这位记者说：“这位年轻的电影制片人开始拍摄的三部影片卖座率很高，赚了不少钱，所以电影公司就投资四千万美元让他拍第四部电影。可是，这部电影的卖座率实在很低，因此连本钱都没赚回来。”
　　下面我们要给大家介绍的一个俗语也和 bomb 有关，但是它的意思和 bomb 又很不相同。这个习惯用语就是：to drop a bombshell。 To drop a bombshell 的意思是：宣布令人震惊的消息，就像一枚丨炸丨弹在你身旁突然爆炸一样让你吃惊。下面这个祖父宣布的消息确实会让人感到很惊讶：

　　例句-3: Grandfather dropped a bombshell last night when he told the family he is marrying a woman 40 years younger than he is.
　　这句话的意思是：“祖父昨晚上对家里的人说，他要和一个比他年轻四十岁的女子结婚，这可真叫大家吃了一惊。”
　　你知道美国历史上最令人吃惊的事之一是什么吗？下面这个例子就会告诉你：
　　例句-4: In March 1968 President Lyndon Johnson dropped one of the biggest bombshells ever dropped in American politics when he announced that he would not run for re-election because of the Vietnam War.
　　这是说：“1968年3月美国总统约翰逊宣布，因为越南战争，他决定不竞选连任。这可是美国政治史上最令人震惊的消息之一了。”

日期：2007-8-17　10:17:24

　　流行美语第54课
　　pain in the neck
　　to have had it
　　今天Michael会教李华两个常用语：pain in the neck和to have had it。
　　M: Hello? I"m sorry. I"m not interested. No. No thank you. Look, I said I am not interested!

　　L: Michael，是谁打来的电话，让你这么生气啊？
　　M: That was someone who wanted to sell me a magazine subscription over the phone. Those people are such a pain in the neck!
　　L: 嗯，我也不喜欢别人在电话里跟我推销东西。可是你叫他们什么？A pain in the neck？
　　M: That"s right. Pain. A pain in the neck is something that is just very very annoying.
　　L: 噢，我明白了,“a pain in the neck”就是指讨厌到了极点。

　　M: Exactly. I can"t stand telemarketers. When I get home and finally sit down, they always call. What a pain!
　　L: 那是真的很讨厌。哎,“a pain in the neck”是不是只能形容人呢？
　　M: Not always. Things or situations can be a "pain in the neck".
　　L: 噢, 所以，“a pain in the neck”还可以拿来指某样东西，或者是某种处境。那我可不可以说“It is such a pain in the neck when the electricity goes out”?
　　M: You"ve got it! And it really was a pain in the neck, too! I couldn"t do anything last week when we had the blackout. I couldn"t cook, couldn"t watch TV......

　　L: 哎哟，不能看电视算得上什么“pain in the neck”。那天我开车回家，马路上连红绿灯都坏了，那才叫不方便呢。
　　M: Yeah, well that"s all over now. Oh man! It"s my neighbor again! He always plays his drums in the evening. It"s such a pain in the neck.
　　L: 原来是你的邻居，他又在练习打鼓啊。唉，我也有个讨厌的邻居，她那只狗总是叫个不停，有时候晚上睡着了又给那狗吵醒了。真是个“pain in the neck”。
　　M: Yeah, well if it"s that bad, why don"t you ask your neighbor to do something about it.
　　L: 有啊。可是她不但不改，还和我们耍态度呢。这个人啊，也是个“pain in the neck”。

　　M: I guess the only thing worse than telemarketers are noisy neighbors.
　　******
　　M: I have had it! That guy has got to stop doing this.....I"ve got to call him.
　　L: 等等，Michael，你说“I have had it”，那是什么意思啊？
　　M: It means that I am so annoyed by something that I cannot stand it any longer.

　　L: 噢,“I have had it”就是你再也无法忍受了 ，是不是？
　　M: That"s right. When we say "I have had it," we just mean that we have been dealing with the problem for a long time, and can"t stand it any longer.
　　L: 哎，Michael，这次让我来接。(Speaking to phone in English) Hello? No, sorry, I"m not interested. No, I"m not the lady of the house. Listen, we"ve had it with you telemarketers! Leave us alone!
　　M: Wow, looks like you learned this phrase quickly. Don"t you think you were a bit rude with them?
　　L: 什么？你说我粗鲁？哎呀，我真是受不了你。你这个人啊，就是没有魄力，什么事也做不成。你讨厌谁就直接告诉他嘛。还有啊，为什么你不敢理直气壮告诉你的邻居他打鼓的声音太吵了。光坐在那 儿抱怨有什么用吗？
　　M: Alright then, I"ve really had it with my neighbor. I"m going to do something about it this time.
　　L: (Mocking tone of voice) 哟，Michael，这回来真的啦。你要做什么，打电话向你妈咪诉苦吗？

