LH: 噢，horse在这里是用作动词，to horse around意思是“和别人开玩笑、闹着玩儿”。Larry, 你是说那两个男孩儿是在闹着玩儿啊！
LL: Hey! Why did you punch me in the arm?
LH: I"m just horsing around! 嘿Larry, 这个horsing around还可以用在什么地方呢？
LL: Well, sometimes it means the same as "just kidding" or "just joking." Hey, Li Hua, you have something on your shirt...
LH: 什么？我衣服上沾了东西啊？在哪儿呢？我怎么看不见呢？
LL: That"s because I"m just horsing around. There isn"t anything on your shirt. I just wanted to see if you would look.
LH: 噢，原来你又在跟我开玩笑啊。这么说，和别人开玩笑或者是恶作剧，也可以算是horsing around. Hey, Larry, 你看你的鞋带松了。
LL: Nice try, Li Hua, but I know you"re just horsing around.
LH: 哎哟，我们别光顾开玩笑了，赶快给我朋友挑挑生日礼物吧！
LL: Hey, how about this shirt?
LH: What?! 这衬衫多难看呀！You must be horsing around.
******
LL: Hey, Li Hua. You know what happened to my friend George?
LH: 你的朋友George？他最近不是在找工作吗？听说他接受了一家大公司的面试。
LL: Yeah, and he was so sure that he would get the job that he quit his old job. Unfortunately, he really jumped the gun. He just found out yesterday that he didn"t get the job after all.
LH: 噢，George以为那个公司肯定会要他，所以把以前的工作给辞了。可是，他昨天才知道那个公司没有聘他，哎，Larry, 那你说George "jumped the gun", 那是什么意思啊？
LL: To jump the gun is to do something too soon. For instance, if a runner starts running before the race starts, he"s jumping the gun.
LH: 噢，to jump the gun就是过早采取行动的意思！对了，像赛跑的时候，有些运动员信号枪还没响就提前跑了。所以叫jump the gun，这个说法挺形象的。George在不知道是不是有新工作以前就把旧工作给辞了，那可不是操之过急了嘛！
LL: Okay, Li Hua, now that you understand what "jump the gun" means, can you give me an example?
LH: 嗯，让我想一想...我有一个朋友前不久要来美国，她还没拿到签证就先买了飞机票。这也可以说是jumped the gun吧?
LL: Definitely, because if she doesn"t get a visa, then she won"t be able to use the plane ticket.
LH: 那可不是，要是签证领不到，那飞机票就白买了。哎，Larry, 那你给我举个例子吧。
LL: I have a good one: Once I brought a girlfriend home to meet my parents. My mom really jumped the gun and assumed that we were going to get married.
LH: 什么？你带女朋友回家，你妈妈就误以为你们要结婚呐？哎哟，她可真是jumped the gun了, 当时一定挺尴尬的。
LL: You bet. It was embarrassing!
今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语。一个是horse around, 意思是“闹着玩儿、开玩笑”。另外一个是jump the gun, 就相当于中文里所说的“操之过急”。
「美国习惯用语」第九十四讲
cludy
in the clouds
今天我们要给大家讲解两个由cloud这个字组成的习惯用语。大家肯定都知道cloud就是天上的云。天上满布乌云的时候，天空往往就变得很暗淡。我们要讲的第一个俗语就是这个意思。
Cloud这个字是名词，意思是云。Cloud后面再加上一个字母y就成了形容词，意思是：多云。但是，它的含意也可以解释为：暗淡、不乐观。下面是一个电台播音员在发表他对国际贸易前景的看法：
例句-1: When you look at all the trouble spots around the globe right now, the future of international trade looks very cloudy.
这位播音员说：要是你看看当前全球所有有问题的地方，国际贸易的前景看来是很暗淡的。”换句话说也就是，这位播音员认为国际贸易的前景并不乐观。
在天上多云的时候，许多东西也不像阳光灿烂的时候看的那么清楚。下面这句话就是一个例子。美国国会两院对每一个新的提案都要经过讨论，然后投票通过。例如,一名记者问一位参议员国会会不会通过某个提案。这位参议员回答说：
例句-2: I"d have to say the chances are cloudy. We have quite a bit of support for this bill but we"re not sure that we have enough votes to get it passed.
