外研社出版，文案画风颇有年代感。这两天我才把它们读完，下面是我的读书笔记。 1. Been There, Done That
作者 Katherine Wang（王文思）是位华裔姑娘，三岁半随父母移居美国。Been There, Done That 自称是长篇小说，读起来就是华裔高中生日记，主要看点是她的亚裔身份，比如： It was a strange feeling: I felt torn between two ideals. I wanted to be American, but there was an invisible thread that kept pulling me back. I was beginning to listen more to Chinese pop music and even conforming to the "FOPly" dress. However, I still considered myself American, whatever that means. 语言平实口语化，还有「知识点」讲解，是学英语的好素材：
这本我没有细读，重点看了感兴趣的话题，主要关注了其中的语言。比如： - I was a small Chinese girl grinning from ear to ear. grin from ear to ear 是个习语，夸张地表示爱笑。看到这个词我就想到了贾玲。
- She was the most popular girl in the 8th-grade class: tanned, green-eyed, tall, athletic, pretty, and dangerously blonde. - I was almost the exact opposite: shy, nerdy, short, and had limp black hair. 用 dangerously 修饰 blonde 很有意思，谁不爱金发碧眼大长腿？女孩子看了嫉妒，男孩子见了沦陷，多危险啊。后面还有呼应的 limp black hair——再看看自己这软塌塌没什么特别的黑发，哎...... 我还注意到了一些细节用词，常见又实用。 - I second that. second 在这里表示「赞同」「支持」。 - It was surprising because he didn't look the part. He was tall but thin for a junior. look the part 是习语，表示「看起来是XX样」，比如词典例句：If he wasn’t actually a thief he certainly looked the part.即便他实际上并非小偷，但模样却够像了。这里的 he didn't look the part 字面意思是「他看起来并非如此」，结合语境可以理解为「他看起来瘦弱，没想到还挺有劲儿」。 - "Sunny, just tell her already," Erin muttered. already 常放在句末加强语气，表示不耐烦、惊讶。这里的 just tell her already 可以理解为「你就告诉她吧！」 - Chinese American parents will run far, far away to escape the binds of the American fast food... bind 在这里作名词，是个常见用法，表示 difficulty。来看两个词典例句：It is a bind reading a bad book.读一本写得不好的书叫人厌烦。Travelling in the rush hour can be a bit of a bind.在上下班的高峰时间出门多少够你受的。 2. The Cardinal Rules
不知道 The Cardinal Rules 译为《深红准则》是否有深意。cardinal 是「深红的」，也常表示「最重要的」，cardinal rules 是个常见说法，可以理解成「基本准则」。
这一本说是 Been There, Done That 的续篇，不过没什么联系。这一部的噱头是「我的斯坦福」，纯忽悠读者。书的重点不是名校生活体验，主线是碎碎念和谈恋爱，读的我云里雾里浑身难受，很快就读不下去。这本我重点翻了下书中的注释，学了点英语给自己回回血。
