LH: 是啊，像我们这种穷学生，对这么贵的车，可是想都不敢想。不过，Bob有一份好工作，钱赚的多，所以才能买这么贵的车。
LL: Just imagine, in a few years, you and I will be able to afford wheels like that.
LH: 嗯，就算以后我能赚这么多钱，我大概也不会用来买那样的车。
LL: Why not? I"d buy a set of wheels like that if I had enough money.
LH: 我认为你不必花那么多钱就能买辆不错的汽车，而且你还可以把剩下的钱买别的东西，像是买房子啊！
LL: That"s true. I guess it depends on your priorities. If it"s really important to you to have a fancy set of wheels, then it seems worth it.
LH: 每个人的优先考虑都不一样，如果有一辆豪华车对你来说是重要的，那就值得。我呀，宁可把钱存起来，或用在其他东西上。
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LL: Bob got into an accident and ruined his new car. Isn"t that the pits?
LH: 啊！Bob撞车啦！好可怕， 那他受伤了吗？
LL: He had minor infuries, but he"ll be okay.
LH: 噢，受了轻伤，那倒还算好。Larry，你刚才说the pits，那是什么意思？
LL: If something or someplace is "the pits" it means it is the worst situation or place imaginable.
LH: 噢，the pits，是指最糟糕，最差劲的意思。就是啊，Bob那么贵的新车就这样撞烂了，真是太糟糕了！还好他受的伤并不严重。
LL: I visited him yesterday and he"s kind of depressed. Fortunately, his insurance will pay for a new car.
LH: 你昨天去看他啦？他情绪低是可以想象的。不过，保险公司会出钱帮他买新车，那太好了！那Bob什么时候可以拿到新车？
LL: He has to special order another car like his and it will take several months. Until then, he won"t have a car to drive.
LH: 他为什么要定做一辆和他一样的车呢？这不但要等上好几个月，而且几个月没有车开。That"s the pits! 要是我，换一辆车不就行了吗？
LL: I know. His injuries won"t allow him to walk very well and now he doesn"t have a car to drive either. That really IS the pits.
LH: 真可怜。Larry，我们可以带Bob去吃晚饭，让他开心一点啊！我们可以去学校附近那家新餐馆。
LL: No, I tried that place last week and it"s really the pits. Let"s take him somewhere a bit nicer.
LH: 你说那家餐馆很差劲。好吧，那我们就让Bob自己决定上哪儿吃饭喽！
今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是set of wheels，就是指汽车，你也可以说wheels。另一个常用语是the pits，是指最糟糕，最差劲的意思。
美国习惯用语第177讲
我们讲过几个表示非常生气的习惯用语，例如像：To make one"s blood boil.我们今天再来讲两个和生气有关的俗语。我们要讲的第一个俗语是：To hit the ceiling.To hit就是“碰撞，打击”。Ceiling就是“屋顶”。To hit the ceiling，顾名思义就是“撞到了屋顶”。作为俗语，它的意思就是：一个人生气得暴跳如雷，甚至都撞到了屋顶。这个说法具有一般成语和俗语的特点，也就是夸大。但是，也正是由于这一特点使得成语和俗语变得很生动，有时还带有幽默的色彩。下面我们举的例子是一个儿子因为出了车祸而使他的爸爸非常生气。这个男孩对他的朋友说：
例句-1: The only real damage was a bent fender, but I knew Dad would hit the ceiling when he saw it. Sure enough, he was so angry that he made me pay for the repairs myself.
他说：“其实汽车真正给撞坏的地方也就是后面的保险杠。但是，我知道我爸爸看见了会火冒三丈的。果然不出我所料，他真是非常生气，甚至要我自己掏钱来付修理费。”
一般的美国人对自己的汽车是非常爱惜的，甚至于还很有感情。有的车用的时间很长，车子就好像成了家庭成员了。有些人长期把很老的车放在车库里，即便不用也不肯处理掉。
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下面是一个人在说他的一个同事，由于工作无效而给老板解雇了。他说：
例句-2: Mary"s been always very slow in her work. Her boss has warned her several times. Yesterday, when she again missed the deadline for a report, he hit the ceiling and fired her on the spot.
这个人说：“玛丽的工作速度总是很慢。她的老板已经警告她好几次了。昨天，当她的老板听说她又没能在限期前写完一个报告，他火冒三丈，当时就解雇了她。”
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生气的时候火冒三丈，跳得那么高，甚至碰到屋顶，这还不算厉害。下面还有一个说法，其后果可能更糟：to blow one"s top.
