LL: I didn’t know you could cook! I wish you would "take the wheel" on making dinner for me every once in a while!
LH: 给你煮饭吃？可以考虑考虑。不过条件是，吃完饭你也要take the wheel请我出去看电影才行！
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是BFF, 一辈子最要好的朋友。另一个是take the wheel，意思是承担起责任来
流行美语第294课
Larry跟李华一起去参加派对。今天我们要学两个常用语：crash and burn和wipe the floor with.
LL: This is a pretty cool party, don’t you think? The music is really good, everyone here is really friendly and it gives me the chance to show off this great new Britney Spears shirt I bought.
LH: 你这件布兰妮.斯皮尔斯的衬衫确实挺抢眼的。我好象很久没来过这么热闹的派对了。
LL: You know what I love to do at parties? I like to just look at all the people and see how they interact. See that short bald guy walking over to talk to that beautiful woman? I bet he’s going to crash and burn.
LH: 什么人？crash and burn? 撞车起火？ 你快去救他。我马上去找灭火器。
LL: No, wait! I didn’t mean that literally. When you say that someone is going to crash and burn, it means that they are going to fail, usually in a very spectacular or embarrassing way.
LH: 哎，你怎么不早说，害我这么紧张。我明白了，你是说那个小个子秃顶男人上前去跟那个漂亮美眉搭讪一定是自讨没趣，会很丢脸。那可不一定，Larry, 你这是以貌取人。
LL: That’s true, but there’s no way he would crash and burn if he had a great-looking shirt like me.
LH: 你快别臭美了。对了，明天你上课不是有一个很重要的期末展示要做吗？今天是不是应该早点回去准备啊？
LL: Yeah, I do have a presentation tomorrow, so I have to go home early to prepare. If I forget what I’m supposed to say in front of the entire class tomorrow, I’m going to really crash and burn.
LH: 所以还是早点回去准备，才不会crash and burn。不过，今天你还没唱卡拉OK呢，要不要唱一首再走呢？
LL: Not tonight. I’ve been sick recently and I would probably lose my voice and start coughing. And I definitely don’t want to get up on stage and crash and burn with all these people watching.
LH: 没想到你今天居然这么羞涩。那起码咱们得跳一会儿舞再走，你也看看我最近学的一些最火爆的动作。
LL: Haven’t you seen my shirt? I practice my dance moves to Britney Spears songs every night. If you think you’re going to dance better than me, I’m afraid you’re going to crash and burn.
LH: 你以为穿着布兰昵的衬衫就能在舞池里称王称霸吗？别说那么多了，是骡子是马，拉出来遛遛就知道了。Let’ go!
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LL: Wow Li Hua, I had no idea you were such a great dancer! You really wiped the floor with me.
LH: Wipe the floor with you? 用你擦地板？我可不敢，万一把你的布兰妮的新衬衫弄脏了，你肯定得跟我急。
LL: Actually, when you say that you wipe the floor with someone, it means that you did something much better than them, or beat them in a competition.
LH: 哦，原来你是承认自己甘拜下风啊。其实你跳得也不错啊。我只是觉得，disco早就过时了。
LL: Trust me, disco dancing will never go out of style. You know, I’m really happy we came to this party. Today I was sad because my favorite professional baseball team, the Washington Nationals, lost to their biggest rivals.
LH: 华盛顿的棒球队输了？怎么会，他们今年不是很厉害吗？
LL: I thought we would wipe the floor with them, but we ended up crashing and burning.
LH: I am so sorry. 不过你要有信心，他们明天肯定赢！啊，时间不早了，我们该走了，你回去再准备一下你的期末展示，免得明天crash and burn.
LL: That’s right, I want to give the best presentation and really wipe the floor with all the other students.
LH: 你知道吗？最近我表妹菲菲考大学。没想到，现在中国考大学竞争还这么激烈。You have to get the best grades and really wipe the floor with the other students，这样才能被名牌大学录取，否则就会crash and burn.
LL: It can be that way in America too, which is why I should probably get back and start preparing for my presentation. I don’t want the other students to wipe the floor with me when our grades are announced.
