今天李华学到了两个常用语：a big deal和give it a shot。A big deal是指很重大，或者严重的事。Give it a shot指的是尽力去试。

日期：2007-8-8　9:47:13

　　「美国习惯用语」第四十五讲
　　cold feet
　　jump in and get your feet wet
　　一个人在充满信心的时候往往就会无所畏惧，勇往直前。但是，当一个人对某件事感到胆怯的时候，他就会畏缩不前。我们经常可以看到一种情况：有的人对一件事开始的时候很有信心，很有把握。可是，事到临头就变得没有勇气了。在英文里有一个俗语是用来形容类似情况的，那就是cold feet。 Cold 是冷的意思， feet就是两只脚。 Cold feet 并不是在雪地里走而使你的脚很冷。Cold feet是指临时上场感到胆怯。例如：

　　例句-1: Peter told his wife that this time he was really going to walk in and demand a pay raise from the boss. But when he arrived at the office, he got cold feet.
　　这句话翻成中文的意思是：“这个名字叫皮特的丈夫对自己的妻子说，这次他可一定要到他老板的办公室去要求增加工资了。可是，他一到了办公室就感到胆怯，不敢去见他的老板。”
　　这种临阵脱逃的现象是很经常的。下面我们要举的例子恐怕会引起许多听众的共鸣：
　　例句-2: I really need to get my teeth fixed, but every time I start to phone the dentist, I think about the sound of that drill and right away I get cold feet.
　　这个人说：“我实在应该去牙大夫那儿看牙了。但是，每当我拿起电话想和大夫预约的时候，我就好像听到那钻牙的声音，一下子，我就害怕起来了。”

　　事到临头打退堂鼓，出现cold feet的现象也许是一个弱点，但是在美国成语里，把脚弄湿倒是一件好事。比如说，好些听众都在学英语。这是一种外语，许多初学的人都怕难为情不敢用英语来对话。可是，老师很可能就会劝这些学生: "Jump in and get your feet wet. " Jump in and get your feet wet这个俗语的意思是：到实践中去学，也可以说是跳到游泳池里学游泳。我们来举一个老师对学生说的话：

　　例句-3: I know most of you are afraid to embarrass yourselves by trying to speak English after these first few lessons. But that"s the best way to learn: when you meet an American, try a few words -- jump in and get your feet wet.
　　这位老师说：“我知道你们大多数人感到，刚上了几课英语，就用英语来说话很不好意思。不过，当你见到美国人时，你不妨试着说一点。到实践中去学是最好的办法。”
　　到实践中去学对于任何事来说都是很重要的。下面说话的人就认识到例句 jump in and get your feet wet 的重要性：
　　例句-4:I want to get into politics so I"m volunteering to put up signs for one of the people running for mayor. I don"t get paid for it but it"s a chance to jump in and get my feet wet.
　　这个人说：“我希望将来能够到政界去工作，所以我现在在帮一个竞选市长的候选人张贴宣传标语。我帮他做这些事是完全义务的，是没有工资的。但是，这是到实践中去得到一些经验的好机会。”

日期：2007-8-8　9:52:35

　　流行美语第四十五课
　　今天Michael和李华二人到了纽约一个公园去看烟火。李华学到了两个新词：packed和 hype。
　　L: 我老天，这个公园可真挤，但愿我们能够找到个地方坐下。
　　M: Yeah, it"s really packed today. I"ve never seen this many people here.
　　L: Michael,你刚刚说什么？你是说人好多吗？

　　M: Yes, I said the park is packed. That means it is crowded, there are a lot of people here.
　　L: 噢，我懂了。你说的packed，就是通常你说打包的pack那个字吧？
　　M: That"s right. Here we say "be packed" to show that a place is full of people, just like a box packed full of stuff.
　　L: 我想我懂了。那中国人口很多，我是不是可以说China is packed？
　　M: No, that"s not really right: China has a lot of people, but China is also a very big place. We usually use "packed" to describe a small place full of people.

　　L: 嗯，原来是这样一来。那就好像在中国春节期间，每班火车都挤的满满的，那我就可以说：在春节前那个星期the trains are packed，对不对？
　　M: That"s right. Around Spring Festival, the buses are packed as well. Right?
　　L: 没错。事实上，中国的公共汽车永远都是挤得满满的，很难找到个座位，至少在各个大都市都是这样。
　　M: So, in China what other kinds of places might be packed with people?
　　L: Well，我记得我去看《泰坦尼克号》那部电影时，电影院是挤的好满，好像每个人都要看哪部电影似的。
　　M: Ewww. I don"t really understand why people liked that movie so much. I thought it was boring.

