LL: Yeah, that ticks me off, too, but there"s nothing we can do about it. What else ticks you off?
LH: 说的也是，我啊再抱怨，作业还是得做。嗯，还有什么事让我生气的啊？对了，我那同屋常常三更半夜才回家，每次都把我吵醒，我一生气就怎么也睡不着了！
LL: No wonder you look so tired lately. You should really talk to your roommate about that. You need to sleep.
LH: 我看起来很累的样子，是不是？哎呀，真糟糕。我是该跟她好好谈谈，可是这种事情真的很难开口嘛！
LL: You can just very politely tell her that it really ticks you off when she comes home so late and ask her to try and be more quiet.
LH: 很礼貌地告诉她她那么晚回来让我生气？让她小声一点？唉，我得好好想想该怎么说才不让她生气。I don"t want to tick her off.
******
LL: Hey, Li Hua, you"re still looking really tired today. Didn"t you talk to your roommate?
LH: 唉，别提了，我和我同屋说了啊！可是她叫我get lost。嗯，Larry，get lost是什么意思啊？
LL: That"s so rude! "Get lost" is a rude way of telling someone to leave. She told you in a very rude way to leave her alone.
LH: 哎哟，昨天她说的时候是很不高兴的样子，但是我当时不懂什么是get lost。 哼，原来是叫我走开，别烦她的意思。这可真是粗鲁。那我现在该怎么办呢？
LL: Next time she comes home at 2 am, I would tell her to get lost and find somewhere else to sleep.
LH: 下次她再晚回家，你让我也对她说get lost, 叫她到别处睡去。那怎么行哪？
LL: I know, but she deserves it. Maybe you can look for another roommate. She doesn"t sound like a nice person to live with.
LH: 嗯！你说得没错。等我找到一个新的同屋就把她给踢出去。到那时，我就可以对她说get lost！
LL: That"s right. I"m sure you"ll tick her off.
LH: 她要生气，那真是活该了。嗨, 对了，Larry, 我们刚才应该对那个打电话的人说get lost，对不对？
LL: We could, but that would be kind of rude. Try not to use "get lost" too much unless you are kidding with someone.
LH: 噢，开玩笑的时候也可以说。OK, Larry, get lost!
今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是：to tick someone off, 意思是惹人生气，讨人厌。李华学到的另一个常用语是get lost。意思是叫人走开，别来烦我的意思。这是一种非常粗鲁的说法。
「美国习惯用语」第一百一十一讲
shrimp
crab
不管是英文还是中文，人们往往用动物的名称来形容人，例如骂人的时候说某人像猪，像狗，或者赞扬某人鹤立鸡群等。美国人有时把人形容为像一只虾。虾在英文里就是：“shrimp”。
大约八百年前，shrimp这个字首先是用来指那些个子矮小的人。后来人们才把虾称为shrimp。但是，现在人们还是经常叫个子矮小的人shrimp。我们来举一个有关体育的例子：
例句-1: "Basketball is a game for tall people. But once in a while a player like Mugsy Bogues comes along. Mugsy is a real shrimp--only 1.6 meters tall. But he"s so quick and clever he can play on equal terms with all those giants."
这句话的意思是：“篮球是适合个子高的人打的球。可是偶然也会出现像马格西博格这样个子矮小的球员。马格西博格体格实在是矮小，身高只有一米六。但是他机智灵活，和那些个子高大的球员一样地打球。”
下面我们来举一个有关政客的例子：
例句-2: "The great French leader Napoleon was shorter than everybody around him, so you"d have to call him a little shrimp. But for a shrimp, he certainly made the rest of Europe tremble."
这句话的中文意思是：“法国伟大的领导人拿破比他周围的人都矮，所以你可以说他像只小虾。但是作为一只小虾，他却震憾了整个欧洲。”
下面我们来给大家介绍一下美国人是如何把crab，也就是螃蟹这个字用在日常口语中的。螃蟹有许多腿，还有那双很利害的钳子。大概是由于它的相貌，人们都认为它是一种性情急燥、容易动怒的动物。正因为这样，美国人把那些性格暴燥，脾气很坏的人叫做crab。例如，学生经常把老师叫做crab，特别是当他们要执行学校规章制度的时候。下面就是一个学生在说话：
例句-3: "I don"t like any of my teachers much, but the one I hate the most is Missus Gray. She"s such an old crab, always scolding us for making noise, chewing gum, not doing our homework."
