这是星期天的早晨．李华和 Larry 正在星巴克咖啡馆里喝咖啡．今天李华会学到两个常用语： on the spot 和 schmooze.
LL: I'm dreading my Chinese exam tomorrow. The teacher will give us a topic and she expects us to talk about the topic for two minutes on the spot.
LH: 你明天要考中文呀？老师给每个学生一个题目，让你们当场就这个题目讲两分钟，这好难喔．吔，不过 Larry，别担心，你可以先跟我练习啊！对了，你刚才说 on the spot，那是什么意思啊？
LL: Oh, to do something "on the spot" is to do it immediately - right then and there.
LH: On the spot 就是“立刻、当场”的意思．所以你刚才是说教授在考试的时候啊当场给题目，你就得立即上台讲两分钟。
LL: Exactly. It's always nice to have time to prepare, but sometimes doing something on the spot can be fun.
LH: 有充份的时间做准备那当然好啊．但是，我可想不出有什么事情马上要做而且能让我感觉有意思的．你给我举个例子好不好。
LL: Well, we can decide right here - on the spot - to go to the movies. That would be fun, right?
LH: 嗯～，我们现在就决定去看电影，那当然好玩儿呀．可是我们不知道看哪部电影，到哪里去看吶。
LL: That's a problem. Where can we find the newspaper or a computer on the spot!
LH: 就是嘛，我们既不能上网，也没有报纸可以查电影时间表．而且，你明天不是有中文考试吗？你现在应该在家里背单字嘛！
LL: I should. If I don't study the vocabulary, then I won't be able to come up with a speech on the spot.
LH: 对，要当场发表两分钟讲话，不熟悉有用的词汇是不行的。
LL: No, it's more like a good strategy for failing my test. Hey, why don't you help me study?
LH: 一点没错，要是你不多记住一些单词啊，那你肯定要考砸的．你要我就在这里帮你复习功课？ On the spot？
LL: Why not? I brought my Chinese book with me.
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LH: 我真不敢相信吔，咖啡馆的那个女服务员居然会送你一杯免费的咖啡！
LL: Well, it helps that I schmoozed her a little bit.
LH: Larry，你对那个女服务员怎么啦？ Schmooze 是什么意思啊？
LL: To schmooze means that someone is extra nice to him or her, usually in the hope that you'll get something in return.
LH: 哦～， schmooze 就是对某人特别好，希望啊能得到一些回报．那不就是“讨好、献殷勤”吗？你想让服务员对你客气一点，所以你就对她特别好啊？
LL: Well, no. I was actually hoping to get her to go out on a date with me, but I'll settle for free coffee.
LH: 啊哈，原来你是想约那个女孩儿出去，现在你喝了一杯免费咖啡就满足啦？哎呀，你呀，你还不如去 schmooze 你的中文老师，让她明天评分的时候对你客气点．这不是更实际吗！
LL: Hopefully, I won't need to schmooze my teacher in order to get a good grade.
LH: 不讨好老师也能得好分数，你怎么一下子就变得这么信心十足啦．吔，不过，你要我帮你复习功课，那至少也该 schmooze 我这个义务家教吧！
LL: Hey, you're my friend, you're supposed to do things out of friendship, not because you want something.
LH: 我知道啦，我是跟你开玩笑的！不过，你要是想对我好一点， schmooze 我一下，我也不会反对哦！
LL: I'm always nice to you - and it's not because I'm trying to schmooze you.
LH: 那倒是，你啊一向对我不错，算得上是我最好的朋友啰！
今天李华学到了两个常用语，第一个是： on the spot，就是“即刻、当场、马上”的意思；另一个常用语是： schmooze，这是指“讨好某人、对某人献殷勤”，通常是想得到回报。
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