工作,一个小时 就有十美元。 ' {; p9 A: z3 d ^0 y ( C! H( P' W1 H, |9 uM: That's still peanuts compared with the teaching assistants in other departments. I make about 13 dollars an hour as a graduate assistant. - M0 l) f( ^- W 1 |2 d5 L/ b L' `% w; CL: 哟,你一个小时赚13美元呐! 真不公平,你赚那么多钱,而我 只赚peanuts. 2 }' r9 X3 h7 m- \/ H, s% Z% s1 ^# @( y : |# m0 j! J/ F+ fM: I don't see how you can live on so little money. 1 B Y/ m) u4 j& [ 2 O8 s8 F% r- uL: 赚那么点钱是怎么过的日子呀?我还有奖学金呐,每个月给我四 百美元生活费。 3 \9 b# {% z, S- }1 J9 t, N% x) f* t% \( A
M: Too bad you don't really make peanuts, at least you can eat those...; [! A: b2 d6 u- W$ H3 |0 o% |