他说：“所有的老师我都不太喜欢。但是，我最恨的是格雷小姐。她真是个老螃蟹，老骂我们不安静、吃口香糖、不做家庭作业。”
美国人不仅把crab这个字用于妇女，而且有时也用在男人身上。例如：
例句-4: "My neighbor is such an old crab. He practically does not allow me to listen to music and watch TV. Whenever I turn on my radio or television set, he knocks on my door and angrily orders me to stop."
这个人说：“我的邻居可真是个老螃蟹。他不让我听音乐和看电视。每当我打开收音机或电视机，他就会来敲我的门，怒气冲冲地要我把它们关掉。”
我们刚才讲了shrimp和crab这两个字。Shrimp作为俗语是指身材矮小的人。Crab是指那些性情暴燥的人。
流行美语第111课声音
李华刚下课，走出课堂就碰上Larry。李华在和Larry 谈话中会学到两个常用语：to go off on someone 和what"s the deal.
(School building lobby SFX)
LH: Hey, Larry. 你刚下课啊？对了，我刚好要问你，今天你有没有见到Dave？
LL: Dave? No, I haven"t seen him anywhere since professor Jones went off on him yesterday morning.
LH: Jones教授对Dave怎么啦？你说他went off on Dave? 那是什么意思呢？
LL: To go off on someone means to suddenly get very angry at someone. "To go off " can mean "to explode"- for instance, something like a bomb or a gun can go off.
LH: 噢，to go off on someone就是突然对某人大发脾气，就好像丨炸丨弹爆炸，枪支开火那样。那Jones教授为什么突然对Dave大发脾气呢？
LL: Dave asked Professor Jones if he could turn in a paper a few days late, and Professor Jones just went off on him.
LH: Dave 怎么经常要求晚几天交报告呐？唉，也难怪Jones教授要go off on him对他发脾气了。Larry，你再给我举几个go off on someone的例子吧！
LL: Hmm, let me think. I remember when I was in Beijing I tried to pay a taxi driver, and he went off on me for several minutes. I had no idea why he was so angry. It turned out, what I gave him was a counterfeit note.
LH: 你给出租车司机假钞票，那他当然要对你大发脾气咯！
LL: Li Hua, have you ever gone off on someone here in the U.S.?
LH: 我啊，我英文还不是很好，轻易不敢和人吵架。我只有对我过去那个同屋发了好几次脾气，因为她实在太脏，而且还想偷偷搬出去，就是为了想赖掉一个月的房租呢！
LL: She tried to cheat you out of a month"s rent? If my roommate did that, I wouldn"t just go off on him, I"d take him to court!
******
LL: So anyway, what"s the deal with Professor Jones lately? He always seems to be in a bad mood.
LH: What"s the deal? 你在说什么啊？deal不是交易的意思吗？你是问我，Jones教授在和什么人作交易？
LL: No, no, Li Hua. When I ask "what"s the deal", I mean "what is the situation?" I was asking why he is in a bad mood.
LH: 噢，我知道了，what"s the deal就是我们中文里常说的“怎么回事”。你刚才是问我，Jones教授心情不好到底是怎么回事。我听说，他对今年没能升上正教授的职位好像挺失望的。
LL: Really? What"s the deal with that? He"s been in this department for years!
LH: 就是啊! Jones教授在我们系上教书也有好多年了，不给他提升，究竟是怎么回事，谁也不知道。
LL: That seems to be unfair. Well, Li Hua, what"s the deal tomorrow night? Is everyone still planning to go together to that concert?
LH: 明天晚上是这样，我和另外三个同学会去听演唱会，可是我的车出问题了，现在还在修车厂呢。Larry，我们能搭你的车去吗？
LL: Well, here"s the deal: I"ve got class until six thirty tomorrow, and the concert is at eight. It"s probably best if you meet me here at school, since I might not have enough time to pick you all up.
LH: 哼，你明天6点半才下课，而演唱会8点就开始。对，要你去接我们恐怕是来不及。那就照你说的吧，我们到学校来等你！噢，对了, Ed明天不想去，他和Jill刚分手，不想和Jill见面。
LL: Really? What"s the deal with those two? I thought they were really happy together, but I heard that Jill went off on Ed the other night.