To blow可以解释为“吹气”的“吹”。但是，在这里解释为“爆炸”。Top一般来说是最高的意思，在这里是指人的头顶。所以，to blow one"s top的字面意思就是把某人的头顶都炸开了。俗语的意思几乎跟中文里的怒发冲冠相似，当然，怒发冲冠可能比把头顶炸开要温和的多，但是他们都是表示非常生气。下面我们来举个例子。这是一个妈妈在对他的孩子做自我检讨：
例句-3: I"m sorry I yelled at you kids this afternoon when I came home and saw the mess you"d made in the kitchen. Sure, I had a hard day at work, but I really shouldn"t blow my top that way!
这位妈妈说：“非常对不起。今天下午我回家看见你们把厨房弄得乱七八糟的，所以就对你们这几个孩子大声嚷嚷。当然了，我今天工作很忙很累，但是我实在不应该那么大发雷霆。”
美国人当中有许多人有一种敢于承认错误，向对方道歉的习惯。家长也经常会对孩子表示道歉，说明自己做错了，就像上面这个例子里的妈妈那样。
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你们有没有发现在你们周围的人当中，有的人总是非常准时，可是有的人却老是迟到。这有的时候不得不使人感到人们生来就是有不同习惯的。下面这个人就是在说一个老是迟到的朋友。
例句-4: Every time Bill and I make plans to see each other, he"s always late and keeps me waiting at least twenty minutes. This morning I waited for almost an hour and I practically blew my top when I saw him.
这人说：“每次我和比尔约好见面，他没有一次不迟到的；我至少要等他二十分钟。今天早上，我等了将近一个小时。等我见到他的时候，我可真是大发雷霆。”
说到准时不准时，有的美国人认为这跟每个民族的文化和风俗习惯有关。因此，有的时候当某人迟到的时候，他们就会说这是：Mexican time. 意思是“墨西哥人往往迟到，所以这是不足为奇的”。这种观点有它一定道理，但是也不能一概而论。墨西哥人里也有准时的，美国人当中也有不准时的。
流行美语第177课
Larry在告诉李华这个星期他办公室发生的一场争论。今天李华会学到两个常用语：to have a beef with someone和hit pay dirt。
LL: The boss still wants to fire Jim because they had a beef over the last sales report.
LH: 老板要开除Jim，因为他们有什么？A beef？你是说他们为了一些牛肉在吵架？
LL: No (laughing), not beef as in the beef that you eat. To have a beef with someone means to have a disagreement. The boss and Jim had a disagreement over the sales report.
LH: 噢，哈哈，原来have a beef with someone就是和某人有争执。这和我们吃的牛肉一点关系也没有。你老板为什么会和Jim吵架呢？
LL: Well, the boss felt that Jim had done a really bad job of preparing the report and Jim felt that the boss did not give him enough time to do the report properly.
LH: 噢，老板觉得Jim写的报告太差，而Jim觉得老板没给他足够的时间，所以两人就这么吵起来啦？Jim had a beef with the boss。我说得对吗？
LL: Yep. Now, the boss is making everyone else miserable because of his beef with Jim.
LH: 他是和Jim闹不开心，这跟其他人有什么关系呢？
LL: He"s just been in a really bad mood and he"s being tough on everyone. It"s not fair. His beef is with Jim, not the rest of the people in the office.
LH: 他不高兴就对办公室里每个人都特别厉害。这是很不公平。他是跟Jim吵架，又不是和全办公室吵架。
LL: Exactly. I"m worried that the situation will go too far and there will be major problems in our office.
LH: 你怕情况发展下去办公室会出大问题呀？你们为什么不让Jim向老板道个歉。这不就完了吗？
LL: I don"t think he"ll do that.
LH: 他不会道歉？啊呀，你劝劝他嘛。关键在他身上， 道了欠紧张气氛就化解了，对大家都有好处。
LL: It"s worth a try. Maybe Jim will be willing to sacrifice his own interests and resolve his beef with the boss.
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LL: Hey, Li Hua, you really hit pay dirt with that suggestion you made. Jim apologized to the boss and everybody is happy now.
LH: Jim和你们老板道歉啦？那太好了！不过，Larry，你说hit pay dirt是什么意思，我听不懂耶！