在今天的對話中Michael會教李華兩個常用語:一個是under the weather,另一個是to grab a bite to eat。
M: Hello?
L: 喂,Michael,你今天怎么了?我怎么在學校沒看到你,打電話到你上班的地方也沒人接。你沒事兒吧?
M: Oh, its nothing. I am just a little under the weather today, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and really rest.
L: 什么?你說天氣不好,所以你就請一天假。天氣好好的嗎,你干嗎撒謊呢?
M: No no, I said "I am under the weather today". Under, U-N-D-E-R; The Weather, W-E-A-T-H-E-R. Under the weather, it means sick.
L: 噢,under the weather就是生病的意思啊,那你還不趕快看醫(yī)生?。?span lang="EN-US">
M: Oh, don't worry. It's not very serious. Usually when someone says that they are under the weather, they mean they feel bad, but are not very sick.
L: 你的病不嚴重,那我就放心了。可是你為什么今天覺得under the weather呢?
M: Last night I went out to eat with a friend. After dinner, it started to rain heavily. We didn't have umbrellas, and I had to walk to a long way back to my car in the rain. I think I caught a cold, so now I feel under the weather.
L: 難怪了,你吃完飯就淋著雨走了那么長的路。哎呀,你以后可千萬小心,萬一得了什么大病那該怎么辦呢?
M: It's ok, Li Hua. I can take care of myself. That's why I am resting at home. That reminds me, how is your mother doing? Didn't you say she was under the weather last week?
L: 噢,我媽媽現(xiàn)在好多了。不過上星期可真把我們嚇壞了。上星期一她突然說不舒服,提前下班,第二天就開始咳嗽,渾身發(fā)軟。
M: Oh no! You must have been worried she had SARS.
L: 沒錯,我家里人都擔心她感染了薩斯。所以每個人都嚷著自己 under the weather,不過啊,第二天我媽媽的情況好轉,他們每個人也都覺得自己好了。
M: They were all thinking about SARS, so they also felt under the weather. In fact, they were all ok.
L: 就是啊,他們覺得自己under the weather,我看純粹是心理作用。
M: So why were you trying to call me at work today?
L: 我打電話想問問你今天晚上要不要一快去吃飯。
M: Well, I'd like to, but I really think I should stay at home tonight. Maybe this weekend we can grab a bite to eat.
L: 你說我們這個周末吃什么?
M: I said we can "grab a bite to eat". Grab, G-R-A-B; a bite, B-I-T-E; to eat, E-A-T. It means we can go out and have a quick meal somewhere this weekend.
L: 噢,grab a bite to eat就是隨便到那個餐館吃一頓,對不對。
M: That's about right. To be exact, it means to find some quick and simple food, like fast food.
L: 啊?尤其指吃快餐啊,我可不想這樣隨便grab a bite to eat 。我想去個有氣氛的好餐館。再說了,Michael,你也不應該老吃垃圾食物。
M: I know, I know. It's just that I often don't have a lot of time between classes and work. So at lunchtime, I usually have to go to a fast food place and grab a bite to eat. I don't have time to go anywhere else.
L: 如果你覺得中午時間很緊,那你就因該在家里把午飯準備好帶到學校。你看,你每天到外面grab a bite to eat,那樣你的開銷多大啊。
M: I don't always grab a bite to eat at fast food places. Sometimes I make lunch at home. But it takes a lot of time in the evening, and sometimes I am busy then, too.
L: Michael,你真是太不會照顧自己了,冒著雨亂跑,整天吃垃圾食品,難怪你會under the weather,以后你真的要好好照顧自己呢。
今天Michael身體有點不舒服,就是under the weather:Michael約李華等他身體好了一起去grab a bite to eat,也就是隨便到外面吃點快餐。