这位参议员回答说：“我觉得很难肯定。支持这项提案的人还不少，但是我们不敢肯定我们会有足够的票数来通过这项提案。”
不管是美国人，还是中国人，我们每个人恐怕都有做白日梦的时候。有的时候，我们一边走路，一边在想心事，或者是一边做什么事，一边在想其它事情，身边发生什么事全然没有注意到。美国人把这叫做：in the clouds。
In the clouds可以解释为：心不在焉。请听下面这个例子，这是一个人在说她的朋友：
例句-3: Sally is my best friend but she walked right past me today, and didn"t even say hello. Her head certainly was in the clouds--she looked like her mind was a thousand miles away.
这个人说：莎莉是我最好的朋友，可是，她今天在我身旁走过，连招呼都没有跟我打。她肯定在做白日梦，看起来她的心思好像在一千哩以外的地方。
下面的例子讲的是一个学生。这个学生上课的时候没有注意听讲，他说：
例句-4: I was really embarrassed--the teacher asked me a question and I didn"t even hear him; I was daydreaming and my head was in the clouds.
他说：我当时真是非常难堪。老师问我问题，我根本没有听见。那时，我刚好在做白日梦，思想在开小差。
流行美语第94课
今天李华到Larry的宿舍里去串门儿，李华会学到两个常用语：on the fritz和to hog。
LH: Hey, Larry, 我昨天晚上给你打电话，在你手机上留了言，你怎么没给我回电话啊？
LL: I didn"t get your message. My cell phone has been on the fritz. I don"t know what"s wrong with it.
LH: 你没收到我的留言？还说你的手机怎么啦？On the fritz - 那是什么意思啊？
LL: I said my cell phone is on the fritz. If something is on the fritz, that means something is wrong with it and it is not working properly.
LH: 噢，要是说什么东西on the fritz, 意思就是“出了毛病，不能正常工作了”。哎呀，我的手机有时候也会on the fritz. Larry, 除了电话以外，还有什么东西也可以说是on the fritz呢？
LL: Well, usually it is machines that are on the fritz. For instance, sometimes my computer does not respond to my commands, so it"s on the fritz.
LH: 原来on the fritz通常是用在机器设备上，比方说像你说的电脑。就是啊，有的时候电脑会出故障，不听指令，那就是on the fritz了。
LL: Now Li Hua, can you give me an example?
LH: 有了。昨天我在学校的食品零售机买coke，我明明塞进去一块美元，可是零售机一点反应都没有。It must have been on the fritz.
LL: Oh, some of the vending machines are often on the fritz.
LH: 哎，Larry, 除了说机器，我能不能说一个人on the fritz呢？
LL: Not really. However, the exception is that you can say that your stomach is on the fritz if it is uncomfortable.
LH: 噢，我们不能直接说一个人on the fritz, 但是，要是我的胃感到难受，我就可以说：My stomach is on the fritz.
LL: All right, Li Hua, forget about things that are on the fritz. You want to watch this DVD?
LH: Sure! 但愿你的DVD player is not on the fritz.
LL: Oh, come on, Li Hua!
******
LL: Hey, Li Hua, stop hogging all the popcorn! I want some too.
LH: 得了得了，想吃爆米花就说话呀，给你！你说我什么？Hogging all the popcorn? 好像不是什么好意思，你可得给我解释清楚！
LL: Well, to hog something is to keep it for yourself and not share it with others. Just now you were eating all of the popcorn without sharing it with me. Therefore, I said you were hogging the popcorn.
LH: To hog something就是霸占着某样东西，不给别人。嘿,Larry, 你怎么能说我霸着爆米花不给你呢？我又不知道你也想吃，再说，我现在不是分给你了吗？
LL: Okay, I suppose you aren"t hogging it anymore.
LH: 对了，Larry, 除了说食物以外，这种说法还可以用在别的地方吗？
LL: Well, we are now watching a DVD, if I don"t let you use the remote control, then I"m hogging the remote.
LH: 噢，要是你一个人拿着遥控器，不让我用，那你就是hogging the remote. 那可比hogging the popcorn更气人了！
LL: Okay, now it"s your turn to give me an example.
LH: 让我也举个例子啊？想起来了。我那个同屋啊，她有的时候用洗手间用好长时间，进去了就不出来，我真应该告诉她 - stop hogging the bathroom.