VOA流行美语 Unit 249:fed up和off the hook
日期:2008-10-18 13:18

(单词翻译:单击)

李华到Larry家借书,正好赶上Larry的朋友Dave打电话来 。她今天要学两个常用语, fed up和off the hook

LL: That was just Dave on the phone, Li Hua. He is really fed up right now.

LH: Dave给你打电话,就是告诉你他吃多了吗?

LL: No, Li Hua. To be fed up is to run out of patience in a difficult situation and to become angry.

LH: 噢,fed up不是指吃多了,而是说受够了。

LL: That's right. Dave has been having a bad day, and he has good reason to be fed up.

LH:他遇到什么倒霉事了吗?

LL: Well, Dave's car broke down on his way to work today, and he called a tow truck to come and get him. He's fed up, because he has been waiting for over an hour for the tow truck to arrive.

LH: 拖车一个多小时还没到。换成我,也会fed up.

LL: And Dave is also fed up with his car. This is the third time in the last month that his car has broken down.

LH: 一个月坏三次。那可真得换车了,难怪他说自己受够了。他给你打电话就是抱怨这些吗?

LL: He was hoping that if the tow truck didn't come in the next few minutes I might be able to give him a ride to work. He doesn't want his boss to get too fed up with him.

LH: 噢,原来是求你送他去上班。一而再,再而三地因为车子抛锚而上班迟到,确实会引起老板的怀疑。

LL: I don't think Dave's boss is completely fed up with him YET, but Dave doesn't want to take any chances.

LH: 那当然了。他好不容易才找到这份工作,因为这个被炒鱿鱼,太不值得了。

LL: Yeah. Personally, I'm a little fed up with Dave right now, too.

LH: Dave有什么让你受不了的呢?

LL: Well, every time Dave's car breaks down, he calls me to ask for a ride. I'm getting a little fed up with having to rearrange my schedule to keep helping Dave out.

LH: 确实有点儿烦。不过,他是你的朋友,大家应该互相帮助嘛!

LL: You are right, Li Hua. I shouldn't get fed up with Dave. (Phone rings) It's Dave on the phone.

******

LH: Dave打电话说什么?

LL: He told me the tow truck finally arrived. It looks like I'm off the hook!

LH: Off the hook? 这种说法跟钓鱼有关吧?

LL: Yes, it does, Li Hua. You know when you go fishing for fun, how you put a hook on the end of your line?

LH: 当然了,我还记得上次跟你老爸一起去钓鱼,鱼线最后面有一个钩子,在上面挂上鱼饵。

LL: And when a worm is off the hook, it is free. Just like I am now. I am off the hook, because I don't need to drive Dave to work after all.

LH: 所以,off the hook就是脱身的意思。你不用再开车送Dave去上班了,所以你说自己是off the hook.

LL: That's right. Say, speaking of obligations, don't you have a Chinese class you should be teaching right now?

LH: Oh, No. I am off the hook today, Larry. 今天学校放假,所以我不用去教中文课了!

LL: I forgot that today is a holiday. Unfortunately, I am NOT off the hook today. I need to go into work this afternoon to finish up a project I am working on.

LH: 那你就是on the hook喽?

LL: Well, we don't really say someone is "on the hook" in English when we mean they have something they need to do.

LH: 所以说不用再去做一件事情是off the hook, 但是反过来,必须去做一件事情,则不能说on the hook.

LL: You've got it, Li Hua. Say, how about going to a movie tonight? Do you still have to write your paper for Professor Jones, or are you off the hook?

LH: 唉,I'm not off the hook. 我今天晚上必须得写完那篇论文。我可不希望让琼斯教授 fed up with me.

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是fed up, 意思是不耐烦,受够了。另一个是off the hook, 是脱身,摆脱责任的意思。

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重点单词
  • rearrange重新整理,重新排序
  • hookn. 钩状物,勾拳,钩 v. 钩住,弯成(钩装),当妓女
  • minutesn. 会议记录,(复数)分钟
  • patiencen. 耐心,忍耐,毅力 n. 单人玩的牌戏
  • wormn. 虫,蠕虫 v. 蠕动,驱虫,慢慢探听出 n.