LL: He told me the tow truck finally arrived. It looks like I"m off the hook!

LH: Off the hook? 这种说法跟钓鱼有关吧？

LL: Yes, it does, Li Hua. You know when you go fishing for fun, how you put a hook on the end of your line?

LH: 当然了，我还记得上次跟你老爸一起去钓鱼，鱼线最后面有一个钩子，在上面挂上鱼饵。

LL: And when a worm is off the hook, it is free. Just like I am now. I am off the hook, because I don"t need to drive Dave to work after all.

LH: 所以，off the hook就是脱身的意思。你不用再开车送Dave去上班了，所以你说自己是off the hook.

LL: That"s right. Say, speaking of obligations, don"t you have a Chinese class you should be teaching right now?

LH: Oh, No. I am off the hook today, Larry. 今天学校放假，所以我不用去教中文课了！

LL: I forgot that today is a holiday. Unfortunately, I am NOT off the hook today. I need to go into work this afternoon to finish up a project I am working on.

LH: 那你就是on the hook喽？

LL: Well, we don"t really say someone is "on the hook" in English when we mean they have something they need to do.

LH: 所以说不用再去做一件事情是off the hook, 但是反过来，必须去做一件事情，则不能说on the hook.

LL: You"ve got it, Li Hua. Say, how about going to a movie tonight? Do you still have to write your paper for Professor Jones, or are you off the hook?

LH: 唉，I"m not off the hook. 我今天晚上必须得写完那篇论文。我可不希望让琼斯教授 fed up with me.

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是fed up, 意思是不耐烦，受够了。另一个是off the hook, 是脱身，摆脱责任的意思。

日期：2008-3-8 11:23:51

美国习惯用语第250讲

今天我们要讲的两个习惯用语都是跟钱有关系的。钱在英文里有各种说法。一个用得最普遍的就是：Money. 我们首先要给大家介绍的一个习惯用语恐怕是许多人都很欢迎的。这个习惯用语是：Easy money. Easy就是容易，money就是钱。Easy money有两种不同的意思。Easy money可以指用花招或欺骗手段得来的不义之财。但是，easy money一般是指没有花什么功夫而得来的钱财。我们来举一个例子。这是一个人做了一笔很好的房地产生意。他说：

例句-1: I heard about this house the owner had to sell in a hurry, so I got it at a very cheap price. A week later I sold it for a 20,000 dollar profit. Talk about your easy money!

这个好运气的人说：我听说这栋房子的房主急于要出售这房子，所以我以很便宜的价格买进了。一个星期后，我把它卖掉，从中赚了两万美元。这真是轻而易举得来的钱。

请大家不要以为在美国赚钱都是那么容易。像这种机会是不多的。相反地，美国商店亏本倒闭的也不少，特别是在经济不景气的时候。

******

想轻而易举地得到钱是可以理解的，但是重要的问题是用什么手段，通过什么途径。美国是一个物质丰富的国家，有些年轻人对于物质享受已经习以为常，以为什么东西都很容易得到。在无法得到的时候，有些人就采用犯罪手段。这也是美国年轻人当中犯罪的原因之一。下面我们来给大家举一个例子。这是一个老师在对学生讲话。

例句2: I know you all want to be successful in the future. But the best way to do that is to get a good education. If I were you, I"d study hard and not spend a lot of time in figuring out how to make easy money.

这位老师说：我知道你们都希望将来很成功。可是，要达到这个目的的最好方法就是受到良好的教育。要是我是你们的话，我就努力学习，而不是化好多时间去想怎么样才能轻而易举地得到钱。

******

钱在英文里有好几种说法。Money只是其中最普遍的一个字。另外，你可以说：Dollar. Dollar就是美金，或美元。那当然是钱。我们下面要给大家介绍的一个习惯用语就是和dollar这个字有关。To bet one"s bottom dollar. To bet就是打赌。One"s bottom dollar就是一个人把钱都花完了，只剩下口袋底里最后一张钞票。当某人用自己最后剩下的钱去打赌的时候，这个人一定很自信，认为自己在某个问题上完全准确，因此愿意冒一切风险来证实这一点。

下面是一个例子。通过这个例子我们可以看到在日常生活中这个习惯用语是怎么用的。

例句3: You know, Senator Clark keeps telling the press that he won"t run for president in 1996. But I"d bet my bottom dollar that two years from now he"ll announce he"s a candidate.

