李华今天在紧张地准备历史课的考试。她在和Michael的谈话中会学到两个常用语:beats me和to be in a bind.
M: Hey, Li Hua. What are you doing?
L: 我在准备历史课的考试。Michael, 你知道美国总统罗斯福和斯大林第一次见面是在什么时候?
M: Beats me. I don't know much about that period of history.
L: 哎哟,你不知道我也不会打你呀,你为什么要说:Beats me? Beat不就是打人的意思吗?
M: No, I don't mean you would beat me. The expression "beats me" means that I have no idea what the answer is.
L: 噢,在这里,beat不是打人的意思。Beats me就是我不知道!
M: Right. If I ask you a question like how many miles away the sun is, you might say, "I don't know - beats me."
L: 这你倒是说对了,我还真不知道地球和太阳之间距离多少英里。Beats me! 你知道尼加拉瓜的第五任总统是谁吗?
M: Okay, that really beats me. You don't really need to know the answer to that question for your history test, do you?
L: 傻瓜,我当然不需要知道这个答案,我是在跟你开玩笑,我学的历史是二次大战期间的美国和欧洲,和尼加拉瓜根本就没关系。
M: Okay. By the way, what time is your history exam?
L: 哟,beats me! 我把考试的日程忘在同学家里了!
M: You left the schedule at your classmate's home? What's wrong with you?
L: Beats me! 我也不知道我怎么会忘在他家里的。不过,没关系,我还有足够时间来准备。
M: You had better go and check the exam time. If the exam is tomorrow, you're really going to be in trouble.
L: 行,行,行。我去查,要是明天就考试的话,那我可真是麻烦了。
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M: Hey, Li Hua, did you find someone to help you with that history question?
L: 没有人知道罗斯福和斯大林第一次见面是什么时候。我也找不到这方面的材料。而且,考试是星期二,不是星期三。我这下可真麻烦了。
M: Wow, it sounds like you're really in a bind.
L: 你说什么?我在什么东西里?什么是a bind?
M: To be in a bind -- B I N D -- means that you are in a very difficult situation. Your exam is tomorrow and you can't find the material you need to study. Therefore, you are in a bind.
L: 噢,to be in a bind就是处境很难。唉,我真是处境艰难。Michael,我这次考试可能要不及格了。你能不能帮我摆脱这个困境呢?也就是 to get out of this bind I'm in.
M: Of course, I'm always willing to help a friend out of a bind. You can study your notes, and I can look up any questions you have in your text book. Will that help?
L: 我复习我的笔记,然后你帮我查课文里的问题。这是个好主意,这样我可以省好多时间。Michael, 谢谢你,谢谢你。哎,还有什么情况下我们可以用to be in a bind?
M: Well, if I have to pay my rent, but I don't have any money, then I'm in a bind.
L: 你付房租的时候到了,可是你又没有钱,那可真是in a bind。我来举个例子。要是我在找工作,有个公司要和我面谈,可是我早就和朋友约好那天要一块儿吃饭,我可以说:I'm in a bind吗?
M: Yes, you would be in a bind. But you're going to be in an even worse bind if we don't start studying for your exam soon.
L: 你说得对,要是我们再不动手开始准备考试的话,那我就会处境更困难了-- in an even worse bind。好吧,那赶快念书吧!I don't want to be in a bind anymore!
今天李华学到了一个用得非常普遍的说法:beats me, 意思是“不知道”。李华还学到了另一个常用语:to be in a bind, 意思是“处境困难”。
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