流行美语 (Popular American) 308

李华在咖啡馆跟Larry见面。今天我们要学两个常用语： don't put all your eggs in one basket和seeing red.

LL: How's it going Li hua?

LH: 还可以，我这两天正琢磨着毕业以后找工作的事情。

LL: Have you had any luck so far?

LH: 我找到了两个比较合适的，我觉得自己能够胜任，而且起薪也不错。

LL: That's great Li Hua, but don't put all your eggs in one basket.

LH: 鸡蛋？我看中的工作跟养鸡一点关系都没有。

LL: Haha, no Li Hua, "don't put all your eggs in one basket" is a saying in English. It means don't put all of your hopes on one thing, or in other words, have a backup plan if things don't turn out the way you imagine.

LH: 噢，我明白了，别把所有鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里，就是中文里说的别孤注一掷，别在一棵树上吊死。你是说我最好应该多申请几个。你放心，我会尽可能多寄一些申请表，我一定不会put all my eggs in one basket.

LL: That's a very good idea.

LH: Larry, 你这两天忙什么呢？

LL: Well, Li Hua, I have been thinking of moving, so I have been looking at the classifieds for a new place. I am looking all over town and compiling¹ a list, that way I will have a back up if my first choice falls through. I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket.

LH: 好主意。我的租约也快到期了。到时候你要帮我，多找几个合适的公寓，看看哪里有空的，按你的话说，I cannot put all my eggs in one basket.

LL: Exactly. Now what shall we do tonight?

LH: 我们可以去看今天上映的那部新片。不过，也有可能买不到票，所有我们要做两手准备。We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket.

LL: That is a good point, Li Hua. Do you have any ideas of other things to do to avoid putting all our eggs in one basket?

LH: 电影院旁边就有个保龄球馆，万一买不到电影票，我们就去打保龄球。

******

李华和Larry没看上电影，只好去打保龄球。

LH: 真倒霉，被我不幸言中，电影票还真卖光了。

LL: That's OK, Li Hua, now I can awe² you with my bowling³ skills. Here I go.

(Sound of gutter⁴ balls)

LH: 哈！上来就是一个落沟球，演砸了吧。

LL: (Sign) Oh Boy, I am seeing red about having bowled so poorly.

LH: 眼前都是红色？你别吓唬我。

LL: No, Li Hua, seeing red means I'm really mad about something.

LH: 噢，seeing red是特别生气的意思。那我们没买到电影票，你有没有seeing red?

LL: Well, no Li Hua, I was a little annoyed but I was not quite seeing red. Seeing red means that you are really angry.

LH: 那两个月前，我的手提电脑被偷，我就可以说I was seeing red.

LL: Yes, Li Hua, that's exactly right, if somebody stole my laptop, I would certainly be seeing red.

LH: 对了，昨天早上我在餐厅里把番茄酱洒了一身。I was really seeing red.

LL: Was it because you were angry or because the sauce is literally⁵ red?

LH: 你还开我玩笑！我昨天穿了件新衬衣，真心疼死我了。

LL: I've done that in the past. It is pretty bad.

LH: 你听说了吗，图书馆为了节省经费，要缩短开放时间。

LL: Oh really? How do the students feel about that?

LH: The students are really seeing red. 很多人都在校报上发表文章骂学校，还有不少人在校长办公室门前示威抗议。

LL: Yes that does sound like something that would really make students mad. I would be seeing red too.

LH: 不过话说回来，学校要节省开支，就一定要减少服务，不管减的是哪个部门，都会有人受到影响。Someone will be seeing red.

LL: That is a very good point Li Hua. Now hopefully I'll start bowling better, or I won't be seeing red, I'll be red with embarrassment⁶.

LH: 好啊，该你了，good luck!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是don't put all your eggs in one basket，意思是不要孤注一掷。另一个是seeing red，意思是气死了。

1 compiling   

v.收集( compile的现在分词 )；编辑；编制；编译

参考例句：

• The professor is drudging at dictionary-compiling. 教授正在辛苦地编字典。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Years have been spent in compiling this volume. 编辑本卷花了好几年时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

4 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

5 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。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。