例句-3: "I turned down the job at the hamburger restaurant. They only pay chicken feed -- not even enough money to pay my rent."
这个人很明显是在找工作，他说：“我没有接受那个汉堡包店的工作。他们付的工资实在太少，还不够我付房租呢。”
美国社会发展变化得非常快。有的人说现在比过去强，但是也有不少人存在今非昔比的想法。有些人认为，好些人都有能力为自己的家庭买一栋房子，实现了所谓的[美国梦想]。可是，美国也确实有很多无家可归的人，因此另外一些人认为美国梦想已经破裂。正因为如此，有的人经常在谈话时流露出怀旧的心情。下面这个例句就是一个人在把现在的物价和五十年以前的物价做对比。他说：
例句-4: "My grandfather says that 50 years ago a salary of $5,000 a year meant you could live very comfortably. But these days $5,000 is just chicken feed; you"d have a tough time just surviving on it."
这个人说：“我祖父说，五十年前，一年五千美元的工资意味着你可以生活的非常舒服。可是，现在五千美元年薪真是微不足道，难以维持生活。”
今天我们学习了两个和chicken这个字有关的常用语。一个是：to chicken out，也就是临阵退缩的意思。我们今天讲的另一个和chicken有关的俗语是:：chicken feed，意思是很少量的钱。
流行美语第118课
李华正在家里批改中文班学生的考卷。Larry来找他。今天李华会学到两个常用语：flunk和lose sleep over.
(Paper rustling sounds)
LH: (sighs) 唉，这两个学生又不及格了。这学期他们已经是第三次考试不及格了！
LL: What? You"re flunking them? I thought I told you to go easy on your poor students.
LH: 你在说什么啊？flunk them? 什么是flunk?
LL: I said you are going to flunk the students. That means you"re going to give them a failing grade.
LH: 噢！flunk就是给他们不及格分数啊，那你还真说对了。你看看他们的考卷！这能及格吗？
LL: Heh, let me see... whoa, that guy even wrote his own Chinese name wrong! If he can"t even get that right, he"s almost definitely going to flunk!
LH: 就是嘛！连自己的中文名都写错。我只能给他不及格了。等等，Larry，你先是说我flunk这些学生，给他们不及格，现在又说他们自己要flunk。这到底是谁要flunk谁啊？
LL: The word flunk can mean both "to give a failing grade to" as well as "to fail a course". So if you flunk that student, he will flunk the class. Got it?
LH: 噢，我懂了，flunk既可以指给学生不及格的分数，也可以指学生自己考不及格。那Larry, 你是不是也有过不及格的时候啊？
LL: What? No way! ...well, almost. Actually, I almost flunked my first beginner"s Chinese class. But I managed to pass with a C.
LH: 我的天啊！只拿到C？你啊！八成和我这些学生一样懒散，不认真。我要是你的中文老师，绝对让你不及格的！
LL: Hey, I did my best! My first Chinese teacher even tutored me on her own free time. If it weren"t for her, I would have flunked!
LH: 嗯，那是你运气，老师愿意帮你补课。我也愿意帮这些学生补习，可是他们经常连课都不来上，我能怎么办？
LL: They don"t come to class? What a couple of idiots. Well, go ahead and flunk them, then.
******
LH: (Sighs) 唉！我真不知道该怎么处理那两个学生的成绩。
LL: Yeah, I"d go ahead and just flunk them. Don"t lose any sleep over it, they deserve it.
LH: 你要我别怎么样？睡不着觉？你在说些什么啊？
LL: When I say lose sleep over something, I mean not to worry about it a lot.
LH: 噢，你这么说我就懂了。Lose sleep over something就是说你非常担心某件事情，而到了睡不着觉的地步。Larry，你真以为我会为这两个学生担心到失眠呐？
LL: Of course not. When we use this phrase, we are just exaggerating. I know you won"t really lose sleep over something like this.
LH: 原来lose sleep over是有点夸张的说法。我虽然还不到失眠的程度。可是有时候我真觉得当一个老师压力好大，有好多责任呢！
LL: Most of your students seem to be doing pretty well, right? You aren"t losing any sleep over the other students, are you?
