M: I know you wouldn"t. Just want to warn you.
　　L: 哟，Michael, 我和一个朋友约好在中国城见面的，我得去搭地铁了。我要来不及了！
　　M: To Chinatown? Two blocks away！You can walk there in 5 minutes, why do you want to take subway? You"re such a bimbo!

　　L: 噢，再过两条街就是中国城？我还以为要坐地铁呢！嗨， Michael， 我路不熟这也算bimbo呀！你真没礼貌！我走了！
　　M: Sorry, bye!
　　今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是：dumb blonde, 这是用来笑话那些金发女郎，看起来很漂亮，但是脑子很笨。另一个是：bimbo。Bimbo是指笨的女人，不管是不是金发。

日期：2007-8-27　10:40:09

　　「美国习惯用语」第六十四讲
　　to keep one"s eye on the ball
　　eye-opener
　　我们再给大家介绍一个又eye组成的俗语：To keep one"s eye on the ball。To keep one"s eye on the ball这个常用语原先是来自球类运动,如网球、高尔夫球、垒球等。你一定要把眼睛看准了才能打到这些球。下面这个垒球运动员说的话就能说明问题：
　　例句-1: We were playing Chicago there and the crowd was yelling and booing and waving handkerchiefs to distract us. But I kept my eye on the ball, swung as hard as I could and hit a home run. That Chicago crowd sure quieted down as I jogged around the bases.

　　这位垒球手说：“我们那时正在芝加哥和当地一个球队比赛，看球的人群又喊又嚷，还挥动手绢想分散我们的注意力。可是，我集中精力，使出所有的劲儿来打球，结果打了一个本垒打。这下，当我沿着垒跑的时候，芝加哥的观众就变得很安静了。”
　　让我们来举一个汽车推销员的例子吧。这个人家里有些事不顺心，使他在工作时很分散精力。于是，他的老板就把他叫到办公室去对他说：
　　例句-2: Tom, your sales record is way down the past six months. You"ve only sold 17 cars all this time. You"d better start keeping your eye on the ball, or you"ll find yourself looking for another job.
　　这位老板说：“汤姆，你的销售量在过去半年里一直很低。你在这段时间里一共才卖了十七辆汽车。你还是集中注意力地工作，否则，你恐怕得另找工作了。”还有一个由eye这个字组成的、非常有用的习惯用语是eye-opener。Eye-opener是一个字。
　　Eye-opener有两个意思，一个是表示惊奇，就像下面这个女子所表达的情绪：
　　例句-3: Of course, John and I have had a few problems, just like most married couples. But I always felt we had a good, solid marriage. So it was a terrible eye-opener when I opened the letter he"d left on the kitchen table and found out he"d run off with his old college sweetheart.
　　这个被抛弃的妻子说：“当然，约翰和我是有一些矛盾，就像大多数夫妻一样。但是，我一直认为我们的婚姻是有牢固基础的。所以，当我打开他留在厨房桌上的信，知道他和他以前大学里的女朋友出走了的时候，我真是非常惊奇。”
　　Eye-opener的另一意思是：开阔了眼界。请听下面这个例子：
　　例句-4: Seeing those color films the astronauts took off the earth on their flight to the moon was certainly an eye-opener. I never realized how beautiful and how lonely our planet looks hanging there in space.

　　这句话的意思是：“看到宇航员在登上月球时拍的那些有关地球的彩色照片真是开了眼界。我从来也不知道我们的地球在空间是这么美丽、这么孤单。”

日期：2007-8-27　10:48:35

　　流行美语 第64课
　　今天李华和Michael在讨论做生意的事。 李华会学到两个常用语：to make a killing和to break even.
　　M: Li Hua, what are you looking at on the Internet?
　　L: 噢，我想在网上买个做豆腐的机器。我和一个朋友想做了豆腐周末拿到农民集市上去卖。 你说有人会买吗?
　　M: Of course people would buy your tofu! You"d make a killing!
　　L: Make a killing? 做豆腐和杀人有什么关系?