　　L: 管它是啥原因，Michael，反正中国各地的电影院总是很挤就是了。
　　M: Hey, the show is starting.
　　******
　　L: 哎，Michael，你觉得今天的烟火如何？
　　M: Well I guess they were OK, but I was hoping they would be better.
　　L: 你觉得还可以更好一些？可是我觉得已经很好了。

　　M: But there was so much hype about this show! Every newspaper said it was going to be the greatest fireworks display in New York history!
　　L: 你说太多什么？你说这次烟火怎么了？
　　M: I said there was a lot of hype, Hype means a lot of excitement or praise about something that you might hear about before you see it.
　　L: Oh，所以hype就是指大家总是把一件事说的比实际情况还要好。 对不对？
　　M: Yeah, that"s right. For instance, there was a lot of hype about Titanic, but I didn"t think it was as good as the hype said it would be.

　　L: Hmm，你说the hype about Titanic，所以我们就应该说there is hype about something，对不对?
　　M: That"s right. For example, I remember hearing a lot of hype about the Forbidden City in Beijing, but I didn"t think it was very interesting.
　　L: 你说什么？你居然说北京故宫不好，那可是中国保存历史古迹的一颗明珠哎。
　　M: I didn"t say it wasn"t important to Chinese history. I just didn"t think it was very fun to visit, at least not as fun as all the hype said it would be.
　　L: 我才不管你怎么想呢。你说报上对今天的烟火作了很多宣传，到底是怎么说的呢？
　　M: Well, the newspapers said it was going to be larger and more exciting than anything ever shown in the city before. But really I think that was just hype. This year wasn"t much different from last year.

　　L: Michael，要是你总是听人宣传的话，你一定会失望的。
　　M: I guess you are right.
　　今天Michael和李华到纽约一个公园去看烟火。Michael说这个公园是packed，也就是十分拥挤的意思。另外Michael也不是太喜欢这次的烟火表演，因为他说报纸作了过多的渲染。也就是hype这个词的含义。

日期：2007-8-9　9:21:27

　　「美国习惯用语」第四十六讲
　　ants in your pants
　　to have butterflies in one"s stomach
　　科学家们说，昆虫，也就是我们一般说的小虫子，对人类有不少好处。到目前为止，科学家们已经发现的昆虫共有七十万种。世界上竟然会有这么多不同的小虫子，你可能会觉得难以相信。有些小虫子，我们还少不了它们，例如，蜜蜂传播花粉，使得植物得以繁殖。还有些虫子会杀害虫，在有的国家里，小虫子还能当食品。可是，尽管如此，大概喜欢蟑螂的人还是不多的。

　　美国的成语和俗语就可以反应出人们很讨厌那些生活在我们周围的小虫子。今天我们来向大家解释两个成语，都是和小虫子有关的。我们要讲的第一个俗语是ants in your pants。 Ants就是蚂蚁，pants 就是裤子。蚂蚁钻进了裤子，你可以想象是个什么滋味了。你肯定坐不住了。 Ants in your pants这个俗语的意思就是一个人很紧张，坐立不安。我们来举个例子吧：

　　例句-1: The company financial report isn"t due until next Friday. But the boss has ants in his pants and wants us to have it all ready for him on Tuesday morning.
　　这句话的意思是：“我们公司的财务报告应该是下星期五才交。但是，我们的老板紧张得要命，非要我们在星期二早上就交给他。”
　　坐立不安并不一定是由于精神紧张。有的时候，不耐烦的心情也会使人坐立不安。下面就是一个小饭馆的女服务员在和厨师讲话：
　　例句-2: Say, what happened to the order for table seven? The guy"s been waiting for a half hour and he"s really getting ants in his pants for the cheeseburger and fries he ordered.
　　这位服务员说：“喂，七号桌子点的东西好了吗? 那人等他点的奶酪汉堡包和炸薯条已经等了半个小时啦，他都有点不耐烦了。”
　　有些蝴蝶是很漂亮的。但是，他们在美国一个俗语里出现的时候就不见得漂亮了。这个俗语是这么说的：To have butterflies in one"s stomach。大家都知道， butterflies是指蝴蝶， stomach是人身体里消化食品的胃。