M: Well, sometimes we might say a movie or a play "bombed". That means that no one wanted to see it, and it probably lost a lot of money.

　　L: 噢，还可以指电影，或话剧太次，没有人要看，卖座率太低。我上 星期去看了一次电影，剧院里没几个人。后来我才看到报纸评论 说这部电影太糟了。我能不能说："The movie I saw last week bombed"?
　　M: Sounds like it bombed to me. Remember the play we went to a few weeks ago? The actors were terrible!
　　L: 对，你说几个星期前去看的那场话剧，有几个话剧演员简直是 太糟 了。That play really bombed! 我说得对不对？
　　M: Absolutely! Hey listen, Li Hua, can we please change the subject? I don"t want to think about failure right now. What would you like to eat? It"s my treat.
　　L: 你不要再谈这种丧气的事情，没问题！要请我吃饭，行，我 吃沙拉和三明治。不过，Michael，你真是得省点钱，要是老是考 试不及格，研究院会把你开除的！
　　M: Please! Don"t mention tests!

　　L: 跟你开玩笑嘛！
　　M: Ah, here"s my hamburger. Ack! They messed up my order! There are onions on this burger!
　　L: 你说什么呀？ 他们把你的汉堡包怎么啦？
　　M: I told them not to put onions on my burger, but they forgot. Therefore I said that they "messed up my order". I can also just say "they messed up."
　　L: 噢，你叫他们不要放洋葱，他们忘了。所以，to mess up就是做 错了事，对吗？

　　M: That"s right. Also, "to mess up something" can mean to break or damage something.
　　L: 噢，to mess up something还可以指把什么东西弄坏了。昨天，和 我同房间的学生问我借自行车，等她还我的时候，自行车的链子 断了。我是不是可以说："She messed up my bike"？
　　M: Sure! Hey, you"d better tell her to buy you a new chain.
　　L: 对啊，我是让她去买新链子，可是她说都是我不好让她差一点没 出严重的车祸。
　　M: What? She broke your bicycle, and she"s angry at you? That"s just wrong!

　　L: 她就是那样的人，上回她把借来的电视机给弄坏了。
　　M: She messed up the TV she borrowed? You don"t need a roommate like her.
　　L: 虽然她弄坏了我的自行车，其他方面她还是很好的。嗨， Michael，你能帮我修自行车吗？
　　M: Well, I"m really out of luck today. I bombed my test, they messed up my burger, and now I have to repair your bike!
　　L: 这也算什么倒霉呀！没几分钟你就修好了。我先谢谢你了！
　　M: Ok, ok!

　　今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是：to bomb，另一个是：to mess up。

日期：2007-7-20　10:14:55

　　流行美语第二十四课
　　李华是在纽约上大学的中国学生。现在她正在和Michael这个美国学生谈有关她学习方面的问题。今天Michael 会教李华两个常用语：to take a hike 和 to blow off。
　　L: Michael，我真烦死了，我们那个经济学教授非要我们分成小组来完成一个项目，可小组里一个同学嘛一声不啃，另一个我说什么他都反对。
　　M: If I were you, I would have told him to take a hike.
　　L: 你要对他说什么？ Take a hike? 是什么意思啊？

　　M: Take a hike is to tell someone to leave, or to tell someone to leave you alone.
　　L: Take a hike就是叫谁走开，或者是告诉某人不要来打搅我。对吗？
　　M: That"s correct. In fact, you told me there"s that one guy who always bothers you in the study hall. You should tell him to take a hike.
　　L: 我知道你在说谁。我在自修室里念书的时候，那个人经老是要来跟 我说话。可是他往往很不客气。
　　M: Why don"t you tell him to take a hike?
　　L: 我不好意思对别人说这种话。 那样很不礼貌，是不是？

