L: 你在瞎说什么啊。我不跟你争了。你还是多给我解释解释rule这个词吧。

　　M: Well, I can say "I rule the pool table"; that means that I dominate the game. Or I can say "I rule at" doing something. In either case it means the same thing: I am the best!
　　L: 好了，好了，就算你是最棒的吧。那rule还有什么别的用法呢？
　　M: Sometimes we just say something or someone rules without adding any other words. For instance, I can say "Chinese food rules!" That means I think it is great.
　　L: 那如果我说：Michael Jordan rules!，是不是就表示我认为他是最棒的篮球运动员，对不对？
　　M: That"s right. When we say a person rules, that means we think they are the best, or at least that they are impressive.

　　L: 哎，Michael，你看那边有个人老往我们这边看，没准他是想和你比赛，怎么样，敢不敢跟他比？
　　M: Whatever, I rule the pool table, no matter who I play against!
　　******
　　L: Michael，你打得怎么样，输了还是赢了？
　　M: Not so well. Say, Li Hua, can I borrow five dollars? I just blew my money on playing pool with them, and I need to put gas in the car so we can get home.
　　L: 你说你的钱怎么了？你是不是在赌博啊？
　　M: No, I said I blew my money on pool. That means I spent all of my money very quickly. Blew is the past tense for blow.

　　L: 噢，“blow money on something”就是为了做某件事很快把口袋里的钱花光了。
　　M: That"s right. Like when we were at the mall the other day, and you blew a whole week"s pay on shoes.
　　L: 我是花了一星期的工资买鞋，可你不觉得我买的鞋价廉物美，所以不能说我浪费啊。
　　M: Well, I guess sometimes it"s ok to blow one"s money on something useful.
　　L: 就是嘛。哎，我倒是想起了一个你乱花钱的例子，记不记得你大 学一年级的时候到赌城拉斯维加斯，blew all of your money on black jack。
　　M: Ha ha ha....yeah, what a wonderful memory. but, I"ll never blow all of my money like that again. I am older and wiser now.
　　L: 得了吧，你年龄的确是越来越大，可脑筋并没有越来越聪明。要不然你今天怎么会玩台球把钱都花光呢？

　　M: Those guys are good. They play quickly, and they both beat me several times. Also, we agreed that the loser had to pay for the pool table. So of course I blew all of my money very quickly.
　　今天Michael可是够倒霉的，输了球，还花光了钱。不过李华倒是收获不小，她今天学到两个很有用的词。一个是：to rule，是很棒的意思。另一个是：to blow one"s money on something，意思是把钱都浪费在了某样东西上。

日期：2007-8-7　9:52:02

　　「美国习惯用语」第四十四讲
　　to get off on the wrong foot
　　to put one"s foot in one"s mouth
　　有的人一开始就给人一个坏印象是怎么说的呢？ You should say: to get off on the wrong foot。 To get off on the wrong foot，这是指某人一开始就没给人一个好印象，或一开始由于某种行为而把事情弄糟了。下面这句话里说的这个人就是一个例子：
　　例句-1: When Joe went to his new job, he got off on the wrong foot. On the first morning he upset his new boss by arriving at the store two hours late. And right now he"s out looking for a job again.

　　这个人说：“乔找到了一份新的工作,可是他刚开始到那家店里去上班时就给人一个坏印象。第一天上班他就晚到两个小时，让他的老板好不高兴。现在他又在找工作了。”
　　To get off on the wrong foot这个俗语实际上可以适用于任何情况。下面一个例子是一个男学生在说他交女朋友的情况：
　　例句-2: I finally got a date with that new girl in class but I sure got off on the wrong foot with her: I had car trouble and got to her place almost two hours late.
　　他说：“那天我终于和班上新来的那个女同学约好了出去玩。可是，当天我的车出了问题，晚了两个小时才去接她，所以我一开头就把事弄糟了。”
　　******

