流行美语 第145课 - back to square one / killer

Larry在帮李华写一篇报告，因为李华的电脑出了问题，她写的整个报告都丢了。今天李华会学到两个常用语：back to square one和killer¹.

LH: 电脑出了问题，我写的东西全没了！真糟糕，现在我得从头开始写了！

LL: I'm sorry, Li Hua. It's a real bummer, but I guess we're back to square one.

LH: Larry，我急都快急死了，你还在做什么游戏，什么方块一，方块二的。方块和我写报告有什么关系？

LL: Oh, when you're back to square one it means² that you are back where you started and you have to start all over again.

LH: 噢，原来back to square one就是回到开头的地方，一切都得从头来起。唉，看来我也只能这么做了。

LL: You must remember some of what you wrote. You can start by writing that down before you forget it.

LH: 我脑子里是记得一些我写的东西。先把我记得的部份写下来。这倒是个好主意，这样总比一切从头开始要好一些。

LL: Don't feel so bad, Li Hua. It could be worse. My uncle spent years working on a novel. But a computer virus³ destroyed his computer and the backup disk. He was back to square one.

LH: 我的天啊！你叔叔比我更惨，写了多年的小说就这样没了。要是我的话，我可能就会放弃了。

LL: But my uncle said he's going to rewrite the novel despite the fact he had to start from square one.

LH: 你叔叔真有毅力呀！嗯，Larry，你有没有闻到一股烧焦味？

LL: Oh no! I forgot about the pizza in the oven⁴. It's burning! Li Hua, I'm so sorry. I'm afraid that we're back to square one with dinner, too

LH: 不得了，比撒饼在烤箱里都忘了。哎呀，你看，都烤焦了。看来我们得重新打电话订比萨饼了。

LL: That's a good idea because this one is completely⁵ burned.

******

LL: Let's watch TV while we're eating. The Simpsons are on. I love watching The Simpsons; it's such a killer show.

LH: 哎哟，Larry，你有没有搞错啊？“辛普森家族”是个卡通节目，很好玩的。哪是什么杀人行凶的节目呢？

LL: No, I don't mean "killer" as in deadly. I mean killer as in awesome⁶ or really cool.

LH: 噢，原来这里的killer不是杀人，而是指某样东西很棒，很酷。我也觉得“辛普森家族”是个很棒，很好笑的节目。

LL: This is killer pizza, too. I'll have to remember to order pizza from the same restaurant next time.

LH: 对，这比萨饼真好吃。没错，下回再到这个饭馆去订。 Larry，我已经看过这一集“辛普森家族”了，这一集真的很好笑。

LL: Yeah, you're right, this is a killer episode⁷. I can watch it over and over again and never get tired of it.

LH: 这一集我也看了好几遍了，但是还没有看厌。Larry，我觉得另外一个电视连续剧也可以算得上是个killer show。

LL: What show?

LH: 那个描写6个年轻男女在纽约市的“六人行”节目。那是我最喜欢的电视节目之一，每次播那个节目，我绝对不会错过！

LL: There are probably several million people who agree with you. That is a killer show, and one of the most popular TV shows in history.

LH: 许多人都同意我的观点！ 那是美国电视节目有史以来最红的节目之一。这么说，你同意我的判断噜？

LL: I think the show could be better, but Jennifer Aniston has killer legs.

LH: 啊！原来你的注意力全在女主角的一双漂亮的腿上呀？

LL: It's not the only reason, but she does have killer legs.

今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是back to square one, 是指一切从头来过。另一个常用语是killer。这是形容某样东西或某件事很棒，很酷。

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 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。

3 virus   

n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序）

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• There is a virus going round the world.世界上流行着一种病毒性疾病。

4 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。

5 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。