LL: Hi, Li Hua, how are you? Thank you for coming to pick me up.
LH: 没事！Florida怎么样？ 玩得好吗？
LL: Oh man, I had a blast! My friends in Miami took a few days off, just to hang out with me. We did nothing but hang out on the beach and go partying every night!
LH: 哟，你那个在Miami的朋友还请了几天假陪你玩呀！那你肯定玩得很痛快。嗨，Larry， 你刚才说 I had a...什么来啦？
LL: I said I had a blast. "To have a blast" means to have a great time. If something was a blast, that means it was a lot of fun.
LH: Blast 不是“爆炸”的意思吗？怎么 "to have a blast" 又成了玩得特别高兴！哎哟，学英文真不容易！ 得了， Larry, 你玩得痛快，我可是花了整整一个星期帮Jones教授来准备下学期的课呢！
LL: Yeah, well, I tried to get you to come along. You would"ve had a blast too.
LH: 对，你是请我一起去了，但是我不能去。我得工作，要不然下学期学费哪儿来呢？不过，昨天Rick过生日，我晚上去他的party 了...
LL: Well, too bad I didn"t come back a day sooner... his parties are always a blast.
LH: 对，每次Rick 开party，大家总是玩得很痛快。昨天晚上我早上三点才回家。我走的时候还有好多人在那儿呢！大家都玩疯了！
LL: Sounds like you had a blast. What about you? Li Hua, your birthday"s today. Are you going to celebrate?
LH: 嗯，生日也不是什么大事嘛。我在中国的时候从来不过生日的。
LL: Aww, whatever. I think everyone should have a blast on their birthday!
******
LH: 唉，时间过得真快，我都已经25岁了，四分之一个世纪呐！可我还在这儿念书，还没有一个正式的工作...
LL: What? Lighten up, Li Hua! You"re in your mid-twenties! You have plenty of time to decide what you want to do!
LH: 什么？你叫我lighten up? 你是说我要减轻体重？你在胡说什么吗？
LL: Hey! I"m not talking about weight here. To lighten up means to relax, to be less serious.
LH: 噢，lighten up就是要放松，不要太认真的意思！哎哟，不行，我可不能lighten up，我得考虑我的前途呐，我毕业以后干什么 - 是要回国还是呆在这儿...
LL: Like I said, Li Hua, you seriously need to lighten up. Stress makes people gain weight.
LH: 行，行，行，我想办法放松。嗨，Larry，你好象是很轻松，没什么压力，那你肚子怎么会这么大呢？
LL: Watch it, Li Hua! I"m tired of you making fun of me. You know I"ve been working hard to lose weight recently...
LH: "Lighten up, Larry!" 别跟我生气，我只是开玩笑嘛！我只不过是想举个例子。我这么说lighten up，对不对？
LL: Yeah, you"re right. But don"t you mention my belly again!
LH: 好了，好了，你家到了! Larry，我今天不想出去玩了，咱们明天再见吧！
LL: Wait, Li Hua, can you help me with this bag?
LH: 那么两个小包你都拿不动呀？ 得了得了，我帮你拿这个包吧！
(Sound of many people yelling "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!")
LH: 哎哟，我的天哪！你们给我举行生日party都没让我知道！啊呀，你们真是太好了！怪不得Larry 你非要我帮他拿包进来呢！
LL: Looks like you"ve lightened up already. See? I told you you"d have a blast tonight!
LH: 那么多人给我过生日，我当然很高兴呀！谢谢，谢谢。Thank you so much!
今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是to have a blast, 意思是“玩得很痛快”。李华学到的另一个常用语是lighten up。这是指“放松，别太认真”。
「美国习惯用语」第一百零一讲
to get one"s back up
to scratch one"s back
当一只猫生气的时候，它往往把它的背拱起来，嘴里还发出呼呼的声音，显得它随时准备施展它那爪子的威力。美国一个常用语就出自猫的这种形像。 这个常用语就是：to get one"s back up。To get one"s back up就是生气的意思。下面这句话是一个妻子在说他的丈夫：
例句-1: "One thing really gets my back up -- the way my husband leaves his clothes on the bed or on the floor so I have to pick them up all the time."
