L: 其实美国人并不懂得什么是真正的乡下。就算他们住在乡下好了， 只要一开车就到城里了嘛。
　　M: That"s true. Still, some places out in the sticks are pretty far from a big city, even if you drive a car.
　　今天李华学到了两个新词：redneck 和 in the sticks 。Redneck 是指乡下人。 In the sticks 则是指远离城市的农村地区。

日期：2007-8-12　10:42:08

　　「美国习惯用语」第四十九讲
　　to stand on one"s own two feet
　　to throw oneself at someone"s feet
　　在美国的成语和俗语中，有不少是围绕着“脚”这个字构成的，“脚”这个字在英文里就是 foot ，多数就是 feet。在美国的成语和俗语中，以 foot 或 feet 这个字为主的俗语为数还不少，它们的意思也各不相同。
　　今天我们要给大家再介绍两个由 foot 或者 feet 这个字组成的俗语。第一个是：to stand on one"s own two feet。 To stand on one"s own two feet 的意思恐怕不难猜到。一个人如果能站稳脚跟的话，他就一定能独立自主，靠自己的力量来办事。我们下面要举的一个例子是一位父亲担心他的儿子吸丨毒丨或酗酒，所以在劝告他的儿子：

　　例句-1: Son, somebody may try to get you to smoke marijuana or drink, just to fit in with the crowd. But I hope you can stand on your own two feet and say no.
　　这位父亲说：“儿子呀，有的人为了要你合群也许会劝你喝酒或吸丨毒丨。但是我希望你能够独立自主，拒绝他们的引诱。”
　　那些能够独立自主的人的确很令人钦佩。下面就是一个例子：
　　例句-2: Bill Brown has managed to stay in Congress now for twenty years. The voters don"t always agree with him but they really like the way he stands on his own feet and makes his own decisions on which way to vote, regardless of pressures from all the lobbyists.
　　这个人说：“比尔·布朗在国会当议员已经二十年了。选民们不一定都同意他的观点，但是他们倒很欣赏他在对各种提案投票时的那种独立自主精神。不管那些游说者给他施加多大压力，他都按自己的决定投票。”

　　今天我们要讲的第二个习惯用语是： to throw oneself at someone"s feet。 To throw oneself at someone"s feet 这个俗语可以解释为：公开对某人表示爱慕。比如说，一个男子在幻想自己未来的婚事，他对他的朋友说：
　　例句-3: I"m still looking for the right girl to marry. And when I find her, I"ll throw myself at her feet and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me.
　　他说：“我现在还在物色一个我认为合适的女孩作为我的妻子。一旦我找到了，我就要拜倒在她的石榴裙下，恳求她作为我的终身伴侣。”
　　To throw oneself at someone"s feet 还可以解释为：为了得到一些好处而溜须拍马，或拜倒在某人脚下。下面的例子是说一个被判了罪的犯人：
　　例句-4: The prisoner who has been convicted as a traitor threw himself at the feet of the judge and begged for mercy.

　　这句话的意思是：“那个被定罪为叛徒的犯人拜倒在法官的面前，求他发发慈悲。”

日期：2007-8-12　10:47:23

　　流行美语第四十九课
　　在今天的对话中Michael会教李华两个常用语：一个是under the weather，另一个是to grab a bite to eat。
　　M: Hello?
　　L: 喂，Michael，你今天怎么了？我怎么在学校没看到你，打电话到你上班的地方也没人接。你没事儿吧？
　　M: Oh, its nothing. I am just a little under the weather today, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and really rest.
　　L: 什么？你说天气不好，所以你就请一天假。天气好好的吗，你干吗撒谎呢？

　　M: No no, I said "I am under the weather today". Under, U-N-D-E-R; The Weather, W-E-A-T-H-E-R. Under the weather, it means sick.
　　L: 噢，under the weather就是生病的意思啊，那你还不赶快看医生啊？
　　M: Oh, don"t worry. It"s not very serious. Usually when someone says that they are under the weather, they mean they feel bad, but are not very sick.
　　L: 你的病不严重，那我就放心了。可是你为什么今天觉得under the weather呢？
　　M: Last night I went out to eat with a friend. After dinner, it started to rain heavily. We didn"t have umbrellas, and I had to walk to a long way back to my car in the rain. I think I caught a cold, so now I feel under the weather.

