大家可能还记得Michael 这个美国学生以往几次考试都考糟了,这一次情况可大不相同。今天他和他的中国同学李华约好了在图书馆见面。李华会学到两个常用语,一个是:to ace;另一个是:peanuts。; ~5 J s% _' \2 G
. t5 y& A6 ?, m5 _L: 嗨, Michael,今天考得怎么样?) r; O% k @: J! k# ~" L
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M: Not bad! I aced today's history test! \! i0 i+ W8 M* m; F- J6 ]% ~! { s
L: 你历史测验又考糟啦?那你还那么高兴!' p+ `1 h' M. [- i( `; Z: D/ J
5 U! ~- ]3 j) e( w6 UM: No, Li Hua, I didn't bomb my test. I said "I aced the test". I did very well on it! 3 T+ m9 e% A9 ?/ I( i; {; @# n/ X) c+ H+ U& S; N
L: 你考得很好,那太好了,Michael!最近你每天都到图书馆来念书, 我知道你会考得比以前好的。你刚才用的是哪个字啊? 6 m/ d) P- f* c! n$ V* w+ h& V2 ^0 g
M: Ace. Here, ace is a verb, and you can add a "d" to make it past tense.. `2 [6 q! w" d( O) ~
; d5 |* w0 \- m9 H6 A9 L* i1 fL: 噢,在这里,ace是个动词,过去时就是在后面加一个字母 "d",变成 了aced。这个字是不是和扑克牌里的那张牌A,或者叫"尖子"的那 张牌一样的呢? / t6 V4 N; z+ e. y( }, b E5 Q; V" P7 F* H, U& g- K3 w$ m( w
M: That's right. The "ace" card is usually the highest value in a card game. Therefore, "ace" means to do well. & b$ n/ B5 |* a: Q' S# r$ R3 V" V2 B+ E! w; d
L: 对,在玩扑克的时候ace往往是价值最高的一张牌,所以ace就是 指某件事做的很好。那ace作为动词还能用在什么场合呢?5 V; W7 ~" f* L& [/ I4 x2 w; ]: X
: q' e, l8 h# [( W4 j% [5 Z) O. ?M: Usually we can use "ace" to describe how we did on a test, or on things similar to tests. For example, I can say I aced my last job interview.) ^- r4 R8 o9 x/ x. B: @' S
' U# @# L. d2 wL: 噢,一般都用在和测验考试之类的情况,你上次找工作去面谈谈 得很好也能用"ace" 这个词。再说一遍你刚才说的那句话,好 吗?! w, ]$ d1 @9 W6 S1 L1 y: P0 r
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M: I aced my last job interview.1 ?# _2 H" C! u: V: a6 A& A
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L: 你大概回答问题答得很好,所以老板就要你了。. Q" D3 @$ y5 A6 x1 }+ ~
; u. S* F/ l# W8 uM: That's right. Li Hua, if someone is very good at something, we can call him an "ace". I can say, for example, you are an ace at taking tests. . {, ` p; c( D7 k! l- `# X . O) j* B) G) b' l& |# wL: I'm an ace at taking tests, 你说我非常会考试!这也不见得,我考糊 的时候也有的。不过,比你少一点就是了。 1 c4 U9 a' R8 N$ `2 [7 G# f/ ~; A4 ?) X p8 `1 a
M: Yes, you're right! 9 |5 l( \) v0 }& U$ R- r9 r. X1 ~5 M) o+ G" n3 O. S
L: Michael, 借我$.75 买杯咖啡好吗? 3 C6 n" x W. k( M; D) b) k4 M: ^$ A e' b+ l
M: Well, okay. Li Hua, how much money do you earn as a teaching assistant, if you don't mind my asking?6 @2 w `0 a" ?
}+ w# c/ c+ D4 Y a+ |: G+ KL: 你当然不在意你问我赚多少钱。 当助教的工资很低,才8美元一 小时。 ^ Y- S& k( D: a' W7 s4 e
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M: Eight dollars? That's peanuts!6 w8 V6 X, P! O- O# Q! u9 x+ r
) J5 c8 {5 C6 ]7 CM: That's really not much! You only make eight dollars an hour? Your wages are very low, so I said that's "peanuts"!& \# ?# x9 j3 y1 @5 N5 E7 }
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L: 原来你的意思是我的工资很低。你说的peanuts是不是和我们吃的 花生一个字吗?# F/ U! T& v9 L3 c) l
! a0 G7 h, R+ f( s) S; ~4 f2 \M: That's still peanuts compared with the teaching assistants in other departments. I make about 13 dollars an hour as a graduate assistant.2 F, ?* t' G: n9 E, [$ O8 i
% D" I; {$ V1 m9 t& UL: 哟,你一个小时赚13美元呐! 真不公平,你赚那么多钱,而我 只赚peanuts. 9 H3 e9 B$ \, a: h9 Y$ ? + I( U! u4 [6 [. KM: I don't see how you can live on so little money.# c: ~6 s& [1 j# f3 S