LH: 噢，我明白了。To be sold on something意思就是“你认为这件事值得，是个好选择”。这个说法挺有意思的，你能不能再给我举了例子？
LL: Well, remember when you were looking for a new apartment? At first you weren"t sold on that place, but when you heard that the rent was only $600 a month, you were sold!
LH: 对呀，我在找房子的时候，一开始还不太满意我现在住的那个地方，后来听说房租一个月才六百美元，马上我就动心了。哎，Larry, to be sold on something是不是只能用在和“钱”有关的事情上呢?
LL: Not necessarily. For instance, suppose you can"t decide if you want to vote for someone who is running for office, you could say "I"m not sold on that candidate yet".
LH: 噢，选举的时候，要是我还不能肯定是不是要投某个候选人的票，我也可以说，I"m not sold on that candidate yet.
LL: That"s right. We were just talking about that Professor Johnson didn"t buy Angela"s excuses, we can also say he wasn"t sold on her excuses.
LH: 对，Professor Johnson不相信Angela老是迟到的借口，我们也可以说He wasn"t sold on her excuses, 也就是说，to be sold on something也有“相信”的意思。
LL: Hey, Li Hua, I guess I should have told you that was just an example -- Professor Johnson didn"t really say it to Angela.
LH: 什么？闹了半天Johnson教授根本就没对Angela说那些话呀？你可真会编故事!
LL: I know - You were totally sold on it - You actually bought it!
今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语，一个是to buy something, 表示“相信某件事”。另一个是to be sold on something, 意思是“认为某件事值得、是真的”。
「美国习惯用语」第九十一讲
to throw a curve
to throw for a loop
美国人在打棒球时经常喜欢发曲线球，使球的方向会发生突变，这样给对方造成错觉，不能回击那个球。这和其他球类运动，如排球、乒乓球或网球，在发球时发转求的作用也很相似。逐渐地，这种让对方产生错觉，因而无法应付的球艺变成了日常用语：to throw a curve。
Curve就是曲线的意思。To throw a curve就是在打棒球时发曲线球。但是作为俗语，它的意思是给别人造成错觉，让他难以应付。请听一个刚刚考完历史的学生在埋怨他的教授：
例句-1: Professor Green certainly threw us a curve today. Half the questions were from parts of the book he told us to read but he never covered them in class. Of course, most of us didn"t bother to read the stuff, so we really got caught.
这个学生说：格林教授今天可真是把我们难住了。考题的一半是他要我们看的那本书里的内容，可是他从来也没有在课堂上讲过。我们大多数人也都没有化时间去看那玩意儿，所以今天我们突然发现无法应付考题了。
To throw a curve还可以解释为“欺骗”。下面就是一个例子：
例句-2: My supervisor threw me a curve when he told me he would recommend me for the promotion. He didn"t tell me he was also recommending three other people for the same job. So I didn"t get it.
这个人说：我的上司欺骗了我，他告诉我他要建议给我提升。可是，他没有告诉我他同时还推荐了另外三个人担任同一个职位。结果我没有被提升。
******
今天我们要讲的第二个俗语是：to throw for a loop。Loop是圆圈的意思。To throw for a loop是指“感到非常震惊”或者是“情绪很波动”。下面的例子是一个男朋友使得他的女朋友非常不高兴。这个女孩子说：
例句-3: Bill told me he couldn"t take me out last night because he had to study for a big exam. So it threw me for a loop when I saw him walking into the movie theater with that stupid girl who sits next to him in biology class. (Recording defects: no audio for this part)
她说：比尔告诉我，他昨天晚上不能带我去玩，因为他要准备大考。所以，当我看到他和那个生物课坐在他旁边的傻姑娘一起走进电影院的时候我真是大吃一惊。
考试分数有时侯也会令人出乎意料的，请听下面的例子：
例句-4: When I saw my semester grade for the chemistry course, it really threw me for a loop! I was sure I"d get at least a "B"--but there it was in black and white: a "D". So I barely managed to pass.