　　M: Sometimes you can use "take a hike" in a joking manner. For instance, when my friend kept teasing me about the way I dressed the other day, I told him to take a hike.
　　L: 我那天是听见你那朋友在笑话你穿的衣服，可是，当时你说take a hike，我不知道是什么意思。现在想起来，你好象是用开玩笑的口气说的。
　　M: Li Hua, give me an example. I want to see if you know how to use it.
　　L: 哼，你要考我！ Michael, 你经常跟我开玩笑，说我老买衣服，下次你再要这样，我就要对你说：Take a hike.
　　M: Yes, Li Hua, I suppose you could.
　　L: Michael, 你昨晚上不是说好要跟Bob去看电影吗？你怎么一个晚上都呆在家里呢？
　　M: Bob and I did make plans to go out last night. But he blew me off. He decided to go out with his girlfriend. It wasn"t the first time he blew me off.
　　L: 原来说好去看电影，到最后一分钟打电话给你说要和女朋友出去 玩。Michael，你刚才说了两遍blew me off ? 是不是取消原定约会的意思？
　　M: Yes, to blow off means to break off plans you had with someone.
　　L: 也就是说你和Bob约好去看电影，可是他为了跟女朋友玩而把你给甩了。

　　M: You"re right.
　　L: To blow off 还能用在什么场合呢？
　　M: If someone has been friendly to you in the past, but he suddenly seems to ignore you, you can say that person blew you off.
　　L: 噢，to blow off 还可以指某人突然对你很冷淡。
　　M: Yes. For instance, when I was at a party last weekend, Nancy acted like she didn"t even know who I was. I can say Nancy blew me off.

　　L: Nancy上个周末在聚会上看见你好象不认识你？这不可能，她不是跟你很好的吗？
　　M: Yes, but that"s ok. Li Hua, you can also use this phrase to talk about things you blow off, such as something you don"t want to do.
　　L: 我不想做什么事，也可以用to blow off。我不是告诉你我不想参加 那经济学的小组吗？可是，要是我blow it off，我这门课就会不及格。
　　M: Yeah, there are some things in life you just shouldn"t blow off.
　　L: 唉，生活中有些事是非得做的，就象和你一起吃午饭一样。

　　M: Oh, Li Hua, take a hike.
　　在今天的对话中，Michael教了李华两个常用语，一个是：take a hike，意思是叫某人走开；另一个是to blow off，这是指取消约会，或者是不做自己不想做的事。

日期：2007-7-21　10:24:36

　　流行美语第二十五课
　　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.
　　M：Your driving is getting better, Li Hua. Hey, you"d better slow down. This is a 35 mile per hour zone.
　　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，丨警丨察车跟在我后面，那怎么办呐？
　　M：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.
　　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？是丨警丨察吗？

　　M：That"s right. "Cop" means police officer.
　　L：丨警丨察要来跟我说话！我会不会倒霉呀？我该怎么办呢？
　　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.
　　L： 你说丨警丨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丨警丨察呀？
　　M：When I say "the cops", I mean the police in general. I"m not talking about any cop in particular.

　　L：噢，cop 这个名词用复数的时候，cops, 可以总的指丨警丨察，而不是指某个丨警丨察。 我就把车停这儿吧。 Michael, 我能称呼丨警丨察“cop”吗？
　　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"!
　　L：天哪！原来“cop”是很随便的称呼，你干吗不早告诉我呀！我可不要惹丨警丨察生气！
　　M：Li Hua, don"t worry. I"m sure this isn"t very serious.
　　M：See, Li Hua, I was right. The cop didn"t give you a ticket.
　　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。

　　M：I told you not to freak out. If a cop sees that you are nervous, he will be even more suspicious of you.
　　L：你告诉我什么？叫我别下车？
　　M：No, I told you not to "freak out". "Freak out" means to panic or to act crazy and excited.
　　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？
　　M：That"s right. Actually, I was the one who should have been freaking out!
　　L：你才该感到紧张？为什么？

　　M：Because this is my car, and you only have a learner"s permit. I"d be responsible if you got in trouble.