VOA流行美语 Unit 34: NERD / CHEESY

Michael和李华白天上了好几门课，晚饭后又做功课。李华决定到Michael 的住处去休息一下，看一会电视。今天Michael 会教李华两个常用语：nerd 和cheesy。

M: Are you okay, Li Hua? What's wrong? Why are you crying?

L: 我没事。这个电视剧让人挺伤心的。我一看这种电视剧就会哭，真是 没办法。

M: You are such a nerd.

L: 你叫我什么？A nerd? 我知道那不是什么好话，可是nerd到底是什 么意思呢？

M: If you call someone a nerd, it means you think he is weird and not cool. It can be used in many different situations.

L: 噢，nerd是指那种跟一般人不一样，有点怪的人。Nerd可以用在 许多不同场合。那象你今天穿了这套衣服，怪怪的，我就可以 说：You're a nerd。 对不对？

M: Me? A nerd? Well, yes, you could call me a nerd.

L: 我肯定好多人都叫你a nerd。

M: As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, a lot of kids called me a nerd because I didn't fit in.

L: 你小的时候不合群，所以许多人都叫你nerd。我看你现在很合 群嘛。看不出你小时候是个nerd。你到底是怎么个不合群呢？

M: Well, as you know I was never very good at sports, and I never knew how to fit in with the cool kids.

L: 对，你好象告诉过我你从小就不太喜欢体育，跟那些很受欢迎的 同学也合不到一起。所以，你就成了一个nerd。

M: A typical nerd is someone who wears glasses and carries a lot of books.

L: 噢，那就是书呆子的形象，戴着眼镜，拿着许多书。

M: That's right. If someone is always studying, or seems to know the answers to everything, you can call him a nerd.

L: 老念书，什么都知道的人，那不就是书呆子吗？Michael，我看你 有的时候穿衣服有点怪，也许人家会叫你nerd，可是你绝对不会 成为书呆子。

M: I guess so! Li Hua, That TV show is so cheesy. I don't know why it's so popular.

L: 这个电视剧好多人都喜欢，包括我在内 。可你又在说什么批评的 话， 我不知道cheesy是什么意思，但是我知道你在说它不好。

M: Cheesy means tacky or dumb. It's usually used to describe a TV show, movie, or something someone says.

L: 噢，cheesy就是很俗气，质量很次，很愚蠢。人们经常用cheesy 这个词来形容电视节目，电影或者某个人说的话。

M: I think the new TV soap opera on Channel 6 is so cheesy. It is fake and the things they say on the shows are so weird. I don't know why these shows are so popular.

L: 对，我也看了六频道那个新的电视连续剧。情节是很虚假，对话 也很怪。可是你想知道为什么那么多人喜欢看吗？我来告诉你。看这 种电视剧总想知道结局嘛。我有的时候还会流泪的呢。

M: How can those cheesy TV shows make you cry? You're such a nerd.

L: 什么？ 你说我是个nerd?

M: Don't be mad, Li Hua. But you are a nerd. No one cries while watching these cheesy TV shows！

L: 我才不信呢。你们这些不流眼泪的人缺乏感情，你们才是nerd。 我不 跟你说了，我要回去了。

M: No, no, Li Hua. Wait, at least you have to finish watching this cheesy TV show so that you know who's going to marry whom.

L: 对了，不看完这个电视剧，不知道结局，我也睡不着。那就看 吧！

看来今天李华真是生气了，因为Michael说她是个nerd, 也就是说她这个人有点怪。后来她同意继续在Michael 家看完那个很cheesy的电视节目。Cheesy 就是很俗气， 没有水平的意思。这次[流行美语]就学习到这里。我们下次再见。