| Michael和李华都为今天的考试苦苦准备了整整一个星期。他们俩刚考完，都觉得自己考得不错。俩人决定去看一场电影，轻松轻松。李华会学到两个常用语，一个是：buck; 另一个是：whatever。 M: Li Hua, are you going to get any snacks before the movie begins? L: 你说什么？噢，电影还没有开场，你问我要不要买点吃的？嗯， 我本想买一杯可乐，可是买了票，没钱了，算了吧！ M: Don't worry about it! I'll buy you one. It's only a few bucks. L: 你说什么？一杯可乐不是$2.75吗？你说 "only a few bucks"? M: Yes. "Buck" is an informal way to say "dollar". L: 哟，"buck" 就是"dollar"！是非正式的名称。 嗨，昨天我要买一块 糖，你给我一美元，那我就可以说："You gave me a buck"，对不对？ M: That's right. And the other day, I lent you a few bucks for lunch. And last week, you borrowed ten bucks so you could buy a chemistry textbook, and... L: 得啦， 你用不着提醒我，我知道，那天借了你几块钱吃午饭， 上星期借你十块钱买化学书，不就是借了两回吗！你怎么啦，怕我不还？ M: No, I'm not reminding you, I just wanted to give you some examples. L: 得了吧！要给我举例子，跟钱有关的事多着呢，为什么非要举我问你借钱的例子！ M: Ok, don't be mad at me. Hey, since you now know what "buck" means, why don't you give me an example. L: 要我给你举个例子，行，那还不容易呀！ 你看我这件毛衣，款 式很新型，纯毛的，还是名牌，你猜多钱？Five bucks！ M: Five bucks! I can't believe it! L: 清仓大减价嘛！ 可是，Michael，我去商店的时候，停车停错了地 方，吃了一张罚票， it costs me 50 bucks! M: Oh! So your sweater actually costs you 55 bucks! That's expensive! L: 真倒霉！得了，别说了。去买可乐吧！电影都快开场了。 (Michael和李华看完电影以后) L: Michael，这电影可真棒！ M: What? Are you kidding? That was the stupidest movie I've ever seen. I would have rather spent the seven bucks on a good meal. L: 你从来没看过这么傻的电影？你宁可花这七块钱去好好吃顿饭！ Michael, 你真怪！我非常喜欢 Piers Brosnan，他长得多帅呀！ M: Handsome? Whatever! He's got to be over 50 years old now! L: Michael, 你说 "whatever"，在这里是什么意思呀？比如说："You can buy whatever you want." 意思是：你想买什么都行。可是，你刚才说一个字"whatever"，口气不同，好象意思也不一样。 M: The word "whatever" I said is the same as in your example，But when someone says "whatever" like this: "whatever," he is being sarcastic. He thinks what you just said is nonsense. L: 噢，原来是这么回事。你说的whatever和我举的例子里的 whatever 是一个字, 可是，说的语调不一样就表示说话的人在讽 刺对方，认为对方说的是废话。好，又学会一个词。不过， Michael，你不喜欢这部电影是不是你认为Piers Brosnan不够帅？ 你是妒忌他吧？ M: Whatever! Piers Brosnan is an old man and he's getting fat. I couldn't possibly be jealous of him. L: 得了吧！对，Piers Brosnan年级不小了，也比以前胖了。可是我 认为他还是很帅。你自己不也比以前胖了嘛。 M: I'm fat? Whatever! This movie was a waste of seven bucks! L: 唉，非要说看这部电影是浪费七块美元。 得了，Michael, 你还是 省点钱吧，没准我下回还要问你借呢！ M: Whatever! 李华今天学到了两个常用语，一个是：buck，这是指美元；另一个常用语就是：whatever，这是表示说话的人对对方说的话很不以为然，就象中文里说的"得了吧"。 |