LH: Larry 你看，刚才那个小个子秃顶男人逗得那个漂亮美眉笑弯了腰，It doesn’t look like he crashed and burned after all. Haha....
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是crash and burn, 意思是输得很惨。另一个是wipe the floor with，意思是比别人强，打败别人。
美国习惯用语第447讲
我们今天来讲几个描绘不同言谈方式的习惯用语。第一个是: talk in circles。 Circle意思是园圈，中文也有“说话绕圈子”的说法，意思是说话不直截了当，迷惑听话的人。
我们通过个例子来体会英文talk in circles是不是含义相同。我们知道要是一名辩护律师承办证据不利于当事人的案子，那他作辩护时就可能会采取迂回战术，以混淆法官和陪审团的视听。下面这段话正是这样的例子。
例句-1：He was caught standing over the victim with a smoking gun. His lawyer talked in circles trying to confuse the jury. But they still remembered that smoking gun and found him guilty.
他说：他被逮住的时候脚下就躺着被害人，手上还握着冒烟的手枪。他的律师绕着圈子说话，试图把陪审团弄糊涂，但是陪审团还是忘不了那把冒烟的手枪，仍然判定他有罪。
他的罪证确凿，所以律师想为他开脱罪责就不能实话直说了，只得转弯抹角地误导听众。这就是talk in circles这个习惯用语的意思。
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再学个习惯用语表示又一种说话方式: double talk。 Double有两面、双重的意思，手腕高强的政客在被问及引起争议的问题时，时而会采用double talk，让听的人摸不着头脑。下面就是个例子:
例句-2：Someone asked the candidate whether he’d vote to cut our taxes. He gave the crowd a lot of double-talk which left us arguing afterwards whether his answer was yes or no.
他说：有人问侯选人他是否会投票赞成为我们减税。他说了一大堆模棱两可，含糊其辞的话，叫大家事后不断争论他究竟回答了“是”还是“否。”
听他话的人都弄不清他究竟赞成还是不赞成，可见他说的是不置可否，模棱两可的话。这就是double-talk这个习惯用语的含义。
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再学个带有talk这个词的习惯用语: shop talk。 大家也许知道shop是商店，但是在这儿，它是包括法律事务所、汽车制造厂、政府部门等等在内的任何企业机构。Shop talk是指两三个同事在办公室之外的社交场合见面时谈论他们的工作。当然这样的谈话很可能叫其他人觉得腻味甚至恼火。
我们听个例子，说话的人在聚会上碰见同事Joe。 Joe拉着他谈办公室的事儿，而他心里另有打算。
例句-3：Joe, we get enough shop talk at the office, so let’s just relax tonight, okay? Now excuse me: I’m going over and get acquainted with that lovely girl in the green dress.
他说：Joe，咱们在办公室里谈工作谈得够多的了，所以今晚轻松轻松，好吗? 对不起，我要去那边跟那穿绿裙子的漂亮姑娘认识一下了。
这里的shop talk是在非工作时间谈论本行的话。
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显然很多人都会同意他的话。他们会说: 谈工作得在该谈的地方，也就是办公室里谈。最后再学个说又一种谈话的习惯用语: talk of the town。大家也许都熟悉town这个词。它是城镇，要是某个话题传得沸沸扬扬，满城风雨，那一定是件激起人们强烈好奇心的事儿了。
我们听个例子来体会talk of the town这个习惯用语的含义是什么。说话的人正打长途电话给一个搬到外地去住的老朋友，Pete。
例句-4：Pete, want to hear the talk of the town these days? The president of out bank ran away with a pretty young cashier and two million dollars of the bank’s money. It’s all people talk about.
他说：他的特大新闻是本地银行经理和年轻貌美的出纳偷了银行的两百万美元私奔了。这是眼下人人议论的话题。
所以他说的talk of the town一定是指闹得满城风雨的街谈巷议。 Talk of the town的话题是激起人们强烈兴趣或好奇心的事件，丑闻，或者桃色新闻，而且往往是流言蜚语。
美国习惯用语第448讲
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