VOA流行美語 Unit 97: to rock / letdown

VOA流行美語 Unit 97: to rock / letdown

今天Larry和Li Hua一起在遊樂園坐過山車。Li Hua會學到兩個常用語：to rock和letdown.

LH: 哎喲，這一趟過山車坐得我暈頭轉向的，直想吐！真是活受罪！

LL: You are sick and dizzy? What are you talking about? That rollercoaster rocks! I'm going to ride it again!

LH: 什麼，Larry, 你還想再去坐啊？你還說那個過山車rocks. Rock 當作動詞不是“搖搖晃晃”的意思嗎？

LL: No, no, I didn't say that it rocked back and forth. "To rock" means "to be great". If something or some experience is really fun or exciting, we say "It rocks!"

LH: 噢，原來在這裏，rock不是前後搖晃的意思，而是要是有什麼事情有意思、夠刺激，我們就說It rocks! 哎，那不就相當於中文裏說的“棒極了”的意思嗎？

LL: That's right, Li Hua. I'm sure you've heard this expression before.

LH: 還真是，上星期我和同學到學校附近那家湖南餐館吃飯。吃完飯，我同學說，"That meal rocked!". 我當時沒聽懂，所以沒敢答腔，現在我可明白了，她呀是在誇那頓飯好吃呢！

LL: Yeah, she must have liked it. Everyone likes Hunan Garden. That restaurant rocks.

LH: 哎喲，Larry, 我看我們還是別說吃了吧，我的胃到現在還沒緩過來呢！這樣吧，你再給我舉個別的例子，好不好？

LL: Sure... if someone tells you some good news, you might say, "That rocks!"

LH: 哎，說到“好消息”，我還真有個好消息告訴你，你知道嗎，有傢俬人學校打算等我畢業後要聘用我呢！

LL: Whoa, really? That's great news. That rocks, Li Hua. You haven't even graduated yet, and this private school already offered you a great job!

******

LH: 哇，總算可以回家了，我真擔心你會不會坐過山車坐上了癮呢！

LL: Well, I liked the two rollercoaster rides, but the park itself was kind of a letdown.

LH: 是啊，我知道你喜歡過山車，要不然也不會連着坐兩次啊！可是你又說這個遊樂園是什麼 - letdown?

LL: I said that the park is a letdown. A letdown is something that disappoints you. The park really wasn't especially bad, but I was expecting it to be better. It was a real letdown.

LH: 等等等等，letdown的意思就是某件事讓你失望。你是說，這個遊樂園其實還可以，只不過不像你原先想象的好，所以讓你失望了。那Larry, 你覺得這個遊樂園哪一點兒讓你失望呢？

LL: Well, It was too crowded. The lines in front of the rides were too long.

LH: 哎喲，現在就是旅遊旺季，這兒當然人多，坐過山車當然要排隊等啦！你就是愛發牢騷。那這樣，你再給我舉個例子吧，看看還有什麼事對你是個letdown.

LL: Well, my History Professor is a real letdown. He's a well-known expert in his area, but he's not very good at giving lectures.

LH: 你們歷史教授在學術界是挺有名的，可是你說他不太會講課呀，那確實是挺讓學生失望的。哎，Larry, 我記得你第一次到中國，去了長城，回來你也說和原先想象的一點兒都不一樣。那the Great Wall 對你來說是不是個letdown呢？

LL: I'm glad you remember that. My first trip to the Great Wall WAS truly a letdown. It was so crowded with tourists and souvenir peddlers.

LH: 你怎麼到哪兒都嫌人多啊？長城是有名的旅遊景點，當然有各地的遊客啦，還有小商販賣紀念品！哎，不過，你剛纔說，你第一次去長城讓你失望，那後來你再去是不是就感覺好多了？

LL: Yeah, that second trip rocked!

今天李華從Larry那兒學到兩個常用語。一個是rock, 說something rocks，就相當於中文裏的“棒極了”。李華學到的另一個常用語是letdown, 意思是“讓人失望的事”。