LL: If you don"t want a cuppa joe, then what are you going to order to drink?
LH: 我要一杯茶好了。
LL: I"ve heard that a cup of tea doesn"t have quite as much caffeine as a cuppa joe. Is that true?
LH: 是呀，茶里所含的咖啡因确实不如咖啡多。
LL: Then why would anyone want to drink tea instead of a cuppa joe?
LH: 据我所知，除了咖啡因含量低以外，茶对人体还有其它许多咖啡没有的好处，特别是绿茶。听说绿茶里的抗氧化物质还能防癌呢。
LL: But I still can"t live without my cuppa joe.
******
LH: Larry, 你真的那么喜欢喝咖啡吗？
LL: I guess you could say that drinking coffee is one of my guilty pleasures.
LH: 喜欢喝咖啡也算犯罪吗？
LL: A guilty pleasure is something you like to do, but isn"t good for you. I"m not guilty of a crime when I drink coffee, but I do know there are better things I could be drinking.
LH: 我知道了，A guilty pleasure的意思是一种内疚的快感，就是说你明知道喝咖啡可能不如喝茶和喝水对身体好，但你还是愿意喝咖啡。
LL: That"s right. What about you Li Hua, do you have any guilty pleasures?
LH: 我，当然有了，其中之一就是冰激凌。
LL: Ah yes, how could I forget? Eating ice cream is definitely a guilty pleasure for you.
LH: 我知道冰激凌是高糖和高脂肪的食品，我也担心吃多了会胖，可我就是管不住自己。这不能算是最糟糕的guilty pleasure吧。
LL: Some people like to drink alcohol or to gamble. These are guilty pleasures you have to be really careful about.
LH: 是呀，酗酒和赌博都会让人上瘾，带来各种各样的问题。这些guilty pleasure可不是闹着玩的。不过我想，大多数guilty pleasure都是无害的吧。
LL: Yes, my mother"s guilty pleasure was taking a bubble bath on Sunday afternoons.
LH: 星期天下午洗泡沫浴，这也算guilty pleasure吗？
LL: She felt like she should be taking care of me and my brother and sister, but instead her guilty pleasure was to enjoy the quiet relaxation of some time alone in the bath tub.
LH: 她内疚是因为觉得应该照顾孩子，不应该自己躲起来享受啊。Larry, 咱们的午饭和你的Cuppa joe来了，快吃吧。
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是a Cuppa joe，意思是一杯咖啡。另外一个是guilty pleasure, 意思是带有内疚的快感。
美国习惯用语第242讲
美国人跟中国人一样有很多关于钱的说法。中国人说，有钱能使鬼推磨。美国人说：Money makes the world go around. 这是说：有钱能使地球转。中国人说：钱是万恶之源。美国人的说法跟中国话一样：Money is the root of all evil.
不管是好，是坏，大多数人那末重视金钱就说明钱是生活中最重要的东西之一。要是没有钱有好多事是办不成的。我们今天要讲的一个习惯用语也能说明这一点。这个习惯用语就是：Front money. Front就是前面的意思。那末，front money 按字面来解释就是：前面的钱。这听起来似乎不知所云，但是它确实包含了实际的内容。Front money作为习惯用语，它的意思就是：头款。这是指开办新企业时所需要的钱。Front money也可以指开始进行一笔交易时先要付的一笔钱，也就是定金。这笔钱能够保证你今后有参与这笔交易的权利。
下面我们来举一个例子。这是一个人在向他的朋友报告好消息。
例句-1: Good news - Dad agreed to give me the front money I need to start my own restaurant. I have to buy kitchen equipment, tables and chairs and lots of other stuff before I open up.
这句话的意思是：好消息。我爸爸已经答应给我开办自己饭馆所需要的开办费用。在饭馆开张前，我得去买厨房设备、桌椅板凳和其他许多东西。
******
刚才这个例子里说的front money是为了开办一个事业所需的资金。下面我们再来举一个例子。这个例子里的front money是用做定金。这是一个缺乏足够资金的人在说话。
例句2: I can see the future of that computer software company will be very profitable and I would very much like to invest in it. But the group wants me to pay a large sum of front money which I can"t afford.
