LL: I like the sound of that. While we"re on the subject, "dibs" has another use, too. If I say I have dibs on the last piece of cake, then that means that I claim it for myself.
LH: 噢！Dibs还可以用来表示某种要求或权利。好，那我先说了，这块糖是我的。I have dibs on this candy bar.
LL: Hey, that"s the last one! We won"t be able to get lunch until after we bring the stereo back to my apartment. Can"t you share it with me?
LH: 嘿！我已经说了，I have dibs on it. 这块糖就是我的。
LL: That"s not very generous. You know I would share it with you.
LH: 好啦！好啦！我是开玩笑的。你可以和我一起分这块糖。
LL: Thank you. You can have first dibs on the next candy bar you find.
LH: 对了，Bob还有那么多东西要卖。他有没有也让你优先决定呢？
LL: He gave me first dibs on some of his furniture, too, but I don"t really need anything right now. Well, we"re here. Let"s go get my new stereo.
******
LL: I"m sorry, Li Hua, but you don"t get to ride shotgun on the way home. I need you to sit in back and hold the stereo.
LH: 你要我坐在后座抱住你的音响啊？可以啊！可是你怎么说我不能坐shotgun？我本来就没想拿枪呀！
LL: You don"t get to ride shotgun means that you can"t sit in the front passenger seat. The front passenger seat is often referred to as "shotgun."
LH: 原来shotgun就是指前面驾驶座旁的座位啊？好奇怪！为什么要用“枪”来形容一个座位呢？
LL: Have you ever seen an old Western movie about cowboys and Indians?
LH: 西部电影，我当然看过啊！只是我觉得西部电影都挺暴力的，我不是很喜欢。
LL: In the old days, it wasn"t very safe, so there was often a person who sat next to the driver of the horse-drawn carriage. This person carried a shotgun to protect the carriage.
LH: 原来如此。过去由于不安全，所以为了保护马车的安全，坐在马车前排的人手上都拿着枪。前排那个座位就被称为shotgun. 真有意思！
LL: Exactly. Do you mind if you can"t ride shotgun on the way home?
LH: 没问题！我可以坐在后面保护你的音响。反正我经常坐在前座，偶尔换换坐后面，也没关系！
LL: Thanks, Li Hua. From now on, you always have first dibs on shotgun, no matter who else is riding with us.
LH: Larry！你说了就得算数哟！以后不管跟谁一起坐车，我都可以有优先权坐在前座。太好了！Larry，我们可不可以去吃午饭？那半块糖根本不够，我好饿噢！
LL: I agree. Let"s go.
今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是: first dibs, 就是有优先权。另一个常用语是shotgun. 这是指汽车驾驶座旁的那个座位。
流行美语第134课
Larry和李华刚上完课，现在在一面喝咖啡，一面聊天。今天李华会学到两个常用语：off one"s rocker和silent treatment.
(Bar noise)
LH: Larry, 我看你一直盯着那边那个女孩。你为什么不走过去跟她聊一聊呢？
LL: Are you kidding? She"ll think I"m off my rocker if I just walk over and start talking to her.
LH: 你走过去跟她讲话，她会认为你是什么？Off your rocker，那是什么意思啊？
LL: To be "off one"s rocker" means to be crazy. I"m afraid she"ll think I"m crazy, or at least really weird, if I start talking to her for no reason.
LH: 噢！所以off one"s rocker就是指一个人特别怪，行为反常。嗨，你要是觉得和陌生人说话很奇怪，那你才真的是off your rocker呢！
LL: I don"t know, I guess I"m just a little shy about it, okay?
LH: 你这么害羞，难怪总是错失良机！算了，你要胆子那么小，我也没办法。哎，Larry，你看那边那个人才真的有点不正常？
LL: Who?
LH: 就是坐在角落里的那个人，你看他还在唱歌呢！
LL: Yeah, he looks like he"s a bit off his rocker, but he"s probably just really drunk.
LH: 就是，也许他是喝醉了。Larry，我今天不能玩太晚。明天早上9点钟，历史课的教授要给大家补课。
LL: 9:00 am on a Saturday morning? Your professor is either completely off his rocker or he just likes to torture his students.
LH: 星期六早上给大家补课不是挺好吗？ 你认为这教授是疯啦！ 我看你才是off your rocker。Larry，班上没有一个同学认为那教授这样做有什么不正常，更没有人认为他是为了要折磨学生。
LL: Ok, ok. But to me, anyone who likes to go to class on Saturday morning is off his rocker.
