L：哟，哪儿来那么大的火气呀！我知道你不是经常逃学，你学习很努力，争取得到好分数，将来找一份好工作。你不用发那么大的脾气嘛！

　　M：I"m sorry, Li Hua. I didn"t mean to snap at you. It"s just that right now I"m so stressed. That"s part of the reason why I didn"t go to class today.
　　L：没关系，我知道你最近压力很大。你说 “I didn"t mean to snap at you", 那是什么意思呀？是不是指你很生气地跟我说话？
　　M：Yeah, to snap, s-n-a-p. To snap at someone means to yell at someone or talk to them in an angry way.
　　L：to snap at someone 就是对某人大声嚷嚷，或者很生气地和某人说话。Michael，你一般不对人那么讲话的。我想可能是你最近压力太大了。
　　M：Yeah, but that"s no excuse for snapping at you. I know you didn"t mean to make me angry.

　　L：我是没有让你生气的意思。 没关系，每个人都有情绪不好的时候嘛！Michael， 我以前好象听到别人用过to snap at someone， 可不太清楚它的意思。有一次，一个小孩说他打破了什么东西。。。
　　M：His mother must have snapped at him when he broke something at home.
　　L：对，他是说他妈妈骂他因为他打破了一个花瓶。可是，Michael，这里的snap是过去时，那该怎么拼呢？
　　M：Past tense for snap is s-n-a-p-p-e-d. I can say, "I snapped at you but I apologized."
　　L：得了，不用道歉了。啊呀，不好了，时间到了，我得去上班了。See you later, Michael!

　　M：Bye, Li Hua!
　　今天李华又从Michael那儿学到两个常用语，to play hooky就是逃学，或者装病不去上班；to snap就是对某人嚷嚷，很生气地对某人说话。

日期：2007-7-25　18:17:10

　　「美国习惯用语」第三十一讲
　　Green thumb
　　Green light
　　今天美国两个很有名的年轻电影明星，一个叫Paul Newman，另一个叫Tom Cruise。不久前他们一起拍了一部电影，叫「绿钞票」。这是因为美国钞票的背面都是绿颜色的。绿颜色也是草和树等自然界生物的颜色。除此之外，绿颜色还可以包含其他各种意思。有的时候，它意味着年轻、新鲜、有力、成长。另外一些时候，绿颜色是指不成熟,就像没有熟的苹果那样。我们今天要讲的两个俗语就是跟绿颜色，在英文里就是 green 这个字有关的。第一个是green thumb。大家都知道green 的意思是绿颜色。Thumb 就是大母指。可是green thumb 并不是说某人的大拇指变绿了或染上了绿颜色。Green thumb指的是某人在种花或种菜方面很有才能，或在这方面很有知识和技术。比如说，一位太太在谈到她邻居李太太的时候说：

　　例句-1: "I wish I had a green thumb like Mrs. Lee -- look at the beautiful roses in her yard."
　　这位太太说：“我真希望我能像李太太那样会种花,瞧她院子里的玫瑰花多好看呐！”
　　可是，不会种花和种菜的人看来还不少，下面讲话的这个人看来更糟糕：
　　例句-2: "I guess I don"t have much of a green thumb: every year I plant cabbage, beans and sweet corn in my backyard but all I ever get is a lot of weeds."
　　这个人说：“我猜想我在种菜方面是没有什么才能。每年，我在后院种菜、种豆和种玉米，可是长出来的大都是草。”
　　在全世界各地，绿颜色的交通灯就是可以通行的意思。可是，除了交通灯以外，人们也经常在日常生活中用「开绿灯」这个说法来表示某个计划获得批准，可以进行。在中文里，我们也经常这么说的。下面我们要介绍的一个俗语就是 green light。我们已经知道，green就是绿颜色，light就是指灯。Green light就是绿灯。在美国，一个在某公司工作的管理人员可能会对他的秘书说：

　　例句-3: "My boss liked my idea to open a branch office in Los Angeles and gave me the green light to go ahead."
　　这位经理说：“我的老板非常支持我在洛杉矶开一个分公司的建议。他让我按计划去办。”
　　下面我们再来举个例子：
　　例句-4: "The astronauts were in the space shuttle ready to go, but somebody saw one of their computers had a problem. It"s fixed now, but Houston Control is checking it again before they give the green light to launch."
　　这句话翻成中文就是：“宇航员都已经进入航天飞机，准备出发。但是，有一个人发现他们的一个电脑有问题。现在虽然已经修好，可是休斯顿控制中心正在再一次进行检查，然后再让他们正式发射。”