这个学生说：“当我看到我的化学课学期成绩的时候，我真是吓了一跳。我满以为我至少能够得一个“B”，可是白纸上写的黑字是一个“D”。所以我刚刚及格。”
流行美语第91课
期终考试今天全部结束，Larry和Li Hua准备开个party来庆祝一番。Li Hua会学到两个常用语：without a hitch和chow down。
(household utensil noise)
LH: Larry, 你看我们准备的东西够不够啊？这是我第一次请朋友来开party，要是东西不够吃，那就糟糕啦！
LL: Calm down, Li Hua. I"m sure the party will go off without a hitch.
LH: 你说我们的party会怎么样 - without a hitch - 那是什么意思啊？
LL: Oh, if something "goes without a hitch", it means that everything goes smoothly and nothing will go wrong.
LH: 对，hitch这个字也可以解释为“障碍”，那something goes without a hitch, 就是“进展顺利”。
LH: Larry，你的意思就是我们的party will go off without a hitch，肯定能办好，不会有问题...那我可不可以说：There won"t be any "hitches"？
LL: No, No, Li Hua, you can"t use it that way. You can only say that something "goes without a hitch." This is an idiomatic expression. You can"t generally substitute the word "hitch" for "problem."
LH: 啊，原来something "goes without a hitch"是一个习惯用语，不能把hitch 和problem两个交替来使用。那想说什么事一帆风顺，我们就只能说：什么事情goes without a hitch.
LL: Okay, Li Hua, now that you understand the phrase, can you give me an example?
LH: 我来想一想。有了。最近这次考试我觉得我考得不错 - My exams went without a hitch.
LL: I wish I were as confident as you are. Now, can you give me another example of how to use "without a hitch"?
LH: 嗯...我最近申请了暑期里到一个公司去工作。他们约我上星期去面谈。我觉得那个面谈进行得挺顺利的，所以 - It went off without a hitch.
LL: Hey congratulations!
LH: Thank you, Larry. 哎哟，我们赶快准备吧。客人马上就要到了！
******
(party SFX)
LL: See, everybody is enjoying the party, I told you it would be fine.
LH: 嗯，大家好象都玩得挺开心。我原来还担心吃的不够呢，现在看来说不定还做多了！
LL: I don"t know about that. Some people are really chowing down. Hey, look at Jim, he"s eating one hot dog after another!
LH: 就是啊，我也注意到Jim挺喜欢吃热狗的，可是你说什么？ 这儿有的人是在chowing down? 什么是chow down啊？
LL: Well, "chow" is slang for "food" and to chow down is to eat a lot and to do it enthusiastically.
LH: 噢，chow这个字在口语里可以表示“食物”。那么chow down就是“吃得很多，而且还兴致勃勃的”。那不就有点儿像我们中文里说的“狼吞虎咽”吗？
LL: Yep. Look, Jim has finished his hot dog. He"s now moved on to eating a piece of cake. He"s definitely chowing down. He acts as though he hasn"t eaten in days.
LH: 对，Jim他刚吃完热狗，现在又在吃蛋糕了 - He is really chowing down. 好象几天没吃饭一样的。哎，对了，Larry, 这也说明我们准备的东西受欢迎哪！
LL: That"s right! See, Li Hua, I told you that the party will go off without a hitch.
LH: 哎，Larry, 说了这么半天了，你都吃什么啦？
LL: What have I chowed down? Well, I have been busy helping you and haven"t got time to eat yet.
LH: 哎哟，真是抱歉，你光顾着帮我招待客人，自己都还没顾上吃呢！
LL: That"s OK. I think we should chow down now before all of the good stuff is gone!
LH: 好啊，那我们赶紧开吃吧，要不然好东西都没了！
今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是without a hitch, 表示事情“进展顺利”。另外一个是chow down, 相当于中文里所说的“狼吞虎咽”。
「美国习惯用语」第九十二讲
crocodile tears
sob story
大家知道，眼泪的英文字就是tears。 英文里有一个说法，叫做：crocodile tears。 Crocodile就是鳄鱼。Crocodile tears和中国人常说的“猫哭老鼠假慈悲”是一样的意思。Crocodile tears这个俗语来自一个古老的神话，说是鳄鱼往往发出一种哭的声音来引诱那些它们要吃的动物，然后一面吃一面流眼泪。这当然不会是事实，但是这个说法已经成常用语。下面我们来举个例子：