VOA流行美語 Unit 92:DUDE / CHICK

VOA流行美語 Unit 92:DUDE / CHICK

今天Larry和Li Hua在一個朋友家的花園裏參加party。Li Hua會學到兩個常用語：dude和chick。

LH: Hey Larry! 參加party的人都挺高興的，可是Jack剛纔在那邊兒好像和人吵架，什麼事呀？

LL: Oh, Jack and some other dude were having a really intense argument. We were afraid they might get into a fight, so we had to separate them.

LH: 就是啊，他們吵得挺兇的，好象要動手打起來似的！可是，Larry, 你管另外那個人叫什麼？ Dude? 那是什麼意思啊？

LL: Dude is another word for guy, or man. I just said Jack and "some other dude" were arguing.

LH: Oh, dude 是指男人，我還以爲是那個人的名字呢！你剛纔是說"Jack和那個人爭論得非常激烈"。哎，Larry，那你叫別人dude有沒有什麼不好的意思嗎？

LL: What? No, of course not. Dude just means guy. However, it is very informal, so you'd sound silly if you called someone important a "dude", or used it in a formal situation.

LH: 噢，dude這個稱呼沒有貶意，只是一般用在很隨便的場合。哎喲，幸虧你告訴我，要是在正式的場合我把某位大人物稱爲dude, 那可不就出洋相了嗎！

LL: And usually, only younger people use the word "dude", and it usually refers to fairly young men.

LH: 噢，dude 一般是年輕人用的詞，而且dude也是指年輕人。對了，我想起來了，有一次我在商店裏就聽到兩個年輕人用dude這個詞。我那時還不懂dude是什麼意思。哎，dude不就相當於中文裏說的"那個傢伙"嗎？

LL: That's right! See that dude over there? That's my pal Frank. I'll ask him for a beer. Dude, toss me one of those beers. Thanks!

LH: 哎喲，你真好意思，自己不去拿啤酒，讓你那個dude扔過來，幸虧你接得準！

******

LH: Oh no, Larry我看見我的同屋朝這邊走過來了。要是她看見我，她又要纏着我沒完沒了了。

LL: What? That tall girl with glasses? Is that the chick you're always telling me about?

LH: 對，就是那個戴眼鏡的高個兒女孩。你叫她什麼？ Chick? Larry, 我雖然不喜歡那個女孩，可是我也不想用難聽的詞來罵她噢！

LL: Huh!? I didn't say any bad words. I said "that chick". Chick means "young woman". It's not a bad word, although some people find it a little offensive.

LH: 噢，原來chick這個詞是指"年輕女孩兒"呀！哎喲，這要是直接翻譯成中文，可不是什麼好詞兒。你說在英文裏，chick不是罵人的話，可是你又說有的人聽了會不大高興，這是怎麼回事啊？

LL: Well, some women find it demeaning - I guess they think that baby chickens are cute but sort of brainless. You can use this word around your friends, but not in formal situations or with strangers.

LH: 噢，我懂了 - chick這個詞本意是"小雞"，小雞雖然可愛，可是好象沒有腦子，傻傻的，所以有的女孩就不願意別人叫她chick。這麼說，可以在熟朋友之間用chick這個詞，不過，不要在正式場合，或者叫一個陌生人chick。哎，Larry, 我們還是趕快走吧，我可不想讓我的同屋纏着我不放。

LL: Hey, there she goes. You're in luck, Li Hua. Your roommate's gone... she just left with two other chicks and that dude who was arguing with Jack.

LH: 她和另外兩個女孩兒一起走啦，還有那個跟Jack吵架的dude！哇，真是謝天謝地。這下我們可以痛痛快快地玩了！

今天李華從Larry那兒學到兩個常用語。一個是dude, 是口語裏男孩之間的稱呼，就相當於中文裏所說的"傢伙"。另外一個是chick, 在口語裏指年輕女孩兒。