　　M: No, I said you"d "make a killing". "To make a killing" means to earn a lot of money quickly through some kind of lucrative business.
　　L: 唷， to make a killing就是通过做生意赚了许多钱！ Michael, 这么说，你认为我们这个生意能做得成，是吗？我不知道美国人是不是爱吃豆腐呐。
　　M: Of course! A lot of people who don"t eat meat, or who want to eat healthy foods eat tofu. Also, there are a lot of Chinese in this part of town. I"m sure you"ll make a killing.
　　L: 对，好多美国人现在健康意识很强，不吃肉，爱吃豆制品。Michael, 你说得没错，这一带中国人也很多，肯定有人会买新鲜豆腐的。Michael, 你能不能再给我举一个例子呀？
　　M: Well, for instance, my uncle Roger made a killing in real estate. A few years ago, he bought a lot of land and then rich people started building houses in the area, and he made a lot of money.
　　L: 你叔叔几年前买了好多地，然后有钱人在这些地上盖房子，所以他就通过房地产生意赚了好多钱！他可真有远见呐！

　　M: You can also say to make a killing in the stock market, in the insurance business or even in the tofu business!
　　L: 噢，to make a killing in the stock market就是通过买卖股票赚了好多钱，in the insurance business就是保险业。可是，我想靠卖豆腐大概不会make a killing --赚不了太多钱。
　　******
　　M: Don"t worry about losing money, Li Hua. At the very least, you will break even.
　　L: 你说我至少会什么？break even?

　　M: "To break even" means to neither lose nor gain money. If you do some business and are able to cover the costs of the business, but don"t make a profit, you are breaking even.
　　L: 噢，那就是既不赚钱，也不亏本。做豆腐的机器不是太贵，所以，你说得对，要做到收支相抵， 也就是break even, 应该不会有问题。
　　M: Even if you don"t earn a lot of money, if you break even you lose nothing, plus you get to enjoy lots of fresh tofu.
　　L: 唷，你倒想得好，不赚不赔没什么损失，还能吃好多新鲜豆腐！你不就是想不出钱白吃豆腐嘛！对不对？
　　M: What? I don"t care that much about tofu. Stop being silly and use this phrase in a sentence.
　　L: 嗯...有了。我和我的朋友Regina上星期第一次去大西洋赌城玩。开始我们各自出了50 美元，可是不到一小时全输光了。后来我们两人各出10美元，合在一起，结果终于把100美元又赚了回来。所以，In the end, we broke even.

　　M: (Sarcastically) Wow. $50. Good thing you were able to break even, or you"d have to sleep in a cardboard box on the sidewalk.
　　L: Michael, 别小看人哪！输了50美元，我就得睡在马路上的纸箱里呀？哎，不过，说实话，50美元是不少钱，我本来就不该去赌钱。
　　今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是：to make a killing, 意思是做生意在短期内赚了很多钱。另一个是：to break even, 意思是做生意没有亏本，也没有赚钱。

日期：2007-8-28　9:44:43

　　「美国习惯用语」第六十五讲
　　flea market
　　to clam up
　　科学家们说，世界上有许多昆虫对人类是有益的，但是也有好多小虫子使人感到讨厌，特别是跳蚤，它虽小，但是咬起人来很利害，而且还可能会传染致命的病菌。可是，美国人倒是很喜欢跳蚤市场。跳蚤市场在英文里就是叫：flea market。
　　什么是flea market呢？Flea market实际上和跳蚤一点关系都没有。Flea market是一种往往在周末举行的非正式集市，flea market一般都是在户外，而且那儿有许多摊贩出售各种各样的东西，有不少都是用过的旧东西，新的东西也有，但是质量一般都比较差，价钱也很便宜。可是，要是你眼光敏锐的话，你能花很少的钱买到很有价值的古董和其他东西，就像下面这个人一样：

　　例句-1: I was lucky when I went to the flea market today. In the middle of all the worthless junk I found a carved jade Chinese snuff bottle and bought it for five dollars: the seller didn"t know what it was.
　　这个人说：“我今天去跳蚤市场，运气还真不错。在那些毫无用处的破玩意儿堆里，我找到一个中国鼻烟壶，是用玉做的，上面还有雕刻。我才花了五块钱。卖东西的人根本不知道那是什么东西。”
　　有的人很容易伤感，看到一些旧的东西就触景生情，钩起他们对以往的回忆。下面就是一个例子：
　　例句-2: For me a flea market is a sad place--all those memories of the past: stuff that used to be precious to people who have died or grown old or just moved away.
　　这人说：“在我看来，跳蚤市场是一个令人伤感的地方，市场上卖的东西过去对一些人来说都是很宝贵的，但是他们老的老了，死的死了，有的人也已经不知去向了。”
　　******