【大紀元2月1日訊】

李華和Larry一起去附近一家新開的中國餐館吃自助餐。李華今天要學兩個常用語：yum和yuck.

LL: There is so much good food at this buffet, Li Hua. I can’t wait to eat some of those spring rolls. Yum!

LH: 你說yum，那你肯定很喜歡吃春卷！因為我知道，yum在英語裡就是可口，好吃的意思。

LL: Hey, Li Hua, you are right! Where did you learn about the word “Yum”?

LH: 我前不久跟一幫美國朋友去吃pizza，其中一個人剛咬第一口，就大喊yum！他說自己最愛吃的東西就是pizza.

LL: Well, I really enjoy eating spring rolls – especially when they are fresh. And these spring rolls look especially tasty. What makes you say “Yum!”, Li Hua?

LH: 我最愛吃的菜是魚香茄子，想想都會流口水。Yum!

LL: Well, I am afraid eggplant is not one of my favorites, Li Hua. I don’t find eggplant dishes to be very yummy.

LH: Yummy肯定是從yum來的吧！

LL: Right! Yummy is used to describe a thing – Like yummy spring rolls or yummy eggplant.

LH: 所以yummy是形容詞，yum則是發感慨的時候說的。

LL: Speaking of being about to eat, let’s take our plates over to the table and enjoy this yummy food.

LH: 對啊，我們得趕緊吃，吃完第一盤，馬上再回來拿，你看他們正在上龍蝦呢！ Yum!

LL: But don’t fill up too much, Li Hua. You’ll want to save room for dessert. The almond cookies look especially yummy.

LH: 杏仁酥看起來確實比紅豆麵包好，那些紅豆麵包看起來好像不太新鮮的樣子。

LL: Well, I think most of the food here is yummy. What do you think, Li Hua?

LH: 跟其他中國餐館比，味道確實還不錯。

LL: But – is it as yummy as the food you used to eat back home in China?

LH: 這裡的飯菜當然沒辦法跟我媽做的飯比了！

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LL: What’s that on your plate, Li Hua? Is it a snake? Yuck!

LH: 我如果沒有理解錯的話，這個yuck一定是yum的反義詞吧？你覺得吃蛇肉很噁心嗎？

LL: Right again, Li Hua. Yuck is an exclamation of disgust. And I am sorry, but I find the idea of eating a snake disgusting.

LH: 我可不是故意要噁心你。不瞞你說，蛇肉可好吃了，而且在美國，你想吃到蛇肉可不容易。剛才你說yuck的樣子，突然間讓我想起了我第一次吃奶酪的感覺。

LL: Cheese? Cheese makes you say “Yuck!”, Li Hua? What’s wrong with cheese anyway?

LH: 中國人做飯不用奶酪，以前我在中國的時候也沒吃過。 可是美國人都很能吃奶酪。我到美國後，第一次吃奶酪的時候，簡直難以下嚥。 Yuck! 那種感覺，現在還記憶猶新。

LL: That is interesting. Actually, Li Hua, there are some kinds of cheese that I find pretty yucky, too.

LH: Yucky? Yucky肯定又是從yuck來的！就好像yummy是從yum來的一樣。

LL: Yucky is used to describe disgusting things. In this case, I was talking about disgusting cheeses. I find blue cheese to be especially yucky.

LH: 你也有不愛吃的奶酪？我是從來沒有嚐過blue cheese, 可是如果連你都覺得yucky的話，那我也就不用嚐了。

LL: I don’t blame you, Li Hua. No one should have to eat something that yucky.

LH: Larry, 你拿的魚香茄子怎麼也沒吃啊？不好吃嗎？你不會覺得魚香茄子也yucky吧！

LL: I think I told you earlier, Li Hua, that I don’t find eggplant to be very yummy. In fact, I do think it is pretty yucky.

LH: 既然覺得魚香茄子難吃，那你幹嘛還要拿呢？

LL: You told me fish fragrant eggplant was your favorite dish, Li Hua. So even though I think eggplant is yucky, I thought I should still try it.

LH: 這就證明，一個人覺得yummy的食物，換個人完全可能會覺得yucky. Larry, 我看你呀，還是去吃春卷吧！

今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是yum或yummy, 是指食物可口好吃的意思。另一個是yuck或yucky, 是指食物難吃，難以下嚥。(//www.dajiyuan.com)