【大紀元5月27日訊】李華和Larry因為暴風雪，都不用去上班，倆人商量該幹點什麼。今天我們要學兩個常用語：fish out of water和have a crack at something.

LH: Larry, 下大雪真是太好了，堆雪人、打雪仗比上班好玩多了。

LL: Yeah it’s really nice that we don’t have to go to work or class. But I am a little worried that I might freeze to death in the snow!

LH: 凍死在雪裡？你也太誇張了吧。下雪天兒其實 一點兒都不冷，多穿兩件衣服就行了。

LL: Lihua, I’m from the southern United States, where it never snows. I feel like a fish out of water in all this snowy weather.

LH: 你說什麼？感覺自己像是a fish out of water? 這是什麼意思呢？

LL: When you are in a strange environment, or feel like you are out of place, you can say that you feel like a fish out of water.

LH: 哦，a fish out of water感覺好像離開水的魚一樣不自在，跟周圍陌生的環境格格不入。

LL: Exactly! For example, Roger grew up living in the city, so he felt like a fish out of water when his girlfriend took him on a camping trip.

LH: 我剛從中國到美國來讀書的時候，那才叫不適應呢！

LL: Right! I bet when you came to America for the first time and were in a totally new environment, you felt like a fish out of water.

LH: 絕對的！不過，我很快就認識了很多像你這樣的好朋友， 沒過多久就適應了。So I don’t feel like a fish out of water anymore.

LL: That’s great, Lihua! You know, I felt that way too when I visited New York. I grew up in a small town, so I really felt like a fish out of water in the big city.

LH: 不提過去那些事兒了，快穿上衣服，我們出去玩雪！

LL: Ok, Lihua. If I freeze to death, will you tell my parents that I love them?

LH: 好了，Larry, 別鬧了。在雪地裡玩兒一會兒是死不了人的！

******

LH: Larry, 你想先玩什麼？是堆雪人還是滑雪橇？

LL: I’ve got a great idea! Let’s build an army of snowmen. We will make a snow version of the Terra Cotta Warriors!

LH: 兵馬俑？Larry, 你知道兵馬俑一共有多少個嗎？我們還沒堆完，雪就化光了。

LL: Come on, we’ll never know for sure unless we try! Let’s have a crack at it.

LH: Have a crack at it? 這是什麼意思啊？

LL: When you try to do something that is not very likely to succeed, you can say that you “have a crack at it.” Crack is spelled c-r-a-c-k.

LH: 你是說，明知不太可能用雪堆出兵馬俑來，你還是想試試看， to have a crack at it?

LL: Right! Or for example, even though I knew it was unlikely that I would win American Idol, I decided to have a crack at it anyway and try out for it.

LH: 慢著慢著，你去參加美國偶像的選秀了？我怎麼不知道。Larry, 我瞭解你唱歌的水平，你當選美國偶像的機會，恐怕還不如我們用雪堆出個兵馬俑來的機會大呢！

LL: Don’t worry, even though I might not have a great voice, I can make up for it with my hot dance moves.

LH: 你的熱舞？那就更可怕了。不過言歸正傳，Larry, 我以前聽人說過”take a stab at something”這跟have a crack at something是一個意思嗎？

LL: Yes. They mean the same thing.

LH: 那你能不能給我舉個不會讓我做惡夢的例子？

LL: Sure. My math teacher gave the class a really hard problem to do. Even though he knew we probably wouldn’t be able to do it, he told us to take a stab at it anyway.

LH: 這位數學老師真夠損的，明知學生做不出來，還要他們去試。那我可以說，明知教你跳舞是浪費時間，可我還是決定要take a stab at it?

LL: Very funny. Now come on, let’s start making these snowmen!

LH: Larry, 你還是自己堆吧，我要去那邊山坡上滑雪了。

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是fish out of water, 意思是在陌生的環境裡覺得格格不入，不自在。另一個是have a crack at something, 或是 take a stab at something, 意思是明明知道可能不會成功，可還是要去嚐試一下。 (//www.dajiyuan.com)