纽约英语口语网新版
流行美语
第 95 课:jack; kaput

今天李华和Larry在谈暑假里打算干什么,李华会学到两个常用语:jack和kaput。

LH: Hey Larry, 你知不知道纽约附近哪个地方可以钓鱼呀?

LL: Fishing, huh? I'm sorry Li Hua, I don't know jack about fishing.

LH: 哎,我问你钓鱼的事,你怎么说你不认识Jack?

LL: I'm not talking about a guy named Jack. When I say "I don't know jack about fishing", that means "I don't know anything about fishing".

LH: 噢,原来jack在这里不是人的名字,你说 I don't know jack about fishing 意思就是"你对钓鱼一无所知"。这么说,jack在这里就表示 "nothing", right?

LL: That's right.

LH: I don't know jack about fishing, 那不就成了I don't know nothing about fishing. 英文里是不能用双重否定的,不是吗?

LL: OK, you're right, we don't use double negatives in proper, formal English. But this is slang! "I don't know jack" means "I don't know anything".

LH: 我也经常听人说 I don't know nothing, 我知道在正规英语里面是不应该这么说的。这样说来,在口语里是这么用的,那"I don't know jack" 就表示"我什么也不知道"。对了,Larry, 那你暑假不准备钓鱼,你打算干什么呢?

LL: Well, I may just sit around. In other words, I don't do jack!

LH: You don't do jack! 我知道,你是说你什么也不干啊。除了"I don't know jack" ,原来你还可以说:I don't do jack! 好不容易到了暑假,你却打算什么都不干?我才不会这样白白浪费时间。

LL: Well, the reason vacation is so valuable is because I can sit around and don't do jack all day. Usually I'm a very busy guy.

LH: 你说得也有道理,就是因为放假了,才有可能懒散一点儿;什么事情也不做。平时又要学习又要打工,是够忙的。

LL: Well, anyway, I need to get home and start on the term paper. I haven't written jack yet!

LH: 什么?你的期末论文一点儿还没动手啊?哎哟,那你赶紧回家去写吧!

LH: Larry, 你不是在家写论文吗?怎么又跑到学校图书馆来啦?

LL: Well, I got home and started to work on my term paper, but my computer went kaput!

LH: 你说你的电脑怎么啦?Went kaput? 听起来就好象是电脑出问题了,是不是啊?

LL: Yes, "kaput" means "broken, ruined or not working properly." My computer went kaput, so now I have to work on my paper in the library.

LH: Oh, 原来 kaput 意思就是"坏了,没法正常工作"。你是说你的电脑坏了,Larry, 你最近好像运气不太好嘛.前些天,你的手机电话不是也出故障了吗?

LL: Oh man, that's a real problem! My cell phone really went kaput and nobody could reach me.

LH: 就是啊,我给你打电话留言,你也没收到。

LL: During that time, I was out of touch with everyone. It felt like my whole life went kaput.

LH: 有那么严重吗?你因为手机坏了,和所有人失去了联系,让你觉得整个生活都完蛋啦?哎哟,还是先说说你的电脑吧 - 你的电脑 went kaput,那你有没有丢掉什么重要文件呢?

LL: Well, I'm hoping it wasn't the hard drive that went kaput. That would be terrible!

LH: 你先别着急,即使是hard drive went kaput, 我想有的信息还是可以找回来的啦!

LL: Let's hope so. If I can't get my computer fixed soon, I won't have jack to show them in my term paper.

LH: 但愿你的电脑赶快修好。学期论文要是交白卷可真是太糟糕了。

今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语,一个是jack, 在英语口语里 I don't know jack的意思是"我什么也不知道"。李华学到的另一个常用语是kaput, 就相当于中文里所说的"坏了""出了问题"。