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美国人也跟其他国家的人一样有不少家庭纠纷。当然，清官难断家务事；每家都有一本经。下面是一个人在劝自己的弟弟。
例句-4: Jack, I know you have a lot of troubles in your office. But you can"t always blow steam off at your wife and kids if you want to maintain your marriage. If you go on like this, one day your family will be ruined.
这个哥哥说：杰克，我知道你在办公室有很多问题。但是，你要是想维持你的婚姻的话，你就不能老是把气出在你太太和孩子身上。要是你继续这样的话，总会有一天你会把你的家也毁了。
流行美语第265课
Larry开车接李华去看医生，路上堵车迟到了。李华今天要学两个常用语，meltdown和make up.
LL: I"m really sorry I am late, Li Hua. But there is no need for you to have a meltdown about it.
LH: (生气地)如果meltdown是生气的意思，那没错，I am having a meltdown.
LL: (Sheepishly) Well, Li Hua, perhaps now isn"t the best time for an English lesson, but a meltdown is an excessively emotional response to a disappointment or a crisis.
LH: (还是有点生气)meltdown是融化的意思，跟遇到挫败或是危机，情绪过分激动有什么关系呢？
LL: Well, the term meltdown refers to the melting of the core of a nuclear reactor. When that happens, the nuclear reactor becomes unstable and may explode.
LH: 噢，原来是从核反应堆来的。Well, I guess I did have a meltdown. 你今天迟到，我确实很生气。
LL: I must say, it is very unlike you to have a meltdown. You are usually so calm and understanding.
LH: 我生气可是有理由的。你迟到了不是一会儿，而是整整半个小时。看来我去看医生也要迟到了。
LL: I understand why you had a meltdown, Li Hua. But honestly, there is nothing I could do about it. You know how unpredictable the traffic is in New York City.
LH: 也是，我刚才太急了，没有给你解释的机会。你在路上遇到什么状况了吗？
LL: Well, there was a car accident that blocked traffic for a long time. It wasn"t very serious accident, but when the two drivers got out of their cars, there was a total meltdown in communication.
LH: 你为什么说这两个司机之间发生了total meltdown呢？
LL: Well, one driver was really angry. He was all red in the face and was yelling loudly. I could tell he was having a meltdown.
LH: 啊，脸红脖子粗的大吵大闹，真是够吓人的。那另外一个司机呢？他们俩没打起来吧？
LL: The other driver ended up having a meltdown, too - but in a different way. When the first driver started yelling at her, she started to cry.
LH: 原来还是个女的，真可怜。丨警丨察来了吗？
LL: By the time the police arrived, the two drivers had recovered from their meltdowns and were calm. The police officers were very professional.
LH: 还好最后得到了圆满解决，最重要的是没有人受伤。对不起，Larry，我刚才不问青红皂白就对你大发脾气。
LL: Don"t worry about it, Li Hua. Everyone has a meltdown every once in a while.
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LL: Well, after that meltdown, don"t you think it is time for you and me to make up, Li Hua?
LH: Make up? 吵完架为什么要化妆呢？
LL: No, no. To "Make Up" means to get back to being friends after a fight.
LH: 我已经向你道歉，你也接受了，这就等于是和好了吧？
LL: Yes, I think we have made up. We are still friends, right, Li Hua?
LH: 我们当然是朋友，你也知道，我不会真跟你生气的。I am glad we"ve made up. 真希望Janet也能跟她的男朋友Tom和好。他们上星期吵架，到现在都不说话。Janet痛苦极了。
LL: Well, sometimes it is hard to make up with some one - especially when the argument is over something serious or someone is really stubborn and won"t listen to the other person.
LH: Janet倒并不固执，她很想跟Tom和好，可是Tom好像没有和好的意思。他们是因为Tom跟另外一个女孩子很接近才吵架的。
LL: Hmmm...Well, if Tom hasn"t tried to make up with Janet in a week, maybe he is more interested in that other girl.
LH: Larry, 快别说了，我们还得赶去看医生呢！
LL: Don"t have another meltdown, Li Hua. I"ll get you to the doctor"s appointment. I think it was worth taking the time to make up and be friends again, don"t you, Li Hua?
