LL: You know, Li Hua, those are magazines I have had since I was a kid. I would love to look through them, but we don"t have oodles of time.
LH: 你小时候的杂志一直保留到现在， 难怪这么多。对了，你为什么说我们没有很多时间来收拾？我们今天还有别的事吗？
LL: Well, I arranged for a local charity to stop by at 5:00 and pick up the things I don"t need. We"ve got oodles of work to do before they come, and time is running out.
LH: 原来你已经跟慈善机构约好下午五点钟来拉东西。你怎么不早说呢？我们赶快收拾吧。
LL: The problem is that I want to give them useful things. I know I have oodles of things to throw away, but I am not sure I"ll have oodles of things to give to charity.
LH: 别担心，要我看，你的很多东西慈善机构都有用的。比如这些旧衣服和餐具，肯定会有人要的。
LL: Say, are you hungry? Why don"t we make some lunch?
LH: 做午饭？做什么呀？你的冰箱都是空的，没有什么可吃的呀。
LL: I really need to go to the grocery store, but I DO have oodles of noodles.
LH: 你有好多面条，那我们就煮面条吧。
LL: I"m so glad you came by to help out, Li Hua. You"ve made cleaning my apartment oodles of fun!
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LL: Okay, now that we"ve collected everything, I need to decide what I"m going to give to charity and what I"m going to chuck.
LH: Chuck? chuck又是什么意思?
LL: To chuck something is to throw it out.
LH: Oh, chuck就是扔掉。那我们把不要的东西分成两堆， 怎么样？ 一堆捐献， 一堆扔掉。
LL: Okay, I am definitely going to chuck these old magazines.
LH: 这些旧杂志一定要扔掉，那这些毛衣呢？ Do you want to chuck these sweaters?
LL: No, I don"t want to chuck those. I will give those to charity.
LH: 你一下子扔掉这么多东西，以后不会后悔吗？要是你改变了主意怎么办？
LL: I don"t think I"ll change my mind, Li Hua. Most of the things I am chucking, I haven"t used in months.
LH: 我想那些你好久没有用过的东西，扔了你也不会再想到它们。
LL: It just feels good to chuck a bunch of stuff you don"t need. My apartment will be neater after we are done, and I"ll have more room.
LH: 没错，东西扔了以后房间也会整齐一些，地方也会显得大一些Larry, 这个炒菜锅也要扔掉吗？
LL: Well, the handle came off, and I bought another one. So, I just thought I"d chuck it. Since the pan is broken, I didn"t want to give it to charity.
LH: 锅子的把手掉了？让我看看。Larry，我喜欢这个炒菜锅。把它扔了还不如给我算了。 我可以修理。
LL: Li Hua. I"d be happy if you got some use out of it. Giving the pan to a friend is much better than just chucking it in the trash can.
LH: 谢谢你， Larry。 你没听说吗？ 一个人的垃圾是另一个人的宝贝："One man"s trash is another man"s treasure."
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是oodles, 意思是很多。还有一个是chuck, 意思是扔掉。
美国习惯用语第231讲
今天我们要给大家介绍的两个习惯用语都是以hook这个字为主的。Hook就是一个钩子。一百年以前，电影和电视还没有成为美国人生活的一个重要部份。然而，那个时候，美国各地都有戏院，演出那些比较轻松的节目，像唱歌，跳舞和滑稽等。有的时候，这些戏院还会让一些业余的演员在晚上客串演出，让他们有机会试试自己的才能。可惜的是，这些非专业的艺术家大多数水平都很低。当观众感到很不满意的时候，他们就会喝倒彩，甚至往抬上扔鸡蛋和西红柿。在这种情况下，舞台经理就会用一个长长的钩子伸到台上急忙把那个观众不喜欢的演员拉下台。这就是我们今天要讲的第一个习惯用语。To give someone the hook. 从字面上来解释，to give someone the hook就是把钩子给某个人。然而在用做俗语的时候它的意思就是：很突然地解雇某人。下面是一个公司的雇员在说办公室里的秘书。
例句-1: Our new secretary didn"t last long. She always came to work late and left early, and she didn"t learn to use the word processor. So after six weeks the boss had to give her the hook.