这个人说：我能够预见，那个电脑软件公司将来会有很大收益的。我很想在这方面投资。但是，那些人要我付一大笔定金，而我又没有那么多的钱。
******
下面我们要给大家讲的一个习惯用语也是跟钱有关的。这个习惯用语就是：Hush money. Hush这个字可以解释为：不要做声，或者是掩盖。所以，hush money就是为了防止某人揭露一个罪行或者一个丑闻而付给他的一笔钱。这种作法由来已久，hush money这个习惯用语也至少有三百年的历史了。我们现在来举一个例子。
例句3: Taking hush money from a gangster to keep your mouth shut about something you saw him do is dangerous. He might decide it"s cheaper to hire somebody to kill you than to keep paying you off the rest of your life.
这句话翻到中文的意思就是：一个歹徒为了不让你揭露你看到他做的事而给你一笔钱。接受这笔钱是很危险的。他以后可能会认为，雇用一个人来把你杀了要比在你有生之年不断给你钱更便宜。
******
在人背后谈论别人的私事对某些人来说真是人生不可缺少的乐事。在美国人当中，有修养的人是一般不随便讲别人坏话的，但是爱谈论东家长西家短的人也不少。下面是一个人在跟他的同事谈论公司里的秘书。
例句4: Our manager is having an affair with his secretary and was seen one day by the cleaning woman. I was told the manager has been paying her hush money every month just to keep her silent.
这个人说：我们的经理跟他的秘书有暧昧关系。有一天被一个打扫清洁的女工看见了。我听说，经理为了不让那清洁工说出去而每个月给她一笔钱，目的就是在于让她别做声。
流行美语第242课
李华告诉Larry说，她跟一个学生约好，十点在她的办公室见面，谈谈这个学生的成绩，可以这个学生没有赴约。李华今天要学两个常用语no show和lala land。
LL: So, you made an appointment with this student to talk about his grades, and he was a no show?
LH: A no show? 对呀，他没来，没有出现，所以叫no show。这种说法简洁明了。
LL: Right, a no show is some one who doesn"t show up when they have agreed to. But, it is really rude to be a no show.
LH: 确实不礼貌。我专门跑到办公室来，等了他好长时间，谁知道他却是个no show。
LL: So, he didn"t even call you to tell you that he wasn"t going to come? It is even ruder to be a no show and not have called to let the person know you can"t come.
LH: 对呀，不来就已经很不礼貌了，连个电话都不打，就更不礼貌了。说实话，我挺意外的，因为这个学生看起来不象是那么不懂事的人。
LL: Well, maybe something unexpected happened to him. There might be a good reason why he was a no show.
LH: 失约还有什么好理由吗？
LL: Well, maybe he was a no show because his car broke down, or he got lost, or even worse maybe he had an accident.
LH: 是呀，我怎么就没想到呢。他的车可能会在半路抛锚。还有他可能会迷路。更可怕的是，还可能会出车祸。我本来挺生气的，让你这么一说，我反而开始替他担心了。
LL: I remember one time when I was in college I made an appointment with a professor and ended up being a no show because my car ran out of gas.
LH: 什么，车跑到半路没油了？你那个教授肯定火冒三丈。那后来呢？
LL: I felt so bad about being a no show, the first thing I did when I got to a phone was call the professor and apologize.
LH: 打电话道歉？那我们再等等吧，也许过一会儿我的学生就会打电话来了。
LL: Have you ever been a no show for anything, Li Hua?
LH: 倒是有一次，我的闹钟没响，所以睡过了头，结果没去上课。
LL: That"s not so bad. Lots of students are no shows for classes.
LH: 不好意思的是，那是我教的一门课。(Phone rings) 等等，我接一下电话。
******
LL: Hey, was that your student? Did he have a good reason for being a no show or was he just in lala land?
LH: 打电话的就是那个学生。你为什么会觉得他在lala land呢？Lala land在哪呀？
LL: Lala land isn"t a real place. It is a state of mind. It is where you go when you are day dreaming and not paying attention to the things going on in the real world.
LH: 我明白了，lala land不是一个地方，而是仙境、幻境的意思，做白日梦就是去了 "lala land"。这样说来，那个学生确实是去了lala land。