生活英语对话 Episode 7: Paying the rent

本单元是关于付房租的对话

Helen: Oh no, it's that time of the month again - time to pay the rent.
Tim: Comes round fast enough, doesn't it?
Alice: Yeah and I'm so broke just now. I don't know where my money goes.
Tim: You need to tighten¹ your belt Alice. Well, I'm fairly flush this month, want me to lend you some cash?
Alice: Tim, would you?
Tim: Sure, you know me, always willing to help a damsel in distress². There's only one small catch......


Vocabulary:

Rent (n, uncountable): amount of money you pay (usually every month) to live in a house or flat that belongs to someone else

A damsel in distress (humorous): a young woman who needs help

There's a catch: There is a condition (usually something difficult or unpleasant). In this case Tim will lend Alice some money but she has to repay him in a way that he chooses

A casino (n): a place where people can gamble (bet money) on the result of games with cards, dice³ or machines

Greyhound racing⁴ (n): a spectator sport where people watch dogs race and bet money on the result

本单元的语言点是关于钱的习语，有时习语很难通过字面单词猜出其意义，看看下面的习语，你能猜出他们是什么意思吗？

Idioms use language metaphorically⁶ rather than literally⁷. If you paid 'through the nose' for something, it means you paid too high a price for it (the metaphorical⁵ meaning) not that you paid for something with money that came out of the middle of your face (the literal meaning).

Idioms are also fixed⁸ groups of words so you can't change the wording of an idiom. For example, you can say 'That shop is a real rip off' to describe a shop that overcharges its customers but you can't say 'It's a real tear off'.

Idioms - rich and poor:

I'm so broke/I'm flat broke.
I don't have any money.

I don't have a bean.
I don't have any money.

You need to tighten your belt.
You should try to spend less.

He's flush (with cash).
He's got a lot of money.

She's rolling in it.
She's very rich.

Idioms - expensive and cheap:

We really splashed out on our new car.
We spent a lot of money on our new car.

This dress cost me an arm and a leg.
This dress was very expensive.

This bag was dirt cheap.
This bag wasn't expensive.

I got this new top for a song.
This blouse was very cheap.

I can't believe the price of a cup of coffee here. It's daylight robbery!
This cafe charges very high prices for its coffee.

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

3 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

6 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。