流行美语 第 144 课:bite the dust / funky 李华到Larry住的地方去送一本书,发现鱼缸里的金鱼不见了。今天李华会学到两个常用语:bite the dust和funky.
LH: 哎,Larry,你的金鱼到哪儿去了?
LL: Oh, he bit the dust yesterday. I found him floating in the tank. I'm really bummed out about it.
LH: 你的金鱼怎么了?Bit the dust? Bit是bite的过去时。意思是:咬; 那dust是尘土的意思。咬尘土? 噢,你是说你的鱼死啦?
LL: That's right! That fish was a few years old, so I think he might have just died of old age.
LH: 那只鱼在你这儿好几年啦?怪不得你显得闷闷不乐!Larry,要不要我陪你再去买条金鱼?
LL: I'm thinking about going to buy a new fish today, but I want to clean out the tank first. I don't want the new fish to bite the dust, too.
LH: 没错,买新的鱼以前最好把鱼缸打扫干净,不然新的鱼也可能会死掉的。
LL: It's possible. I really don't want to take any chances.
LH: 对,一条鱼价钱也不便宜,可别冒风险。对了,Larry,你知道吗?John的奶奶几天前去世了,那我是不是能说:she bit the dust the other day。
LL: Wait a second, Li Hua, I don't think you want to say that your friend's grandma bit the dust. It's not very polite or respectful.
LH: 噢,bite the dust这个说法用在人的身上是不礼貌的!那我还真是得小心。
LL: It's okay to say my fish bit the dust or some bad guy in a movie bit the dust, but you probably don't want to say that about your friend's family member.
LH: 嗯,我懂了。To bite the dust可以指鱼,可以指电影里的坏蛋,可是千万不要在朋友的家人去世的时候用这个说法。
LL: You've got it! Now let's go buy a fish.
LH: Larry, 你为什么不买那条鱼?它的鳍好大而且颜色好漂亮!我从来没见过色彩这么鲜艳的鱼呢!
LL: Yeah, he is kind of funky. I don't think I've ever seen another fish like that either.
LH: 等等,什么是funky? 是不是很酷的意思?
LL: Funky has several meanings, but in this case, it means cool, unique, and unusual.
LH: 噢,在这里,funky就是指很酷、很独特的意思。没错,这条鱼真的很特别。这鱼放在你的鱼缸里一定很漂亮!
LL: Hold on, that funky little fish is pretty expensive. Why don't we get a cheap little goldfish instead?
LH: 小的金鱼是便宜点,可是颜色就没有这么特别了啊!
LL: I happen to like goldfish. I can buy one of those goldfish with the funky bubbles behind its eyes.
LH: 你是说那条眼睛后面长两个大球的金鱼呀?我还是喜欢那条很漂亮的鱼,那条funky fish。
LL: Well, I appreciate your opinion, but this is going to be my fish.
LH: 那也是,别听我的。这是你的鱼,你得天天看的。Larry,你看,那边那个人穿的衣服真是与众不同。我觉得很怪,是不是也很funky?
LL: Yeah, he definitely has his own sense of style. It looks as though he's here to buy a fish, too.
LH: 对,每个人都有自己穿衣服的风格。说不定他会买那条很漂亮的鱼!
LL: That's a possibility. Now, come on, forget about that fish and help me pick out a goldfish, the funkier the better.
今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是bite the dust, 就是死掉的意思,不过通常不用在人身上,因为那样说不太礼貌。另一个常用语是funky。意思是很酷、很独特。