　　M: I"ve had it with you too, Li Hua. You always laugh at me. You can be such a pain in the neck!
　　L: 哎呀，Michael，对不起嘛。我不是故意要气你的啦！不过你说的也没错，有的时候我还真的是“pain in the neck”。
　　M: No.....no. You"re not really a pain in the neck. The noise is just making me crazy. I"m going to call that guy and tell him to stop.
　　今天李华学的两个常用语都和人的情绪有关，pain in the neck是讨厌到了极点，to have had it是再也无法忍受下去了。

日期：2007-8-18　9:48:46

　　「美国习惯用语」第五十五讲
　　oddball
　　odds and ends
　　你们大概都知道，英文里有许多单字可以有好几种解释，有时使得学英语的人感到很糊涂，到底这个字是什么意思。就拿odd这个字来说吧， odd这个字仅仅只有三个字母组成，可是它却有好几个意思。它可以形容某个很奇怪的人或者行为，也可以指一、三、五这样的单数。Odd这个字还可以和别的字合在一起用，当然和不同的字合在一起它的意思也就不同。例如：Oddball。要是你说某人是个oddball，那就是说这个人表现的很奇怪，和一般人不一样。我们来举个例子吧：

　　例句-1: My friend Joe is certainly an oddball. In the summer he puts his shoes in the refrigerator at night so his feet will be cool when he goes to work in the morning.
　　这是说：“我的朋友乔伊真怪。在夏天，他晚上把鞋子放在冰箱里，说是第二天早上去上班去的时候，脚可以凉快一点。”
　　世界上的怪人还是很多的。下面这个例子说的那个人也是怪得出奇：
　　例句-2: And another oddball is Bill, especially when it comes to food. Can you believe it, he even puts catchup on his ice cream. Talk about oddballs!
　　这句话的意思是：“另外一个很怪的人是比尔，特别是在吃东西方面。你信不信，他吃冰淇淋的时候竟然还要加蕃茄酱。真是什么怪人都有！”
　　******
　　我们下面再来讲一个 odd和其它字合在一起的习惯用语：Odds and ends。 Odds and ends 的意思是：零碎东西。比如，一个人要到外地去旅行，他可能会说：

　　例句-3: Okay, I"m all packed now, except for a few odds and ends I"ll put in a handbag and carry on the plane with me.
　　这人说：“行了，我的行李都准备好了，还有一些零星小东西，我准备把它们放在手提包里，随身带上飞机去。”
　　你要是到美国的公司或其他机构去参观的话，你可以看到很多人的办公桌上很乱，纸张文件堆得很高。下面这个人就是一个例子：
　　例句-4: One good thing I got done at the office today was clean up my desk. I"d let so many odds and ends pile up that you could scarcely see the desk itself. But I got busy and took care of everything.
　　这个人说：“今天我在办公室里做的一件好事是把我的桌子整理乾净了。那些零零碎碎的东西越堆越多，简直连桌面都看不见了。可是，我今天抓紧时间，把所有的东西都整理好了。”


日期：2007-8-18　9:50:15

　　流行美语第55课
　　今天Michael和李华到了一家中餐馆吃饭，二人正在点菜。李华学到了两个词儿：already和one to talk。
　　L: 啊， 我的天啊，我饿死了。这菜单上每一个菜我都爱吃。
　　M: OK, just order something already!
　　L: Michael, 你说什么？我什么菜都还没点，连服务生都还没来呢，你怎么就说“already”呢？
　　M: No, no, Li Hua, I said, "Order something already!" I meant that you should hurry up.

　　L: 噢，所以，你在这儿用了“already”，就是叫我快一点啊。可是你把这个字用在句子的最后面，这种用法好奇怪哟！
　　M: When we say "already" at the end of a sentence, sometimes we are showing that we are impatient, that we want somebody to stop waiting and to do something.
　　L: 噢，我懂了。你能不能再给我举个例子啊？
　　M: OK. Remember when we were stopped at a light earlier today? The car in front of me didn"t move when the light turned green, so I yelled -- "Come on, move already!"
　　L: 嗯，我懂了，我懂了，这个习惯用语很简单嘛。