LH: 没有！我有一些学生非常聪明，也很用功。
LL: That"s good. That means the other two students are just irresponsible. There"s no need to lose sleep over them failing your class.
LH: 对了，就这两个学生有问题。他们不及格也是他们自己的责任。Larry, 我听说你前几天回绝了一个工作机会。怎么回事呀？
LL: That? Oh, I"m not losing any sleep over that decision. I just don"t have time for that job, I had no other choice.
LH: 没事就好。时间太紧张就别再给自己增加负担，读书还是比较重要的。
LL: That"s right. I"d rather have a low income than flunk a class. That"s the kind of thing I could really lose sleep over!
LH: 我真希望我所有的学生都像你一样，宁可钱少，也不能不及格。
今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是flunk，意思是老师给学生不及格分数，或是学生考不及格。另外一个常用语是lose sleep over something, 是为某件事担心而到了失眠的地步。
流行美语第119课
Larry和李华刚刚上完美国历史课，两人正在讨论上课的内容。今天李华会学到两个常用语: out to get someone和go to bat for someone.
LL: Hey, Li Hua, did you notice how professor Smith kept asking Mary really hard questions? He really seemed out to get her.
LH: 就是啊！我也在纳闷呢！Smith教授好象在故意刁难Mary，他问她的问题恐怕谁都答不出来。真是奇怪。Larry你说教授是out to get her，那是什么意思啊？
LL: If a person is "out to get" someone else it means that he has a grudge against that person and wants to hurt or embarrass her.
LH: 哼，out to get someone 就是故意让某人难堪，和他过不去。可是Smith 教授和Mary有什么过节，为什么要这样对她呢？
LL: I heard that a student complained about Prof. Smith to the department chair. It"s possible that she was the one who complained and now he"s out to get her for it.
LH: 你怀疑Mary在系主任那里表示对Smith教授不满，所以教授现在要整她？哎哟！ 要是被教授盯上，故意和你过不去，那可惨了！
LL: Yeah, I can imagine that it"s stressful. I"ve never had a professor that was out to get me, but I had a classmate that was out to get me once.
LH: 真的啊？你那个同学为什么和你过不去呢？
LL: Well, I asked out the girl he liked and she went out with me. He was so angry that he was always spreading rumors about me. He even told the girl that I had another girlfriend
LH: 那可不能怪你呀！那个女孩愿意和你约会，他就算喜欢那女孩，也不应该散布中伤你的谣言嘛！那，那个女孩她相信那些谣言吗？
LL: Of course not. She knew he was out to get me. Have you ever known anyone who was out to get you?
LH: 我啊，我也有过这种不愉快的经验。我以前那个同屋常常会故意删掉别人给我的电话留言，特别是一些重要信息内。你说，这不是故意整我吗？
LL: Yeah, she really had a grudge against you after you asked her to be quieter when she came home at night.
LH: 就是啊！自从我让她晚上回来别声音太大以后，她老是跟我过不去。这种人真不讲理。
******
LH: 我真不敢相信Smith教授居然会当着全班面骂Mary笨！
LL: But did you see how that other student went to bat for her? He told the professor that his behavior was unprofessional in front of everyone.
LH: 对，那个男同学真是有男子汉大丈夫的气概。他站起来指责教授。可是这和bat有什么关系？Bat不是球棒的意思吗？
LL: That term comes from baseball. If you go to bat for someone else it means you stand up for them and defend them.
LH: 噢！Go to bat for someone就是替某人打抱不平，就像那个男同学替Mary出头，站起来批评Smith教授一样咯！
LL: Exactly. Can you think of a time that someone went to bat for you?
LH: 嗯，有一次我骑着自行车被一个开车的人撞上，那人还怪我，说是我的错。不是你跳出来帮我忙的吗！你怎么忘了呢？我记得你还叫了丨警丨察呢。You really went to bat for me.
LL: Oh, that was nothing. I was just helping you out. I"m sure you would have gone to bat for me, too.
LH: 那当然，朋友有难，我一定会拔刀相助，替你出头啊！哦！还有一次，一个女同学在考试的时候偷看我的考卷，还向教授说是我做弊呢。
LL: Yeah, I remember that.