这是星期天的早晨。李华和Larry正在星巴克咖啡馆里喝咖啡。今天李华会学到两个常用语:on the spot和schmooze.
LL: I'm dreading my Chinese exam tomorrow. The teacher will give us a topic and she expects us to talk about the topic for two minutes on the spot.
LH: 你明天要考中文呀?老师给每个学生一个题目,让你们当场就这个题目讲两分钟。这是好难。不过Larry,别担心,你可以先跟我练习啊!对了,你刚才说on the spot,那是什么意思?
LL: Oh, to do something "on the spot" is to do it immediately - right then and there.
LH: On the spot就是立刻,当场的意思。所以你刚才的意思就是教授在考试的时候当场给题目,你就得立即上台讲两分钟。
LL: Exactly. It's always nice to have time to prepare, but sometimes doing something on the spot can be fun.
LH: 有充份时间做准备那当然好呀。但是,我可想不出有什么事情马上要做而能让我感到有意思的。你给我举个例子好不好。
LL: Well, we can decide right here - on the spot - to go to the movies. That would be fun, right?
LH: 嗯,我们现在就决定去看电影,那当然好玩呀。可是我们不知道看哪部电影,到哪里去看哪。
LL: That's a problem. Where can we find the newspaper or a computer on the spot!.
LH: 就是嘛,我们既不能上网,也没有报纸可以查电影时间表。而且你明天不是有中文考试吗?你现在应该在家里背单字嘛!
LL: I should. If I don't study the vocabulary, then I won't be able to come up with a speech on the spot.
LH: 对,要当场发表两分钟讲话,不熟悉有用的词汇是不行的。
LL: No, it's more like a good strategy for failing my test. Hey, why don't you help me study?
LH: 一点没错,要是你不多记住一些单词,那你肯定会考砸的。你要我就在这里帮你复习功课?On the spot?
LL: Why not? I brought my Chinese book with me.
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LH: 我真不敢相信,咖啡馆的那个女服务员居然会送你一杯免费的咖啡!
LL: Well, it helps that I schmoozed her a little bit.
LH: Larry,你对那个女服务员怎么啦?Schmooze是什么意思啊?
LL: To schmooze means that someone is extra nice to him or her, usually in the hope that you'll get something in return.
LH: 噢,schmooze就是对某人特别好,希望能得到一些回报。那不是“讨好、献殷勤”吗?你想让服务员对你客气一点,所以你就对她特别好啊?
LL: Well, no. I was actually hoping to get her to go out on a date with me, but I'll settle for free coffee.
LH: 原来你是想约那个女孩出去,现在喝了一杯免费咖啡就满足了。哎呀,你呀,你还不如去schmooze你的中文老师,让她明天评分的时候对你客气点。这不是更实际吗!
LL: Hopefully, I won't need to schmooze my teacher in order to get a good grade.
LH: 不讨好老师也能得好分数,你怎么一下子变得那么信心十足了呢。不过,你要我帮你复习功课,那至少也该schmooze我这个义务家教吧!
LL: Hey, you're my friend, you're supposed to do things out of friendship, not because you want something.
LH: 我知道啦。我是跟你开玩笑的!不过,你要是想对我好一点,schmooze我一下,我也不会反对的!
LL: I'm always nice to you - and it's not because I'm trying to schmooze you.
LH: 那倒是,你一向对我不错,算得上是我最好的朋友喽!
今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是on the spot,就是即刻,当场,马上的意思。另一个常用语是schmooze,这是指讨好某人,对某人献殷勤,通常是想得到回报。
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