流行美语 第 201 课:own sb. / goner 李华今天在Larry家玩电子游戏,给Larry打败。李华今天会学到两个常用语:own someone和goner。
[Sound of video games]
LH: 哎,我又输了。这个游戏真不怎么样。
LL: Ha! I own you Li Hua! That's five games to zero! I totally own you!
LH: Larry,你那么激动干什么呀!你说什么?“I own you ”,你又不欠我什么呀!
LL: No, not owe, I said own! To "own" someone means to overwhelmingly defeat that person at a game or contest, or just to be a lot better than someone else at something.
LH: 噢,to own someone就是玩游戏或比赛的时候把某人打败,或者在某个方面比对方强得多。你是说,我们玩电子游戏,你把我打败了。这有什么了不起! 上次打乒乓球我把你打的落花流水,你记得吗?
LL: Yeah, I know, I know, the last time we played, you beat me 21 to zero. You totally own me at ping-pong. But that's just because in the U.S. we don't think of ping-pong as a real sport.
LH: 什么?你们美国人不把乒乓看作是真正的体育?That's baloney! 好吧,打保龄球在美国是很流行的,是不是!你还记得有一次我得了230分, 你连100分都不到。Larry,这你该怎么说呢?
LL: Right, right, you definitely own me at bowling. That was pretty embarrassing. Of course, I had given blood that day, and...
LH: 嗨,别再找理由了。你自己觉得不好意思就行! 你呀,除了打电子游戏以外,我看你什么都玩不过我。
LL: Oh yeah? What about Scrabble? I own you at Scrabble any day!
LH: 拼字游戏?当然了,你是土生土长的美国人,英语是你的母语呀,如果连拼字你都比我差,那也太不好意思了吧。
LL: In spite of what you believe, I also own the tennis court. I'm the best player on the tennis court. I can beat anyone else who comes onto the court.
LH: 我承认你的网球的确打得不错,到目前为止,谁也打不过你,不过那是因为你还没有遇到好的对手。
LL: Come on, Li Hua, it's silly to argue like that. Isn't it obvious that everyone can own someone in certain fields, but no one can own everyone in everything.
LH:这话不错。每个人都有比别人强的地方,但是不能什么都比人强。
******
[Sound of video games]
LH: 好了,Larry,电子游戏打得差不多了,我们出去吃点东西吧。
LL: Wait, just let me finish this round [sound of TV popping and shutting off] Whoa, the TV died. Oh well, I guess it's a goner now.
LH: 电视坏了,你说电视是什么?Goner ?
LL: I said, "It's a goner". That means that the TV is "gone". It's dead, it cannot be used again or brought back to life.
LH: 我明白了,你说 "the TV is a goner" 意思是这电视机坏了,没救了。你怎么知道呀?也许还可以修呢!
LL: I'v already fixed it once, I'm pretty sure it's a goner this time.
LH: 原来你已经修过了,那看来是完蛋了。Larry, 你看墙角的那盆花都枯黄了,看来是没救了。It is a goner。
LL: Oh man, I can't believe I let that poor plant die. Yeah, it's definitely a goner. Just like your goldfish Shan-shan.
LH: 你可别提我的金鱼,一提我就难过。Larry,你不觉得用goner来形容心爱得宠物或是人,有点不太合适吗?
LL: I'm sorry. You're right, it is very insensitive to say someone's pet, or loved one is "a goner".
LH: 没错,我也觉得把别人心爱的东西或喜欢的人称为goner似乎不太礼貌,对不对?
LL: You're absolutely right. Li Hua, do you remember my brother Jack?
LH: Jack? 就是那个不想上大学的弟弟吗?
LL: Yes. Since he didn't have a college education, my parents said that he's a goner in the job market for sure.
LH: 你爸爸妈妈认为你弟弟没有大学学历,要找工作是没有希望的。我看不一定吧 。微软的创办人Bill Gates也没念完大学,可他现在是世界上最富有的人士之一。说不定Jack将来会很有出息呢。
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是own Someone, 意思是在游戏和比赛中击败某人,或是在某个方面比别人强。李华学到的另一个常用语是goner意思是完了, 没希望了。