畅谈股票之一

　　Kelly: So, Jim, how has everything been with you? Jim: My stocks are losing a little bit, but it's nothing too serious. Kelly: Of course! Stocks, stocks, stocks...Some things never change! Jim: Yeah. How have you been? Kelly: Good, except for all the counterfeit¹ money my software business has been receiving lately. Jim: Really? Is that a big problem? Kelly: Yeah. So I have to invest in one of those machines that can detect fake bills. Jim: Why didn't you just buy one of those little things with a red light beam? Kelly: Those red beams can't sniff² out the high-quality fakes. Jim: Sounds like a big hassle. Kelly: It's a drain on small business - a real sore spot.

　　Notes：

　　1. 对话中Kelly碰见了 Jim，两个人在谈论彼此的近况。询问近况，可以像对话中的那样，How has everything been with you? 还可以说How have you been? 或者How is everything going on with you?

　　2. Jim说最近自己的股票赔了一点，但是还不太严重。Kelly一听说股票就不耐烦了，股票，股票，总是股票，真是江山易改，本性难移。Some things never change! 这句话就是说，有些习惯永远改不了，说难听一点就是狗改不了吃屎。俗话说，牛牵到北京还是牛。这里大多数时候指的是坏习惯或者错误一犯再犯，所以下次如果你发现别人死性不改，就可以说这句话还表示你的无奈和抗议。我们来用一个对话做例子：---I can't believe Tom's late again! ---Well, some things never change. Just give him a call. ---真不敢相信汤姆又迟到了。---狗改不了吃屎，给他打个电话吧。

　　3. 那么Kelly最近怎么样呢？还不错，就是最近卖电脑软件总是收到伪钞，counterfeit money，意思就是伪钞。Counterfeit，既可以作名词，也可以作形容词，表示“伪造的，假冒的；赝品”，比如说，This ten-dollar bill is a counterfeit. 这张10美金的钞票是伪钞。

　　4. Kelly的问题还挺严重的，她不得不花钱买一台验钞机。这里我们可以看出，伪钞的另一种说法就是fake bills。Jim问为什么不买一支小小的带红光的机器呢？还要破费一大笔钱买一台验钞机。Kelly说那红光根本没有办法测出制作精良的伪钞。

　　5. 听起来还真伤脑筋。Sounds like a big hassle. hassle 这个词表示“麻烦”的意思，所以当你觉得某事做起来相当麻烦，就可以跟对方说这句话，委婉地表示“听起来真头痛。”我们用一个对话来做例子，---Oh, no! I forgot to put in the cables. I have to repack all these parcels. ---Sounds like a hassle. ---噢，不会吧！我忘了把电缆线放进去了，我还得重新打包。---听起来真是麻烦。 6. sniff sth/sb out 这个词组表示“发现某人，找出某人”，例如：They were determined³ to sniff out the murderer. 他们下定决心一定要找到杀人犯。Kelly抱怨说，小本生意加上金钱损失，实在是让人伤神啊。Sore spot，指“痛处”，这里是用来形容收到伪钞的痛苦。

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