流行美语 第 67 课

今天Michael 和李华刚上完课在学生休息室里聊天。李华会学到两个常用语：out of
line 和to trash something.

L: 嗨，Michael，刚才我听到历史课的教授在对你嚷嚷，什么事呀？
M: I argued with him because I thought that a book he's assigning¹ us to read is no good.
I guess I was out of line.
L: 你说教授指定要我们看的书不好！你真是没有分寸。嗯，你刚才还说什么来啦？
Out of line? Line, 是l-i-n-e 这个字吗？那不是排队的意思吗？
M: No, "to be out of line" means to speak or act when it is not appropriate, especially
when dealing² with someone who is your superior³.
L: To-be-out-of-line 就是话说得不恰当，或者是做事做得不合适，特别是对长辈。
那不就是我刚才说的"没分寸"吗？我们中国人对长辈特别要有礼貌，哪有象你那
样跟教授争论的嘛！
M: Well, in America, you're not always out of line when you disagree with your teacher.
Still, I was wrong to criticize⁴ our professor so loudly in front of the whole class.
L: 我知道，美国学生和老师辩论是很正常的。可是，象你那样在全班同学面前对
教授大声嚷嚷，那才是出了格，out of line。Michael，out of line 只是指你和长辈
说话没有分寸吗？
M: Not always. For instance⁵, I once told my classmate he should break up with his
girlfriend. The two of them had been together for many years. I was not a close friend
of this guy, so I was out of line to say that.
L: 你要你同学和他女朋友分手？你跟这个同学又不熟。哎哟，你不仅是out of line，
你简直是疯了-- out of your mind!
* *****
L: Michael，我觉得那教授对你大声嚷嚷也有点过份。
M: Well, I really trashed the book he was asking us to read. I probably should have
been a little more tactful.
L: 噢，你还把那本书扔到垃圾桶里啦？那可真是太没礼貌啦！
M: What are you talking about? I didn't throw anything in the trash. I said I "trashed the
book". That means I said really bad things about it.
L: 噢，to trash the book 不是把书扔到垃圾桶里，而是把它说成一钱不值。
M: Last year I made a professor angry because I trashed General MacArthur in a
history class. I wrote a paper on his mistakes in the Korean War.
L: 去年你写了一篇论文例举了麦卡瑟将军在韩战中的种种错误？我怎么不知道
呀？Michael, 你不能老是这么贬低历史人物嘛！对了，除了书和人以外，to trash
something 还能用在别的地方吗？
M: You can trash anything. For instance (sips coffee), this coffee is horrible! It tastes
like dishwater.
L: 这咖啡象洗碗水？我觉得还可以嘛。有什么东西你觉得好吃的吗？
M: Not really. That's the problem with Americans. We don't have good taste in food or
drink. Americans don't understand what good cheese, bread or chocolate taste like. We
always eat junk.
L: 你听听，现在你又在贬低美国人了，说他们不知道什么是好吃的，不懂得什么
是好的奶酪、面包和巧克力，老是吃那些垃圾食品。Now you're "trashing" your own
country.
M: Hey, this is a free country. I can trash America anyway I want.
L: 把自己的国家说得一钱不值似乎也有点out of line 了。你这个人啊，就是爱看
到反面的东西。嗨(sighs) Whatever.

今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是：out of line, 意思是没有分寸，出格。另一个
是：to trash something, 是把什么东西说成一钱不值。

1 assigning   

分配( assign的现在分词 )； 指派； 指定； （作为说明或原因）提出

参考例句：

• The patrol was quite likely an extension of the General's motives in assigning him to reconnoitre. 这次派他去侦察，很可能又是将军调他到侦察排的用意的进一步发挥。
• We can worry about minor details like assigning blame later. 我们可以稍后再讨论为这个过失负责的问题。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 superior   

n.上级，高手，上标；adj.上层的，上好的，出众的，高傲的

参考例句：

• This machine is superior in many respects to that.这台机器在很多方面比那台好。
• He acted in obedience to the orders of his superior.他是遵照他的上级指示行动的。

4 criticize   

vt.批评；批判，指责；评论，评价

参考例句：

• Whenever you criticize him,he always has an excuse.你批评他，他总有说头儿。
• You are free to criticize my work.你可以随意批评我的工作。

5 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！