Larry 和李华在海滩享受温暖的阳光.不过李华有点儿心事,因为她的朋友 Joe 向她借了钱,却一直没有还.今天李华会学到两个常用语: deadbeat 和 cool it。 LL: Li Hua, relax and enjoy the day. Joe isn't a deadbeat. He'll pay you back as soon as he can. LH: 我也希望 Joe 会还我钱啊.你说 Joe 不是一个 deadbeat,那是什么意思啊? LL: A deadbeat is someone who does not pay his/her debts or fulfill his/her obligations. Joe is not a deadbeat. He always pays people back. LH: A deadbeat 就是一个故意赖帐的人.你说 Joe 不是那样的人,可要是他一直不还我钱,那我该怎么跟他提这件事,又不伤他的自尊心呢?这事儿真麻烦! LL: You're right; money is an awkward subject. I usually just avoid lending people money altogether. That way I don't have to worry about deadbeats. LH: 唉,我也不喜欢借钱给别人啊,可我是真的想帮他忙啊。 LL: Yeah, I know what you mean. Just be careful who you help in the future: there are a lot of deadbeats out there. LH: 我知道,下回啊我再要借钱给别人,一定会格外小心,因为借钱不还的人还是有的.对了, Larry,我还听过别人说 deadbeat dads.那是什么意思啊? LL: Well, after a divorce, a man is supposed to send money to his ex-wife to help her support their children. A man who doesn't send money is a "deadbeat dad." LH: 哦~,我懂了, A deadbeat dad 就是离婚以后不肯负担孩子抚养费的父亲。 LL: Exactly. I know a guy whose father was a deadbeat dad. The poor guy's mother had to work three jobs to support her children. LH: 这个妈妈要做三份工来抚养她的孩子,就是因为爸爸不肯抚养孩子啊.难道法律都不惩罚这些不负责任的父亲吗? LL: Well, the courts can tell a deadbeat dad that he needs to pay child support, but that doesn't mean that he actually will. LH: 什么!法庭告诉他们要付钱,他们不付也没事儿呀?喝,真是糟糕! ……………………………………………………………… LL: Wow! Those kids over there are really loud. I wish they'd cool it. LH: 那些孩子啊是挺吵的.你要他们怎么着, cool it?那是什么意思啊? LL: I wish they would "cool it" means calm down. It can also mean to stop what one is doing. LH: 哟~, cool it就是安静下来,或者停止做某件事的意思.你的意思是要那些孩子别再吵了。 LL: Exactly. I wonder where their parents are? I'm surprised that their parents haven't told them to cool it yet. LH: 就是啊,那些孩子啊在那里鬼吼鬼叫好一会儿了.他们的爸妈到底听见了没啊?怎么不好好管教自己的孩子呢? LL: It's hard to enjoy the day with such noisy kids around. I'm considering going over there myself and telling them to "cool it." LH: 啊?你想自己过去叫那些孩子安静一点啊?我不知道这样做好不好呢。 LL: Why not? Their parents obviously aren't going to do it and those kids are ruining the day for a lot of people. LH: Larry,也许啊你该冷静一点, cool it,别跟那些孩子一般见识了.不然,我们可以搬到远一点的地方坐嘛。 LL: Yeah, that's probably a good idea. LH: 来吧,我们把东西收一收,搬到海滩的另一边去好啰。 LL: Okay, let's go. 今天李华学到了两个常用语.第一个是: deadbeat,是指“借钱不还,想赖帐的人”.另一个常用语是: cool it,是指“安静下来,或者是停止做某件事”。
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