日期：2007-7-25　18:18:14

　　UNIT 79 Exercises
　　79.1 Complete these sentences with both/neither/either. Sometimes you need of.
　　Examples: There are two windows in my room. It was very warm so I had both of them open.
　　“Do you want tea or coffee?” “Either. It doesn’t matter.”
　　1.After the accident ___________ cars stooped. ___________ drivers got out and started shouting at each other. ___________ them were very angry.

　　2. It wasn’t a very good soccer game.___________ team played well.
　　3.A: Which of the two movies did you prefer? The first one or the second one?
　　B: Actually, I didn’t like ___________ them.
　　4.There are two ways to get downtown. You can take the local streets, or you can take the highway. You can go ___________ way.
　　5.___________ these sweaters are very nice. I don’t know which one to buy.
　　6.___________ my parents are American. My father is Polish and mother is Italian.

　　7.“Do you care which sandwich I take?” “No, take ___________”
　　8.“Is today the 18th or the 19th?” “___________ It’s the 20th.”
　　9.Tom and I hadn’t eaten for a long time, so ___________ us were very hungry.
　　10.When the boat started to sink, we were really frightened because ___________ us could swim.
　　11.A: Did you go to Florida or Puerto Rico for your vacation?

　　B: We went to ___________ : a week in Florida and a week in Puerto Rico.
　　79.2 Make sentences with both…and…, neither…nor…, and either…or…
　　Examples: Tom was late. So was Ann. Both Tom and Ann were late.
　　He didn’t write. He didn’t telephone. He neither wrote nor telephoned.
　　1.The hotel wasn’t clean. And it wasn’t comfortable.

　　The hotel was neither _________________________________
　　2.It was a very boring movie. It was very long too.
　　The movie was _________________________________
　　3.Is that man’s Richard? Or is Robert? It’s one of the two.
　　That man’s name _________________________________
　　4.I don’t have the time to take a vacation. And I don’t have the money.

　　I have _________________________________
　　5.We can leave today or we can leave tomorrow – whichever you prefer.
　　We _________________________________
　　6.He gave up his job because he needed a change. Also because the pay was low.
　　He gave up his job both _________________________________
　　7.Laura doesn’t smoke. And she doesn’t eat meat.

　　_________________________________
　　8.The front of the house needs painting. The back needs painting too.
　　_________________________________

日期：2007-7-25　18:24:11

　　流行美语第三十一课
　　今天是四月一号愚人节。李华到处去找Michael, 有事商量。今天她会学到两个常用语，sketchy和sucker。
　　L：Michael，和我住在一起的小陈今天打电话到我工作的地方。她说丨警丨察到家里去找我。他们说我的签证有问题。我该怎么办？我很害怕。
　　M：What? I don"t believe her. That story sounds sketchy.
　　L：你说听起来什么？你不信小陈说的话？
　　M：That"s right. I said her story is "sketchy" . That means it is suspicious and cannot be trusted.

　　L：噢，sketchy就是可疑，不可信。你怎么知道小陈说的话不可信？
　　M： Well, for one thing, the police usually don"t care about visas. They are too busy looking for serious criminals.
　　L：嗯，对呀，丨警丨察抓罪犯还忙不过来呢，他们才不管签证呢！移民局的人才是管签证的。这么说来，小陈的话是有点可疑，sketchy。
　　M：Also, I don"t think the police or immigration officers would go to your house. That sounds very sketchy.
　　L： 对，Michael， 你可真行呐！ 要是签证有问题，移民局一般会先给我一封信，他们才不会到家去找我呢。这真是越说越不可信了。

　　M：But if you want to know what"s really sketchy, you should remember what day it is.
　　L：今天是什么日子呀？噢。。。今天是四月一号愚人节！ 哟，我的老天爷呀，我没想到小陈会跟我开这个玩笑。
　　M：Heh heh, your roommate is pretty sketchy too, if you ask me.