【大紀元10月8日訊】
李華到Larry住的地方去送一本書，發現魚缸裡的金魚不見了。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：bite the dust和funky.
LH: 哎，Larry，你的金魚到哪兒去了?
LL: Oh, he bit the dust yesterday. I found him floating in the tank. I’m really bummed out about it.
LH: 你的金魚怎麼了？Bit the dust? Bit是bite的過去時。意思是：咬； 那dust是塵土的意思。咬塵土？ 噢，你是說你的魚死啦？
LL: That’s right! That fish was a few years old, so I think he might have just died of old age.
LH: 那只魚在你這兒好幾年啦？怪不得你顯得悶悶不樂！Larry，要不要我陪你再去買條金魚？
LL: I’m thinking about going to buy a new fish today, but I want to clean out the tank first. I don’t want the new fish to bite the dust, too.
LH: 沒錯，買新的魚以前最好把魚缸打掃干淨，不然新的魚也可能會死掉的。
LL: It’s possible. I really don’t want to take any chances.
LH: 對，一條魚價錢也不便宜，可別冒風險。對了，Larry，你知道嗎？John的奶奶幾天前去世了，那我是不是能說：she bit the dust the other day。
LL: Wait a second, Li Hua, I don’t think you want to say that your friend’s grandma bit the dust. It’s not very polite or respectful.
LH: 噢，bite the dust這個說法用在人的身上是不禮貌的！那我還真是得小心。
LL: It’s okay to say my fish bit the dust or some bad guy in a movie bit the dust, but you probably don’t want to say that about your friend’s family member.
LH: 嗯，我懂了。To bite the dust可以指魚，可以指電影裡的壞蛋，可是千萬不要在朋友的家人去世的時候用這個說法。
LL: You’ve got it! Now let’s go buy a fish.
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LH: Larry, 你為什麼不買那條魚？它的鰭好大而且顏色好漂亮！我從來沒見過色彩這麼鮮艷的魚呢！
LL: Yeah, he is kind of funky. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another fish like that either.
LH: 等等，什麼是funky? 是不是很酷的意思?
LL: Funky has several meanings, but in this case, it means cool, unique, and unusual.
LH: 噢，在這裡，funky就是指很酷、很獨特的意思。沒錯，這條魚真的很特別。這魚放在你的魚缸裡一定很漂亮！
LL: Hold on, that funky little fish is pretty expensive. Why don’t we get a cheap little goldfish instead?
LH: 小的金魚是便宜點，可是顏色就沒有這麼特別了啊！
LL: I happen to like goldfish. I can buy one of those goldfish with the funky bubbles behind its eyes.
LH: 你是說那條眼睛後面長兩個大球的金魚呀？我還是喜歡那條很漂亮的魚，那條funky fish。
LL: Well, I appreciate your opinion, but this is going to be my fish.
LH: 那也是，別聽我的。這是你的魚，你得天天看的。Larry，你看，那邊那個人穿的衣服真是與眾不同。我覺得很怪，是不是也很funky？
LL: Yeah, he definitely has his own sense of style. It looks as though he’s here to buy a fish, too.
LH: 對，每個人都有自己穿衣服的風格。說不定他會買那條很漂亮的魚！
LL: That’s a possibility. Now, come on, forget about that fish and help me pick out a goldfish, the funkier the better.
今天李華學到兩個常用語。一個是bite the dust, 就是死掉的意思，不過通常不用在人身上，因為那樣說不太禮貌。另一個常用語是funky。意思是很酷、很獨特。
(轉載自《美國之音》)(//www.dajiyuan.com)
