流行美语 (Popular American) 319

Larry周末去找李华。今天我们要学两个常用语：the cat is out of the bag和kick the bucket¹.

LL: Hi Li Hua, how's it going?

LH: 挺好的，总算又考完了一门。你怎么样？

LL: I'm doing pretty well. There's something I've been meaning to ask you...

LH: 你先别说，让我猜猜，你要带我出去渡假？

LL: What？How'd you know?! Who let the cat out of the bag?

LH: What? 什么叫"let the cat out of the bag?"

LL: Who told you?

LH: 哈哈，当然是你妹妹Susie.

LL: I can't believe she told you!

LH: Well. I guess she let the cat out of the bag.

LL: Did she ever! I can't believe she let the cat out of the bag!

LH: 你还不了解Susie吗，她肚子里什么事情也藏不住。

LL: I see that now.

LH: 你以后有什么要保密的事，千万不能告诉她。

LL: I guess Susie is not a good candidate² for being a spy³.

LH: 她要当间谍，第一天就把自己先出卖了！

LL: Oh well, so the cat is out of the bag, I want to take you on a vacation.

LH: 好啊！带我去渡假我当然愿意，可总得有点儿理由吧？

LL: Well, that project just finished and my boss offered me a few weeks off to relax since we all worked so many hours on it. Plus I just got a bonus⁴ for the work.

LH: 又放假，又发奖金。这可真是双喜临门。

LL: It's pretty good. I'm just glad that now I have some time to relax.

LH: 那你有没有想好去哪里呢？

LL: I was thinking that we could go down to Miami, you know, just relax by the beach. I think it would be a pretty good way to get away from it all for a little bit.

LH: 迈阿密的阳光，我来了！

LL: It's a shame you weren't surprised though, now I know not to tell someone who might let the cat out of the bag next time.

******

李华第二天见到Larry. Larry看上去情绪十分低落。

LH: Larry, 你怎么了，脸色这么难看，发生什么事情了吗？

LL: My second grade teacher apparently⁵ just kicked the bucket.

LH: 你小学二年级老师kicked the bucket? 她的脚没受伤吧？

LL: No, kicked the bucket means⁶ she died.

LH: 哦，原来kick the bucket是去世的意思。对不起，你一定很难过吧？

LL: Well, She always had some health problems. To be honest, I'm surprised she lived to be as old as she did. She was probably in her 60s when I had her.

LH: 不管怎么说，自己以前的老师去世，心里一定还是很不好受。

LL: Yeah, it is a little sad, and a little strange. I hadn't thought of her in years.

LH: 那你是怎么听说她去世的消息呢？

LL: Someone from my hometown posted it on my facebook wall.

LH: 没想到，脸谱网还能起到发讣告的作用。

LL: Yeah, it is kind of weird⁷ that someone would use facebook as an obituary⁸. Usually people like to write about having kids online. But this is the first time I heard about someone kicking the bucket.

LH: 不说这些不高兴的事了。Larry, 晚上要不一起去看电影？

LL: OK. Anything in particular?

LH: 我随便，听你的。

LL: I guess I'd like to see a comedy or something light.

LH: So you don't think about your teacher having kicked the bucket?

LL: Well I guess, but also just because I feel like seeing a comedy.

LH: 对了，Larry, 要不要听个小秘密？

LL: A secret? Of course.

LH: Jenny和Mark订婚了。

LL: WOW! That's great news!

LH: 别嚷别嚷。他们还没有正式宣布呢。You have to promise you won't let the cat out of the bag!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是the cat is out of the bag， 意思是泄露秘密。另一个是kick the bucket意思是去世。
 

1 bucket   

n.水桶，一桶之量，吊桶

参考例句：

• The bottom of the bucket has worn through after all this time.经过这么长时间，这只桶的底部终于磨穿了。
• Can you fill me a bucket of water,please?请给我打一桶水好吗？

2 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

3 spy   

n.间谍，侦探，侦察；vt.侦察，找出，发现；vi.做密探，侦查

参考例句：

• I'm sure my neighbours spy on me.我肯定邻居暗中监视我。
• The spy never told his family about his underground activities.那个间谍从来不把他的地下活动告诉他的家人。

4 bonus   

n.奖金，红利

参考例句：

• The workers expected to share out a year-end bonus.工人们期望年终分红。
• The staff got a a special bonus payment.员工得到一笔特别发放的奖金。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。