　　有意无意做错事、说错话的情况是很经常的。下面我们要讲的一个俗语就是无意中说错了话而伤害了别人，或者叫自己很不好意思。这个俗语就是：to put your foot in your mouth。
　　我们来举个例子看看什么样的情况才 to put your foot in your mouth：
　　例句-3: When Sally told that silly joke about the sailor with one leg she really put her foot in her mouth. She didn"t know the man across the dinner table had a brother at home in a wheelchair.
　　这句话翻成中文就是：“沙莉吃晚饭时说了一个笑话，拿一个只有一条腿的水手开玩笑。她可不知道坐在饭桌对面那个人的哥哥就是个残废，行动都得靠轮椅。”Sally如果事后了解情况的话,她肯定会说: "Well, I certainly have put my foot in my mouth."
　　下面我们再来举一个例子:
　　例句-4: I certainly put my foot in my mouth at the party last night when I asked Mister Brown to say hello to his wife for me. Somehow I"d forgotten that his wife died six months ago.

　　这人说：“我昨晚在那个聚会上无意中说错了话。我让布朗先生替我向他的太太问好。不知怎么回事，我忘了他太太已经在半年前去世了。”

日期：2007-8-7　9:58:30

　　流行美语第四十四课
　　今天李华和 Michael二人一起开车到市中心，他们想要找个停车的空位。在他们二人对话中，李华会学到两个常用语：a big deal和give it a shot。
　　M: Man, I hate trying to park my car in this city! There are never any spaces. Hey look! There"s one!
　　L: 啊！我看到了那个位子。 Um, Michael, 可是我不知道我该不该停那儿。我的停车技术很差，我怕出差错把车给撞了。
　　M: Don"t worry about it! You have to learn this sooner or later. Give it a shot!

　　L: 你说什么？Give what? 我该把车干吗？
　　M: I said give it a shot, that means try or give it a try. We say give a shot when we ask someone to try something they are not sure they can do.
　　L: 噢，你用的字 shot, 是不是就像开枪射击的那个shot啊
　　M: That"s right. For instance, when you are taking a test, and you are not sure of the answer to a question, you still have to give it a shot and try to guess the correct answer.
　　L: 噢，give it a shot原来指的是尽量试试，即使你没有多大的信心。
　　M: That"s right. Now you try and use this phrase. Go ahead, give it a shot!
　　L: Hmm，如果说你想要申请一个很好的工作，可是又怕自己得不到，你就可以说：Give it a shot! 反正你也不会有什么损失的。
　　M: You"ve got it.

　　L: 那还有没有其它场合可以用shot这个字的？
　　M: Well, we might also say give it your best shot.
　　L: 所以我们也可以说“give it your best shot”， 意思就是全力以赴去试一下。
　　M: That"s right. Now you"d better move your car into that space. We shouldn"t sit here in the middle of the road. Go ahead and park, give it a shot!
　　L: 好，我就试试看啰。

　　******
　　L: 我的天， Michael，我撞到哪里了？
　　M: Don"t worry Li Hua, it"s not a big deal. The bumper just hit the parking meter.
　　L: 你说不大什么？不管撞倒哪儿都不得了啊。
　　M: No no, I said its not a big deal. That means it"s not very serious.

　　L: Oh, 那big deal是哪两个字，怎么拼?
　　M: Big, B-I-G; Deal, D-E-A-L. If something is a big deal it is very serious, or very important to someone.
　　L: 我明白了，当我撞上停车计时表，你说 its not a big deal，你的意思是说没什么大不了的。我并没有造成多大损害,对不对?
　　M: Yeah, at least I don"t think you did. Maybe you scratched the bumper or the parking meter. You didn"t really damage the car or meter, so it"s not a big deal.
　　L: 原来如此，但愿你说的对。还有，要是不用not这个字可以？

　　M: Sure you can, for instance, it was a big deal for me when I turned 16 and got a driver"s license.
　　L: 对。对美国青年人来说，拿到驾驶执照可真是一件大事。
　　M: Looks like you understand how to use this phrase. Why don"t you make another sentence?
　　L: 那我就用它造句子： It was a very big deal for Chinese people when Beijing got the chance to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
　　M: It sure was! I remember on TV, I saw a lot of people in Beijing partying when that happened.
　　L: 哎呀，别多说了。我得赶快把车停好。
　　M: Yep, if a cop sees you stopping traffic, he might think it is a big deal. Move out of the space and try to park again. Give it another shot!