流行美语 (Popular American) 243

李华正在兴致勃勃地给Larry将她去看医生的经过，没想到被Larry泼了一盆冷水。李华今天要学两个常用语，TMI和PDQ 。

LL: Oh, Li Hua, that is really TMI. I'm sorry you had to go to the doctor, but I really don't want to hear all about your infected toenail!

LH: 你不想知道医生是怎么帮我处理那个发炎的脚趾甲的吗？TMI? 什么是TMI呀？

LL: T-M-I is an abbreviation¹ for "Too Much Information." I think you were giving me too much information about your doctor's appointment.

LH: 我知道TMI是too much information的缩写，但我还是不明白，你为什么对我看医生漠不关心呢？

LL: Well, you were telling me very specific² details about your trip to the doctor, like how he had to cut away part of your toenail, and I thought you gave me too much information. TMI!

LH: 噢，你是不想听医生是怎么把发炎的脚趾甲剪掉，又是怎么把里面的脓....

LL: (Urgently) Please, Li Hua, that really is TMI! Generally, Americans don't like to talk about the specifics³ of personal matters like a doctor's visit, especially when the details are disgusting⁴!

LH: 原来是这样，就是说凡是像看医生这类的私事，美国人一般不会告诉别人，否则的话就是TMI。

LL: That's right. But you should also not give too much information about your personal relationships.

LH: 我有个朋友叫Sharon，她最喜欢给我讲她跟自己男朋友交往的细节。我也觉得那些都是 TMI 。

LL: How so?

LH: 比如说，她会告诉我，她的男朋友是怎么亲她的。

LL: That is definitely⁵ TMI. You probably really don't want to know how Sharon's boyfriend kisses.

LH: 那当然了。我实在不想听，可又不知道该怎么告诉她。

LL: Well, now you do! The next time Sharon goes on and on about her boyfriend you can just say, "Please, Sharon, TMI!"

LH: 我下次一定试试。对不起，Larry, 我得赶紧找个厕所。我刚才喝了一大瓶水。憋死我了。

LL: (Urgently) Li Hua, that is another excellent example of TMI!

******

LL: You are back, Li Hua. That was PDQ!

LH: 你刚才说TMI "too much information", 现在又说PDQ, PDQ是什么意思啊？

LL: PDQ stands for "Pretty Darn Quick." You came back from the restroom very quickly, you were PDQ!

LH: 噢，你是说我动作快啊，我是不想让你等，当然PDQ啦。

LL: Say, Li Hua, I am getting very hungry. Aren't you? Let's stop chatting and find a place to eat PDQ.

LH: 附近那个三明治的小吃店怎么样？

LL: That's a good idea! The sandwiches are really good and they make them PDQ, which is good because I should really get back to work.

LH: 对呀，他们那里的三明治又好吃又不用等。Larry, 你下午干脆别上班了，我们好好吃一顿，然后去公园。这么好的天气，待在办公室里可惜了！

LL: I wish I could, Li Hua, but I really can't. My boss assigned⁶ me a project this morning, and he really wants me to finish it PDQ.

LH: 那好吧，既然你要赶项目，那我们就快吃，你好get back to work PDQ.

LL: What about you, Li Hua? Do you have a relaxing afternoon planned?

LH: 其实我也有事。我的公寓有些地方需要修理，房东下午过来。所以吃完饭，我也要立刻赶回去。

LL: Well, it sounds like we both have things to do this afternoon. Here's the sandwich place. Oh, No! It doesn't look like our lunch is going to PDQ after all.

LH: 今天怎么这么多人，都排到门外了。

LL: Well, it doesn't look like the service will be PDQ today. They must be short-handed.

LH: 我们改去麦当劳吧，快餐店应该不会等太久。

LL: And then we'll need to eat them PDQ, too!

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是TMI，意思是别人并不想知道的事。另一个是 PDQ, 意思是非常快。
 

1 abbreviation   

n.（用词首字母组成的）缩写

参考例句：

• A.D.is the abbreviation for"advertisement".A.D.是advertisement的缩写。
• The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.堪萨斯州的邮政缩写是KS。

2 specific   

adj.明确的；具体的；特定的

参考例句：

• The money is to be used for specific purposes.这笔钱有专门用途。
• We haven't fixed a specific date for our meeting.我们会议的具体日期还没有定下来。

3 specifics   

n.详情，细节；特性；特效药( specific的名词复数)；特定之物

参考例句：

• Okay, that's the broad plan—let's get down to the specifics. 好，这是总的计划—下面来谈谈具体细节。
• He speaks in concepts rather than specifics. 他讲话时尽用抽象概念，而不谈具体。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 disgusting   

adj.令人作呕的，可憎恶的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• What a disgusting smell!多么讨厌的气味！
• The mosquito is the disgusting thing.蚊子是讨厌的东西。

5 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

6 assigned   

adj.选定的；被布置的

参考例句：

• But read-only values are different,in that they are assigned at runtime.但是只读的值是不同的，因为它们是在运行时被赋值的。