L:對不起,Michael,我遲到了。地鐵誤點了。
M: Hey, Li Hua. Don't apologize, it's a nice day to just sit here and relax.
L:對,坐在這里休息休息是挺好的。我也很喜歡這個公園。不過,我們得到大都市藝術博物館去看攝影展覽吶!
M: Oh, do we have to go? I hate going to the museum on such a nice day, it's such a drag.
L:喲,你覺得這么好的天氣去博物館太沒意思,就不想去了?Michael,你答應過我,要是我到這兒來,你就跟我一起去。你說什么drag不drag的,我又沒法把你拽著一起去!
M: No, to call something a drag means it is tiresome.
L:噢,在中文里就是沒勁,沒意思。Michael,drag不是拉東西的拉嗎?你說的drag跟這個drag是同一個字嗎?
M: Yeah, Li Hua, same word. As another example, we could also call our professor Dr. Smith a drag.
L:噢,還可以說我們的教授Smith博士沒勁,沒意思。這我可不知道,我并不覺得他枯燥無味。
M: Of course you would say that. After all, on the first day of class all you did was talk about how cute he was.
L:你說我第一天上完他的課后,口口聲聲夸他長得帥?你別瞎說八道了。
M: Oh, Li Hua, you're such a drag. You did say he's cute.
L:非要說我認為他很帥。還說我沒勁。算了,不跟你說了。Michael,我去看展覽了,不管你去不去。
M: All right, all right, I'll come.
(Michael 和李華看完了攝影展)
L:這個攝影展覽真好,可是我還在生你的氣呢!
M: Ok, I'm sorry. Actually, I really enjoyed the photography exhibit. I thought it was a trip.
L:我也很喜歡這種超現(xiàn)實主義的藝術。等等,你為什么把看展覽叫做旅行呢?我們又沒有離開紐約。
M: No, the word trip does mean travel, but here it means something that is unusual, in a good way.
L:對,trip這個字很普通,是指旅行。原來你說的trip是指不尋常,但又很好的意思。噢,我想起來了。以前有一個教授告訴過我,美國年輕人在60和70年代盛行反潮流的行為。Trip這個詞就來自那個時候,是指吸毒后產(chǎn)生的幻覺。對不對?
M: Yeah, but its meaning has changed.
L:現(xiàn)在的意思不一樣了??晌椰F(xiàn)在就知道我們剛才去看的攝影展覽可以說是a trip,中文可以說是與眾不同吧。其他還有什么也能用trip這個詞來形容的呢?
M: Well, look at that guy over there, sitting on the bench. The long hair and wild clothes. I really like his outfit, so I would call him a trip. But some people may not like this.
L:噢,坐在長板凳上的那個留著長頭發(fā),穿著很怪的男人?你喜歡他的衣服,所以你認為他與眾不同,別有風味。對不起,我可不欣賞。
M: That's ok, everyone is different.
L:對,每個人的愛好不一樣。你再給我舉個例子吧。
M: I would also call our photography class professor a trip, her style is a trip.
L:對,她是與眾不同,她上課的時候總是很激動,跟別的教授不一樣。我的男朋友是學小提琴的,他常常練琴練得忘了吃飯,他也能算是個trip吧?
M: Yeah, he is also a trip. I can't imagine you would like someone who is a drag.
L:這你可說對了。你要是一個枯燥無味的人,我才不跟你一起出去玩呢。得了,我們該回去做功課了,盡管沒勁,書還得念吶。
M: Ok, let's go!
今天Michael教了李華兩個常用的詞,一個是:drag,意思是沒意思,枯燥;另一個是:trip,意思是與眾不同,別出心裁,但是含有褒意。