美國(guó)之音之流行美語(yǔ)lesson 331 off the cuff...

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李華正在幫Larry為面試做準(zhǔn)備。今天我們要學(xué)兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)：shot in the arm和off the cuff.

LH: Larry, 明天早上求職面試，你現(xiàn)在心里是不是特別激動(dòng)？

LL: Actually, I'm pretty nervous about this job interview. I really want to work at this company, so I need to make a good impression.

LH: 別緊張，你一定沒(méi)問(wèn)題。再說(shuō)了，不錄用你是他們的損失，象你這么出色的人才，想要你的公司多的是。

LL: Thanks Lihua. That encouragement is a real shot in the arm for me.

LH: A shot in the arm?

LL: You can say that something is a shot in the arm if it gives you a lot more confidence and energy.

LH: 哦，就是中文里說(shuō)的強(qiáng)心針。你是說(shuō)我剛才鼓勵(lì)你的話大大地增強(qiáng)了你的信心嗎？

LL: Right. For example, I could say that Joe was thinking of dropping out of his economics class because it was so hard. But when he got an A on the midterm, it was a real shot in the arm and he decided not to quit.

LH: 就是說(shuō)，期中考試得了A，極大增強(qiáng)了Joe對(duì)自己修完經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)這門(mén)課程的信心。

LL: Exactly. You know, Lihua, my career hasn't been going well lately, but I think this job could give it a real shot in the arm.

LH: 你現(xiàn)在的工作確實(shí)沒(méi)什么發(fā)展?jié)摿?，換個(gè)新工作一定會(huì)對(duì)你今后的事業(yè)發(fā)展有好處。對(duì)了，我還沒(méi)問(wèn)你，你明天準(zhǔn)備面試的那家公司是做什么的？

LL: Well Lihua, it's a small company that sells Chia Pets.

LH: 什么？是一家賣(mài)草頭娃娃的零售商？

LL: Yeah, but it hasn't been doing well lately. I hope that with my business experience and passion for Chia Pets, I could give this company a real shot in the arm.

LH: 你當(dāng)真??？？？嗨，不管怎么說(shuō)，我支持你去追求自己的夢(mèng)想。

LL: Thanks, Lihua. Did you know that Chia Pets cost about $15 each? If everybody went out and bought one, it would give the economy a real shot in the arm.

LH: 好，為支持你，只要你得到這份工作，我保證一定去買(mǎi)一個(gè)草頭娃娃。

******

LH: 言歸正傳，Larry, 你有沒(méi)有想好他們可能會(huì)問(wèn)你哪些問(wèn)題呢？

LL: Well, just a little. But it would probably be good to practice a little bit.

LH: 那好，我假裝考官，我們來(lái)模擬一下怎么樣？

LL: Sounds good! It's important for me to prepare beforehand, because I'm not good at speaking off the cuff.

LH: Speaking off the cuff? 這是什么意思??？

LL: You can say that someone speaks off the cuff when he talks spontaneously without any preparation.

LH: 噢，就是在沒(méi)有事先準(zhǔn)備的情況下即興發(fā)言。

LL: Right. For example, some politicians can speak very well when they have a speech prepared, but don't do well when they have to respond to questions off the cuff.

LH: 我明白了，你還記得上個(gè)周末我們一起去看電影，我穿了一件白色大衣，看上去圓滾滾的嗎？你還說(shuō)我象個(gè)大白兔奶糖。

LL: Oh come on Lihua, it was just an off-the-cuff remark! You know I didn't mean it.

LH: 我一點(diǎn)都沒(méi)生氣，反而覺(jué)得很好笑。Your off-the-cuff jokes are so funny. 對(duì)了，我以前聽(tīng)人說(shuō)過(guò) "off-hand," Off-hand跟off-the-cuff是同一個(gè)意思嗎？

LL: It's very similar. An off-hand comment is something you didn't think about or consider very seriously before you said it.

LH: 忘記告訴你了Larry, 你帶著這副厚厚的黑邊眼鏡活像一只眼鏡猴。

LL: What? No I don't. I look very smart, like a scholar.

LH: 別生氣啊，It was just an "off-hand" joke. 我是隨便開(kāi)玩笑的。

LL: Alright Lihua, I understand your point. I won't make any more off-hand jokes about your fashion sense. Now can we please get back to practicing for my interview?

LH: 那好，面試現(xiàn)在正式開(kāi)始。 Larry, 你想加入我們公司來(lái)賣(mài)草頭娃娃嗎？

LL: Of course. I really love Chia Pets.

LH: 這我信，看你留的發(fā)型，就知道你是個(gè)草頭娃娃的忠實(shí)愛(ài)好者。

LL: Another off-hand joke, Lihua?

LH: 哈哈哈.....對(duì)不起，你的發(fā)型跟草頭娃娃實(shí)在是太象了。

今天李華學(xué)了兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)。一個(gè)是shot in the arm, 意思是強(qiáng)心針。另一個(gè)是off the cuff, 或是off-hand, 意思是即興的。