VOA流行美语 Unit 104: out of whack / goofy

今天李华和Larry 在图书馆看书。Larry 注意到 Li Hua 和平时有点儿不一样。Li Hua会学到两个常用语：out of whack和goofy。

(Library SFX)

LL: Hey, Li Hua, what's wrong? You're acting a little out of whack.

LH: 我什么事也没有啊！你说我怎么了 - acting a little out of whack? 那是什么意思啊？

LL: Out of Whack - means to be different from usual or abnormal. You're acting different from usual, so you seem a little out of whack.

LH: 噢，原来out of whack意思就是“和平时不太一样”。你觉得我有点儿反常啊？你还真说对了，我明天晚上有个约会，是我第一次要和这个人见面。心里有点儿紧张，我连穿什么衣服都还没想好呢！

LL: You have a date and you didn't tell me? That's out of whack! But, at least now I understand why you're acting out of whack. First dates make everyone nervous.

LH: 就是啊，第一次约会总是让人紧张的。就是，我平常的活动你都知道，这次约会我没告诉你，确实是不寻常，难怪你会说out of whack。 这么说，Larry，out of whack, 可以指人，也可以指事情，是吗？

LL: That's right. For instance, I think it's really out of whack that my best friend has a date tomorrow and she didn't tell me about it.

LH: 对不起，Larry. 我其实本来想告诉你的，大概就是因为我太紧张了，心里没准，所以我就给忘了。

LL: Okay, well, I suppose that I can forgive you. Hey, you know what makes me feel all out of whack?

LH: 有什么东西会让你反常啊？我不知道，赶快赶快，告诉我啊！

LL: The fact that I haven't slept more than three hours every night this week. I've been so busy.

LH: 什么？你这个星期每天睡眠还不到三个小时啊？再忙也不至于这样吧！

******

(Campus SFX)

LL: Li Hua, how was your date last night? Did it go well or was the guy really goofy?

LH: 哎呀，别提了！昨晚的约会简直糟透了。那家伙也不知怎么搞的，第一次见面就忘了带钱包，结果还是我付的帐呢。哎，Larry, 你刚才说was the guy really goofy - "goofy" 是什么意思啊？

LL: Goofy means several things. It can mean silly, funny, crazy or stupid. Or a little bit of all of those things combined. It sounds like your date was goofy.

LH: 要是你说goofy是指“愚蠢、可笑、怪怪的、傻傻的”，或者是这些因素都有点儿的话，我那个 date 可真是goofy。他真的是傻到让人觉得可笑了呢，要不是那顿晚餐花了我那么多钱，我真的说不定会笑出来呢！

LL: Yeah, he sounds pretty goofy to me. Was he goofy-looking, too?

LH: Goofy-looking? 你是问他长的样子是不是也怪怪的、傻傻的啊？

LL: Yep, goofy-looking means silly looking, like a clown.

LH: 噢，他长得倒不错，看上去一点也不傻，更不像个小丑。哎，Larry, 你也不想想，我哪能找个样子傻傻的人去约会呢？得了得了，先别说我那个goofy date了。Goofy这个词我还可以怎么用呢？

LL: When kids act silly for attention, you can say that they are acting goofy.

LH: 对呀，小孩子为了让别人注意他，有的时候会干些傻事。这么说，goofy这个词也不见得都是指不好的事。

LL: Generally, it's not very negative.You can call a person "goofy," too. For instance, I would call you goofy if you went on another date with that guy.

LH: 原来goofy这个词并不一定都是贬意。幸亏你告诉我，不然要是我听见你说我goofy, 我说不定会生你的气呢！再说了，Larry, 和那个家伙出去一次已经够了。我才不会再和他约第二次呢 - I wouldn't do something that out of whack!

今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语。一个是out of whack, 意思是“反常、和平时不一样”。李华学到的另一个常用语是goofy, 意思是“愚蠢可笑，傻傻的”。