流行美语 第 22 课

Michael 是个美国学生，在纽约上大学。他的一个要好同学是从中国大陆来的李华。
今天Michael 刚好在校园里碰到李华。李华会在谈话中学到两个常用语：couch¹
potato 和nuts。

L：嗨，Michael, 你上哪儿去呀？
M：I'm going to meet Jon at the subway. You've met Jon, haven't you?
L：嗯，是不是上次在一次party 上你给我介绍的那个带眼镜的人？
M：Yes. I want to drag him out to do something. You know, he's such a couch potato.
L：他是什么？Couch potato? 什么是couch potato? 他爱吃土豆？
M：No, couch potato is an expression used to describe someone who sits in front of the
TV all the time eating junk food, such as potato chips.
L：噢，原来coach potato 是指一个人老坐在电视机前吃零食。这个常用语挺有趣。
那couch potato 是不是只能指人呀？
M：Yes, it is only used to describe people, those who are lazy and unmotivated.
L：噢，只能指人，指那些懒懒散散，没有动力的人。好，下回我就叫我哥哥couch
potato。他老是看电视，一看就看到三更半夜，吃的东西撒在地毯上，沙发上，到
处都是。
M：My father's like that too. My mother is always angry with him. But he doesn't care.
L：哟，你爸爸也是这样呀！要我是你妈，我也会生气的。
M：But sometimes, after a really hard week at school, I also just want to collapse² and
be a couch potato.
L：一个星期在学校念书实在很累了，回家当一回couch potato，我想这还是可以
的，只要不是每天这样就行了。
M： Yes, I agree. Li Hua, would you like to join us? Jon and I are going to play tennis.
L：你们要打网球呀，那太好了，我正在学打网球呐。
M：That's wonderful. You know, some people think I'm nuts to have a friend like Jon.
L：有的人认为你是什么？Nuts？Nuts 不是花生，杏仁那样的果仁吗？你跟Jon
交朋友跟吃花生有什么关系呀？
M：No, nuts here means someone who is crazy.
L：原来nuts 在这里是说一个人做的事很怪。大概就象中文里说的：你疯啦！对
吗？
M：That's right. Jon can be rude, and he also argues a lot. Sometimes he does drive me
nuts.
L：他看起来不象会对别人无礼，爱跟人争论的人哪！你刚才说drives me nuts 是
什么意思啊？
M：Drives me nuts means he makes me crazy.
L：噢，还可以说drive me nuts，或者是drive someone nuts。嗨，Michael，那天
我上移民局去办手续，排队好长，我站了一小时，我真是火死了。我能说：They drove
me nuts 吗？
M：Of course. You know, my mother used to make me clean my room every night
when I was in high school and that drove me nuts.
L：你念中学的时候你妈妈每天晚上要你打扫房间？那是有点受不了。嗨，Michael，
你认识我的朋友张红吗？
M：Oh, yes, she is nuts. She spent $200 for a dress, and it's ugly.
L：对，张红这个人是有点问题，化两百美元买件难看的衣服。不过，Michael，
你总是批评别人买的东西。You sometimes drive me nuts too.
M：Li Hua, I think you are learning³ these words too fast.

今天李华学了两个常用语，一个是：couch potato，指那些常坐着看电视，吃零食
的人；另一个是：nuts，就是说一个人不正常，做的事很怪。今天的[流行美语]
就到此结束，再见。

1 couch   

n.睡椅，长沙发椅；vt.表达，隐含

参考例句：

• Lie down on the couch if you're feeling ill.如果你感觉不舒服就躺到沙发上去。
• The rabbIt'sprang from its grassy couch.兔子从草丛中跳出。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 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。