她说：“我的丈夫总是把衣服往床上、地上乱扔，我老得把它们拣起来，真叫我生气。”
可是，妻子的批评使做丈夫的很生气。他对朋友说：
例句-2: "And there"s one thing that really gets my back up: my wife nagging at me to hang my clothes up as soon as I walk in the house at night after a hard day at the office."
他说：“每天在办公室辛苦地工作了一天，可是晚上一走家门，我老婆就开始唠叨，要我把衣服挂好。这实在让我生气。”
要是你觉得背上某一个地方痒痒，而你自己又抓不到。这是很难受的。在这种情况下，最好有人替你抓一下。美国人有一个普遍的说法，那就是：to scratch one"s back。To scratch one"s back从字面上来看就是“抓某人的背”。它的真正含义是：某人帮了你一下忙，而这个帮你忙的人也期望你下回帮他的忙。因此，to scratch one"s back实际上就是：这回你帮我忙，下回我就帮你的忙。例如，一个参议员对他的高级助手说：
例句-3: "This senator from the 11th district scratched my back when he voted for my bill to cut state income taxes, so it"s my turn to do him a favor and vote for that bill for more money for roads in his district."
这位参议员说：“上回在投票通过我提出的有关裁减州所得税的提案时，第十一选区的参议员投了我一票，帮了我的忙。所以，现在是该我帮他忙的时候了，我得投票赞成为他的选区修建公路增加拨款的提案。”
这种现象在政客当中很普遍，但是做买卖的也要相互给好处，请听这位推销员说的话：
例句-4: "In my business it"s important to scratch each other"s back. Say a customer does me a favor by giving me an extra big order. The next time he"s in town I might take him out to dinner and a broadway show."
这位推销员说：“干我们这行，相互帮忙是很重要的。要是一位顾客订了特别大的一批货，帮了我的忙。下次他再到这个城市来的时候，我可能得请他吃晚饭和到百老汇去看演出。”
今天我们讲了两个习惯用语："to get one"s back up"和"to scratch one"s back"。 To get one"s back up是生气的意思；to scratch one"s back是指某人帮了一下忙，帮忙的人也期待对方下回帮他的忙。
流行美语第101课
今天Larry 和Li Hua下课以后在电影院门口商量看什么电影。Li Hua会学到两个常用语：eye candy和 bazillion。
LH: Hmm, 我想看Troy. 听说这部电影挺棒的！
LL: I don"t know, Li Hua. That movie looks like it"s nothing but eye candy.
LH: 你说那部电影是什么？Eye candy? candy不是“糖果”吗？。这是一部关于古希腊的电影，和“糖果”有什么关系呀？
LL: I said it"s mostly eye candy. Eye candy describes something that looks really good, but does not serve a useful purpose.
LH: 噢，你说的是eye candy。Eye candy是比喻某个东西看上去虽好，可是并不实用。那不就有点儿像我们中文里常说的“华而不实”吗？
LL: That"s right. In a movie, fancy special effects are just eye candy.
LH: 现在好多电影都是靠电脑制作的特技场面，看起来挺花哨，其实电影本身一点儿意思也没有。可是Larry, 你知道吗 - Troy 这部电影是Brad Pitt主演啊？
LL: Well, in this case the eye candy is Brad Pitt.
LH: 什么？说Brad Pitt是eye candy, 这也太不公平了。他不仅长得帅，而且演技也是一流的。你怎么能说他“华而不实”呢？
LL: Fine, fine, Brad Pitt is more than just eye candy. Still, I"d rather see something else... like that science fiction film I was telling you about. That"s the kind of eye candy I want to see!
LH: 你要看那部科幻片啊？我看那才是名符其实的eye candy呢！
******
LL: You know, Li Hua, we"ve been standing here trying to choose a movie for fifteen minutes. Why don"t we forget about seeing a movie today? There are a bazillion other things to do in this city.
LH: 就是啊，我们在这儿都站了15分钟还决定不了看哪个电影。那要是不看电影我们干什么呢？你说有a bazillion事情可做。Bazillion - 这是个数字吗？
LL: I said "there are a bazillion other things". "Bazillion" means a lot. It"s supposed to sound like "a billion" or "a zillion" - a large number, anyway.
LH: 对，bazillion听起来就好像billion，或zillion。Billion是十亿， zillion是“千千万”， 所以bazillion也可以说是“许许多多，数不清的”意思。Larry, 你说我们有bazillion的事可干，那你说说我们可以干什么呢？