流行美语 (Popular American) 340

李华和Larry在夏威夷渡假, 俩人今天坐着帆船出海。今天我们要学两个常用语：the ropes和get the hang of.

LH: Wow, Larry, 我太喜欢坐帆船了。你看，蓝天白云，海天一色，微风拂面，我好象已经融化在大自然里了。

LL: Yeah, this is really great! Do you think the captain would teach me how to sail the boat?

LH: 你想试试看吗？可是Larry, 这么大一条船，驾驭起来可没那么简单，肯定不是一下子就能学会的。

LL: That's OK, Lihua. I don't expect to become an expert in one day. I just want to learn the ropes a little bit.

LH: Learn the ropes? 你是指如何用这些绳子来控制船帆吗？

LL: Exactly! Actually, when you learn the basic rules of how to do something, you can say that you learn the ropes.

LH: 哦，the ropes, 就是指最基本的知识和技巧，那你的意思是，不是真要学会驾驶帆船，只是要了解一些皮毛。

LL: Right! Or, here is another example. When you start a new job and don't know how to do things, you should find a more experienced¹ colleague² to teach you the ropes.

LH: 没错，到了一个新的工作单位，是要找个熟悉工作的同事带你入门，给你介绍一下工作的基本要求和流程。

LL: So Lihua, do you like sailing³ or surfing better?

LH: 坐帆船出海更放松，去海边冲浪更刺激，嗯，我更喜欢冲浪，而且我冲浪已经入门了，可以自己练习了。

LL: Right. Once the surfing instructor⁴ has shown you the ropes, you can practice by yourself.

LH: 今天出来坐帆船算是休息，明天我们加大活动量，去爬山！

LL: Sure! But since we are visitors and don't know anything about hiking⁵ in Hawaii, we should find a local guide to show us the ropes.

LH: Come on Larry! 你的冒险精神都跑到哪里去了？好了，我们还是去找船长，让他教我们几招show us the ropes, 好不好？

******

两小时后，Larry和李华回到岸上。

LH: Wow, Larry, 看不出，你还真有两下子，船长教了你一下，你就自己把船开了回来，真是让我刮目相看。

LL: Thanks, Lihua. You weren't nervous when the captain let me sail the boat?

LH: 那有什么好紧张的？你的飞车我都敢坐，更别说帆船了，大不了掉到海里去，反正我会游泳。驾驶帆船难不难？

LL: Well learning⁶ to sail was pretty hard at first, but after a little while I got the hang of it.

LH: You got the hang of it? 这是什么意思啊？

LL: When you get the hang of something, that means⁷ that you succeed in learning it.

LH: 哦，我明白了，to get the hang of something, 就是学会、掌握的意思。你是说驾驶帆船虽然并不容易，但是练习一会，就能学会基本技巧。

LL: Exactly. Or for another example, I could say that John is a really talented athlete in whatever sport he tries. When I showed him how to play football, he got the hang of it very quickly.

LH: 就是说John有体育天分，凡是体育项目一教就会，所以没用多久就掌握了橄榄球的基本技巧。

LL: Right. So Lihua, you don't think I'm a good driver?

LH: 这么说吧，我倒是觉得在海上开船更安全，地方大，足够你横冲直撞。

LL: Well driving is hard! Remember when I taught you? It took a long time before you started to get the hang of it.

LH: 怎么会，我可是天生的司机，考驾照都是一次通过。对了，Larry, 我们明天真的要去钓鱼吗？我可从来没钓过鱼，you have to show me the ropes. 你得手把手地教我。

LL: Sure. Fishing is pretty simple. so I'm sure you won't have problem getting the hang of it.

LH: 好，如果咱俩明天真能钓到鱼，我保证回去做给你吃。

LL: That's a great idea. I've never got the hang of how to cook Chinese food. All the dishes I make taste terrible!

LH: Right...Larry, 你难道就想不出更好的借口逃避做饭吗？

LL: Haha... I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是the ropes, 意思是基本技巧和要领。另一个是get the hang of, 意思是学会，掌握。
 

1 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

2 colleague   

n.同僚，同事

参考例句：

• He is a colleague of mine.他是我的同事。
• The professor paid a return visit to his American colleague.教授回访了他的美国同事。

3 sailing   

n.航行，航海术，启航

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• The operation was plain sailing.手术进行得顺利。

4 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

5 hiking   

n.徒步旅行

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Hiking is not yet popular in China.徒步旅行在中国还不流行。

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 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。