这个人说：你知道，克拉克参议员不断地对新闻界说，他在1996年不会参加总统竞选。但是，我可以跟你打赌，两年以后，他会宣布他参加竞选的。

******

下面又是一个例子。这是一个人在说他的同事。

例句4: Our company was to deliver the ordered products to our clients before four in the afternoon. However, Larry forgot the whole thing and the client was mad as a wet hen. But I bet my bottom dollar that Larry will blame somebody else for his mistake.

这个人说：我们公司应该在下午四点以前把客户的定货送到客户那里去。可是，拉里完全忘了这件事，把我们的客户都快气疯了。不过，拉里肯定会把他的错误的责任推给别人的，我可以跟你打赌。

日期：2008-3-8 11:25:36

流行美语第250课

Larry和李华开车到游乐园去坐过山车。她今天要学两个常用语，Oh boy和scaredy-cat。

LL: Oh, Boy! Isn"t this amusement park great, Li Hua! I can"t wait to take a ride on the roller coaster.

LH: Oh, Boy？我知道你早就盼着来这儿坐过山车。可你说oh boy是什么意思啊？

LL: "Oh, Boy!" is a common American expression that really has nothing to do with boys at all.

LH: 那你刚才说Oh boy是什么意思呢？

LL: When I said "Oh, Boy!" I was expressing that I was excited about coming to the park and that I was looking forward to the fun we are going to have today.

LH: 所以你说Oh boy是表示高兴和兴奋。

LL: That"s right. Oh, Boy! Li Hua, look at that. There is someone selling cotton candy. I love cotton candy.

LH: 我从没吃过棉花糖，好吃吗？

LL: Oh, boy, is it ever! It is so light and sweet. I am sure you will love it.

LH: Oh boy! Larry, 你看，那边有旋转木马。

LL: Well, let"s take a ride on the carousel. It will be a lot of fun. But did you see the roller coaster, Li Hua? Oh, boy... (Nervous tone)

LH: 怎么了？刚才你说oh boy, 好象不太高兴。

LL: I just saw that the roller coaster flips you upside down, and I really don"t like roller coasters that flip you upside down. Oh, boy...

LH: 可你刚才不是说oh boy是高兴的意思吗？

LL: Well, it all depends on your tone, Li Hua. If you say "Oh, Boy!" like this, it means you are happy. If you say "Oh, boy" like this, it means you are concerned or dismayed about something.

LH: 噢，我明白了。 Oh boy既可以指让人高兴的事，也可以指让人担心的事，完全取决于语气。

LL: That"s right, Li Hua. It all depends on how you say it.

******

LL: I can"t believe I am so worried about riding this roller coaster. I am usually not this much of a scaredy-cat.

LH: 什么是scaredy-cat? 听起来好象是胆小鬼的意思。

LL: You are absolutely right, Li Hua. And right now, I am feeling like a big scaredy-cat about the roller coaster.

LH: 你现在什么感觉？

LL: Well, right now, I have this tight feeling in my stomach, and I am shaking a little. See, look at how my hand is shaking.

LH: 我害怕的时候手也会抖，心里还会砰砰地跳。

LL: What about you, Li Hua? I thought you told me once you didn"t like riding roller coasters. Why aren"t you acting like a scaredy-cat now?

LH: 我以前也不敢做过山车，后来咬着牙试了一次，发现根本不可怕，而且头冲下的时候特别刺激。

LL: Okay. I"ll try to be brave and ride the roller coaster with you. So, is there anything that makes you feel like a scaredy-cat, Li Hua?

LH: 说起来有点儿丢人。我最怕的是游泳。

LL: You are a scaredy-cat about swimming? Why is that, Li Hua?

LH: 因为我小时候没机会学游泳，所以长大后，不仅不敢下水游泳，连坐船都会害怕。

LL: You know, my mother is a big scaredy-cat about flying on planes. She doesn"t like the feeling of going up into the air.

LH: 我听说很多人都害怕坐飞机，去什么地方，宁可开车或是坐火车 去。

LL: My mom is like that. If she can she"d rather drive or take a train when she travels.