　　L: 难怪了，你吃完饭就淋着雨走了那么长的路。哎呀，你以后可千万小心，万一得了什么大病那该怎么办呢？
　　M: It"s ok, Li Hua. I can take care of myself. That"s why I am resting at home. That reminds me, how is your mother doing? Didn"t you say she was under the weather last week?
　　L: 噢，我妈妈现在好多了。不过上星期可真把我们吓坏了。上星期一她突然说不舒服，提前下班，第二天就开始咳嗽，浑身发软。
　　M: Oh no! You must have been worried she had SARS.
　　L: 没错，我家里人都担心她感染了萨斯。所以每个人都嚷着自己 under the weather，不过啊，第二天我妈妈的情况好转，他们每个人也都觉得自己好了。

　　M: They were all thinking about SARS, so they also felt under the weather. In fact, they were all ok.
　　L: 就是啊，他们觉得自己under the weather，我看纯粹是心理作用。
　　M: So why were you trying to call me at work today?
　　L: 我打电话想问问你今天晚上要不要一快去吃饭。
　　M: Well, I"d like to, but I really think I should stay at home tonight. Maybe this weekend we can grab a bite to eat.

　　L: 你说我们这个周末吃什么？
　　M: I said we can "grab a bite to eat". Grab, G-R-A-B; a bite, B-I-T-E; to eat, E-A-T. It means we can go out and have a quick meal somewhere this weekend.
　　L: 噢，grab a bite to eat就是随便到那个餐馆吃一顿，对不对。
　　M: That"s about right. To be exact, it means to find some quick and simple food, like fast food.
　　L: 啊？尤其指吃快餐啊，我可不想这样随便grab a bite to eat 。我想去个有气氛的好餐馆。再说了，Michael，你也不应该老吃垃圾食物。
　　M: I know, I know. It"s just that I often don"t have a lot of time between classes and work. So at lunchtime, I usually have to go to a fast food place and grab a bite to eat. I don"t have time to go anywhere else.

　　L: 如果你觉得中午时间很紧，那你就因该在家里把午饭准备好带到学校。你看，你每天到外面grab a bite to eat，那样你的开销多大啊。
　　M: I don"t always grab a bite to eat at fast food places. Sometimes I make lunch at home. But it takes a lot of time in the evening, and sometimes I am busy then, too.
　　L: Michael，你真是太不会照顾自己了，冒着雨乱跑，整天吃垃圾食品，难怪你会under the weather，以后你真的要好好照顾自己呢。
　　今天Michael身体有点不舒服，就是under the weather:Michael约李华等他身体好了一起去grab a bite to eat，也就是随便到外面吃点快餐。

日期：2007-8-13　10:36:21

　　「美国习惯用语」第五十讲
　　to be swept off one"s feet
　　Don"t let the grass grow under one"s feet
　　今天我们再来讲两个和 foot 或 feet 有关的俗语。我们曾经讲过： to stand on one"s own two feet，这是独立自主，依靠自己的意思。我们还讲过： to throw oneself at someone"s feet，这是公开表示对某人的爱慕之情，或是拍马奉承、百般讨好某人。可是，被爱慕或讨好的对象往往会突然感到非常兴奋而不由自主地变得飘飘然起来。这种情景在英文里是这么说的： to be swept off one"s feet。下面我们要举的一个例子就可以看出一个人在 throwing himself at someone"s feet 以后所可能产生的后果：

　　例句-1: "Dick was so crazy about Jane that he threw himself at her feet. Jane was swept off her feet and they"re getting married next Tuesday."
　　这句话的意思是：“迪克实在是爱简，他完全拜倒在她的石榴裙下。这一下使得简感到飘飘然，不由自主了。他们竟然决定下星期二就结婚。”
　　这种闪电式的结婚确实有点过于匆忙。下面一个例子就是一个人在劝他的朋友不要草率从事。这也说明 to be swept off one"s feet 这个俗语不一定完全适用于被爱慕的人，也可以用在其他场合：
　　例句-2: "Hal, I know how anxious you are to get married and start a family. But don"t let yourself get swept off your feet by a pretty face: think about what you are doing before you get caught."
　　他说：“海尔，我知道你是非常急于结婚成家。但是，你不要被一张漂亮的脸弄得昏昏然的。在问题还没有发生前，你得脑子清楚一些，明白自己到底在干什么。”