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是meltdown, 是情绪过分激动的意思。另一个是make up, 是和好的意思。
美国习惯用语第266讲
今天我们要介绍给大家的两个习惯用语都有同一个关键的字。这个关键的字就是：Shoe. Shoe就是一只鞋子。要是多数的话，那就是在shoe后面加一个s，成为shoes。好。现在我们先来讲第一个以shoe这个字为主的习惯用语。Goody two shoes. Goody就是在 good这个字后面加上一个y。但是，goody跟good没有什么关系。Goody可以解释为：假正经，伪善者。Two shoes按字面解释就是两只鞋子。可是，goody two shoes跟鞋子毫无关系。
Goody two shoes ，作为习惯用语，是指那种故意表现得比别人更高一等的人。这种人给别人的印象就好像他们在道德品行方面都要比别人强。也可以说是自命清高，或者是自命不凡的人。
这跟两只鞋子有什么关系？这个习惯用语是怎么形成的？目前还不太清楚。我们来举一个例子吧。这是一个人在说他的朋友Karen。
例句-1: I wonder how we can help Karen loosen up and be a little more tolerant of common human flaws. She"s such a goody two shoes that all the men I know are afraid to ask her out on a date.
这个人说：我在想我们怎么样才能让凯伦更开阔一些，对一般人常有的缺点能够更容忍一点。她真是自命清高。所认识的那些男人都怕请她出去，怕跟她交朋友。
请大家要注意的一点是，尽管在goody two shoes这个习惯用语里是用的复数，但是，goody two shoes指的是一个人，因此前面需要用"a"。 要是你说：那个人是一个自命不凡的人。那你就应该说： That person is a goody two shoes。
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我们再来举一个例子。这个例子里说的人跟上面那个例子里的那位女士完全不同。她的朋友说：
例句2: It"s true Eleanor isn"t dating anybody steady right now. But don"t get the idea she"s a goody two shoes. She"s not only smart and attractive - she"s also a real fun person to be around.
这个朋友说：埃利诺现在没有一个固定的男朋友。这是确实的。但是，别以为她是一个自命清高的人。她既很聪明也很漂亮，而且跟她在一起也非常有意思。
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在美国好莱坞，每个年轻演员都盼望哪一天能够一举成名。实现这一梦想的途径之一，就是在一个大明星突然生病的时候，被邀请去替代那位大明星来拍电影。“代替别人”就是我们在这次节目里要讲的第二个习惯用语。To fill the shoes. 大家可能已经猜出来了，to fill the shoes的意思就是：代替某人，把某人的工作和责任接过来。
下面是一个哥哥在替他的妹妹担心，因为他妹妹不久就要结婚。她未来丈夫结过婚，但是太太已经去世，留下了两个很小的孩子。这个哥哥说：
例句3: Are you sure you"re ready to fill John"s first wife"s shoes? Remember, she was a full-time wife and mother. But you"re a full-time career woman with no experience taking care of kids.
这个哥哥说：你是不是很有把握能替代约翰第一位太太的地位。你得记住，她是不工作的，整天在家担当妻子和母亲的任务。但是，你是整天要出去工作的职业妇女，又没有带孩子的经验。
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我们再给大家举一个例子来看看to fill the shoes在日常生活中是怎么用的。这是一个办公室的主任。他正在为找一位副手而感到头痛。这是办公室里的一名雇员在说话：
例句4: Nobody else wants to work as hard as Helen did without a lot higher salary. That"s why the boss is having a tough time finding anybody to fill Helen"s shoes for the same money.
这个雇员说：没有那个人愿意像海伦那样辛勤地工作，可是拿很低的工资。没有人愿意拿同样的工资来接替海伦的工作。这就是为什么老板花了很大的劲还找不到人的原因。
流行美语第266课
美式足球超级杯那天，Larry要在家开party, 李华帮他做准备。李华今天要学两个常用语，munchies和spread.
LL: I"m really excited about having a Super Bowl party, Li Hua. I just went to the store and bought lots of munchies, so we will have plenty to eat while we watch the football game.