这位公司雇员说：我们的秘书没有干多久。她总是迟到早退，而且还不学着用电脑。所以，她干了六个星期后，老板不得不解雇了她。
电脑现在在美国是各行各业都不能缺少的工具，从办公室的秘书一直到最高级的科学家，每个人都得懂得怎么用电脑。美国的电脑发展很快，过不了多久又有新的功能和型号出现，因此许多人老有跟不上的感觉。
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有的人说，有一个好的上司是莫大的幸福。下面的例句就显示出一个好的领导是怎么对待下级的。这是一个研究所的主任在说一名研究员。
例句2: Ron has been an excellent researcher since he joined this institute ten years ago. He has published a number of papers that are considered very valuable. I"m not going to give him the hook just because he made a minor mistake.
他说：罗恩十年前来到这个研究所工作以来一直是一个非常出色的研究员。他发表了好几份被认为非常有价值的论文。我不会因为他犯了一个小错误就解雇他。
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下面我们要给大家讲的一个习惯用语就是：By hook or by crook. By hook or by crook就是：想方设法达到目的，或去得到你想得到的东西。有的时候可以解释为利用不公平或不合法的手段来达到目的。下面是一个例子。
例句3: I sure feel guilty about not getting home the last few years to spend Christmas with mother and dad. But this year I"ll get home by hook or by crook, no matter what!
听起来，这是一个年轻人在说话。他说：过去几年我都没有回家跟我父母一起过圣诞节。我心里觉得很不应该。但是，今年不管怎么样我也得想尽一切办法回家过圣诞节。
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每个人都希望能够在工作岗位上不断被提升。但是，在出现升级的机会的同时也会有激烈的竞争。每个人在面临这种情况的时候都会采取不同的态度，而且差别会很大。下面是一个人在说他办公室的一个同事。
例句4: Everyone likes to be promoted, that"s perfectly understandable. But David is trying to get that promotion by hook or by crook; he even spread rumors smearing the other candidates. This is awful!
这个人说：每个人都想被提升，这是完全可以理解的。但是，戴维德为了这次能够被提升正在千方百计地想办法。他甚至散布谣言，诬蔑其他有可能被提升的人。这太不像话了。
流行美语第231课
Larry有件事要告诉李华，但是他要李华保守秘密。 李华今天会学到两个常用语Hush-hush和Blabbermouth。
LL: So, Li Hua, I have some news I"d like to share with you, but I"d like you to keep it hush-hush.
LH: Hush-hush? 我知道，hush-hush是要人别出声， 保持安静。Larry，你为什么要我别出声呢？
LL: Something that is hush-hush means private and secret. It is something you don"t want other people to know about.
LH: 原来hush-hush在这里是指秘密的，不能告诉别人。 难道你有什么秘密吗？
LL: I got a new job!
LH: Wow! 你找到新工作了，太好了， Larry。 我还以为是什么不可告人的事情呢。这么好的消息你为什么不告诉大家呢？
LL: Well, I am excited about it, and I do want to tell everyone, but my new job won"t start for several months. I want to keep it hush-hush until I"m ready to tell people at my current job.
LH: 新工作要几个月以后才开始，你现在还不想让老板和同事们知道。那好，我一定为你保密。不过这个秘密我们要保守多久呢？
LL: About two months. Then I"ll tell my boss and co-workers, and you won"t have to keep my news hush-hush any more.
LH: 两个月以后你就要告诉老板和同事了。我想他们一定会舍不得你走。 Larry，我也要告诉你一个秘密。 It is all very hush-hush.
LL: What"s that?
LH: 我的一个学生最近在华盛顿申请了一份工作， 听说是去一个秘密机构。
LL: If it is so hush-hush, how do you know about it?
LH: 因为我给她写了推荐信， 那个单位还找我谈话，调查这位学生的情况。
LL: Hmm, a hush-hush organization. Is she applying to become a secret agent?
LH: 你说她在申请作特工？ 这我可不能告诉你， 你知道我必须保密。
LL: Oh, I know. I"m just curious. Sometimes it is hard to keep things hush-hush. Like the fact that my friend Dave is dating your friend Mary.
LH: Dave 和Mary? 他们在谈恋爱？ 我怎么没听说呢？
LL: Dave asked me to keep it hush-hush for a while, because he wanted to be sure that Mary liked him and that it wasn"t a one-time thing.