******
LL: Hey, I forgot to tell you that my sister is giving me the silent treatment. She"s mad at me for telling our mom about her new boyfriend.
LH: 你把你妹妹交男朋友的事告诉你妈，难怪你妹妹对你发火。你说她还给你silent treatment，那是什么意思？
LL: To give someone "the silent treatment" is to refuse to talk to that person. My sister is refusing to talk to me because she"s mad at me.
LH: 噢，我懂了。Silent treatment就是不理你，不跟你说话。这么说，你妹妹也不接你电话咯？
LL: No, she wouldn"t even speak to me when I was home last weekend.
LH: 我最讨厌这种态度了。不讲话，能解决问题吗？
LL: Exactly. If my sister is giving me the silent treatment, then how are we supposed to talk over the problem?
LH: 我还记得，当我告诉我妈我决定要来美国念书时，她气得一个月不和我说话。
LL: She probably wasn"t really mad at you. She was just upset that you would be so far away.
LH: 我知道，她不是真的生我的气，而是不舍得我到这么远的地方来念书。可是不说话有什么用啊！
LL: Sometimes giving someone the silent treatment is a good idea, though. There are a couple of people I avoid talking to because I know that they like to gossip.
LH: 那倒也是。碰上那种喜欢嚼舌头的人，最好不和他们说话。去年我的同屋就是这样的人，所以我一个学期都不跟她说话，给她silent treatment。
LL: Hey, Li Hua, you learn fast!
今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是off one"s rocker，就是指一个人行为不正常。也就是我们平常所说的，某某人疯了。另外一个常用语是silent treatment，就是沉默对待的意思。
「美国习惯用语」第一百三十四讲
in the pink
fit as a fiddle
我们曾经给大家介绍过几个在你感到身体不舒服的时候说的习惯用语。不知大家还记不记得? 比如说：under the weather是什么意思？这是指：不太舒服。什么是：down with the bug? 这是：由于流行性病毒的感染而不舒服。当然，表达身体不舒服的说法有很多，上面举的只是其中的两个。可是，我们不能老是说不高兴的事，今天我们来讲两个在身体很健康和精力充沛的时候说的常用语。首先，我们要讲的是：in the pink。
当一个人告诉你：He is in the pink，那你就知道他肯定感到身体很好。In the pink这个习惯用语的出处说法各有不同。有的人说，in the pink这个俗语可能是来自跑马场，因为在那里，人们把 in the pink用来形容那些看起来很健壮的马。但是，有的人有不同的看法；他们认为凡是身体健康的人，他们的皮肤都会呈现一种粉色的光泽，就像我们说有的人脸色很好，白里透红一样。这些人说in the pink这个说法就是从这儿来的。我们来举个例子吧：
例句-1: "Our next door neighbor came back from the hospital yesterday after his heart attack. And I"m glad to say he certainly looks back in the pink again."
这句话的意思是：“我们的隔壁邻居心脏病发作进了医院，昨天他出院回家了。他看起来确实和以往一样健康，我很高兴。”
在美国，邻里关系也各有不同。有的地方邻居关系很密切，互相照应，来往很多。有孩子的家庭往往会互相合作，轮流接送孩子，这样大家都可以省点时间。美国人经常要出去旅行，邻居关系好会带来很多方便，因为在你出门的时候，你可以请邻居替你浇花、喂猫、收取邮件等。更重要的是，好的邻居会经常关心你的家，万一发现有可疑的人想乘虚而入时，他就会及时替你报警。但是，也有的地方邻居没有来往的。有的人在一个地方住了好几年还像陌生人一样。下面我们再来用in the pink来举个例子，这是一个人在睡了一个好觉后感到精神百倍。他说：
例句-2: "It"s amazing what a good night"s sleep can do for a man. I thought I was getting a cold yesterday so I went to bed a couple of hours early and I really feel in the pink now."
这人说：“晚上睡一个好觉能对一个人起多大的作用，这真实令人吃惊。我昨天以为我感冒了，所以比平时早两个小时就上床了。现在我感到精神好极了。”
要是你觉得身体非常好，你不仅可以说in the pink，你还可以用另一个习惯用语来表达这个意思：fit as a fiddle。