流行美语 第 95 课

今天李华和Larry 在谈暑假里打算干什么，李华会学到两个常用语：jack¹ 和kaput。

LH: Hey Larry, 你知不知道纽约附近哪个地方可以钓鱼呀？
LL: Fishing, huh? I'm sorry Li Hua, I don't know jack about fishing.
LH: 哎，我问你钓鱼的事，你怎么说你不认识Jack?
LL: I'm not talking about a guy named Jack. When I say "I don't know jack about
fishing", that means² "I don't know anything about fishing".
LH: 噢，原来jack 在这里不是人的名字,你说 I don't know jack about fishing 意思
就是"你对钓鱼一无所知"。这么说，jack 在这里就表示 "nothing", right?
LL: That's right.
LH: I don't know jack about fishing, 那不就成了I don't know nothing about fishing.
英文里是不能用双重否定的，不是吗？
LL: OK, you're right, we don't use double negatives in proper, formal English. But this
is slang³! "I don't know jack" means "I don't know anything".
LH: 我也经常听人说 I don't know nothing, 我知道在正规英语里面是不应该这么
说的。这样说来，在口语里是这么用的，那"I don't know jack" 就表示"我什么也
不知道"。对了，Larry, 那你暑假不准备钓鱼，你打算干什么呢？
LL: Well, I may just sit around. In other words, I don't do jack!
LH: You don't do jack! 我知道，你是说你什么也不干啊。除了"I don't know jack" ，
原来你还可以说：I don't do jack! 好不容易到了暑假，你却打算什么都不干？我才
不会这样白白浪费时间。
LL: Well, the reason vacation is so valuable is because I can sit around and don't do
jack all day. Usually I'm a very busy guy.
LH: 你说得也有道理，就是因为放假了，才有可能懒散一点儿;什么事情也不做。
平时又要学习又要打工，是够忙的。
LL: Well, anyway, I need to get home and start on the term paper. I haven't written jack
yet!
LH: 什么？你的期末论文一点儿还没动手啊？哎哟，那你赶紧回家去写吧！
* *****
LH: Larry, 你不是在家写论文吗？怎么又跑到学校图书馆来啦?
LL: Well, I got home and started to work on my term paper, but my computer went
kaput!
LH: 你说你的电脑怎么啦？Went kaput? 听起来就好象是电脑出问题了，是不是
啊？
LL: Yes, "kaput" means "broken, ruined or not working properly." My computer
went kaput, so now I have to work on my paper in the library.
LH: Oh, 原来 kaput 意思就是"坏了，没法正常工作"。你是说你的电脑坏了，Larry,
你最近好像运气不太好嘛.前些天，你的手机电话不是也出故障了吗？
LL: Oh man, that's a real problem! My cell⁴ phone really went kaput and nobody could
reach me.
LH: 就是啊，我给你打电话留言，你也没收到。
LL: During that time, I was out of touch with everyone. It felt like my whole life went
kaput.
LH: 有那么严重吗？你因为手机坏了，和所有人失去了联系，让你觉得整个生活
都完蛋啦？哎哟，还是先说说你的电脑吧 - 你的电脑 went kaput，那你有没有丢
掉什么重要文件呢？
LL: Well, I'm hoping it wasn't the hard drive that went kaput. That would be terrible!
LH: 你先别着急，即使是hard drive went kaput, 我想有的信息还是可以找回来的
啦！
LL: Let's hope so. If I can't get my computer fixed⁵ soon, I won't have jack to show
them in my term paper.
LH: 但愿你的电脑赶快修好。学期论文要是交白卷可真是太糟糕了。

今天李华从Larry 那儿学到了两个常用语，一个是jack, 在英语口语里 I don't know
jack 的意思是"我什么也不知道"。李华学到的另一个常用语是kaput, 就相当于中
文里所说的"坏了""出了问题"。

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

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 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

4 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。