美國(guó)之音之流行美語(yǔ)lesson303 caught dead/deal breaker
李華陪Larry去買車。今天我們要學(xué)兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)： caught dead和deal breaker.
LL: Thanks for helping me shop for a car, Lihua. It's always good to have advice from someone you trust when making a big purchase.
LH: 別客氣。你昨天上網(wǎng)給我看了你要買的車，我就知道你需要有人給你出謀劃策。
LL: You didn't like the pictures? I think that bright purple pickup truck would have been great!
LH: 那輛皮卡是不錯(cuò)，可你要開亮紫色的車，先得換個(gè)女朋友才行。
LL: What do you mean? You wouldn't be caught dead riding in a purple pickup truck?
LH: Caught dead? 我的意思是說那輛車顏色太丑，難道安全也有問題嗎？
LL: Actually, no. When you say you wouldn't be "caught dead" doing something, it means that you would never do it, because it would be really embarrassing if someone saw you.
LH: 沒錯(cuò)，我絕不會(huì)坐那么難看的車。I wouldn't be caught dead riding in a purple pickup truck. 要是讓別人看見，那我可真是沒臉見人了。
LL: Oh come on...I do lots of things with you that normally I wouldn't be caught dead doing for you.
LH: Oh yeah? Like what?
LL: Well normally I wouldn't be caught dead singing in public, but last weekend I agreed to go to the karaoke bar with you.
LH: 別裝了，我從來沒見有人唱Ricky Martin的歌唱得那么投入的。
LL: Alright, maybe I enjoyed it a little bit. But don't tell anyone. I wouldn't be caught dead doing that in front of my male friends.
LH: 言歸正傳，你不如買輛雙人自行車，咱倆可以一起騎？
LL: Are you kidding? Two-person bikes are so lame. I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those.
LH: 你什么時(shí)候變得這么沒情趣了！不想唱卡拉OK，不想騎自行車...you know, normally I wouldn't be caught dead with such a boring guy. 我一般情況下是絕不會(huì)跟這么乏味的男孩子交往的。
LL: Are you kidding? Nobody who has a purple pickup truck can be considered boring.
******
LH: Larry, 你覺得這輛車怎么樣，又省油，又安全。
LL: Yeah, but just look at how boring it is. It's plain white, and it's not a convertible.
LH: 買車可是件大事，你不能光看車的外表，還得考慮實(shí)用性。
LL: Yeah, but look. It doesn't even have a sunroof. I would still buy it even though it's not bright purple, but I'm afraid the sunroof is a deal breaker.
LH: 什么是deal breaker?
LL: A deal breaker is a critical condition that must be met in order for you to do something.
LH: 你的意思是，不是敞篷車沒關(guān)系，不是亮紫色也沒關(guān)系，這些都可以湊合，但是如果沒有天窗，那就絕對(duì)沒商量嘍？
LL: That's right. Or say you were thinking of dating a guy. He might be really nice, good looking and funny, but if he lived with his parents, that would probably be a deal breaker.
LH: 在中國(guó)，男朋友跟父母住在一起是很常見的。這我可以接受，但是如果他開的是一輛亮紫色的汽車，那干脆免談。That would definitely be a deal breaker.
LL: Really? Well in my case, I'm afraid a poor taste in cars would definitely be a deal breaker for me.
LH: 你生氣了？我是開玩笑的。雖然我不愿意坐紫顏色的車，但你自己開，我還是沒意見的。
LL: Well that's good. I need a car that can fully express my individuality. I wouldn't be caught dead in one of these boring, ordinary cars.
LH: 你如果真的這么喜歡紫色的話，那就買，我支持你。
LL: You know what Lihua, I think you're right.
LH: 不過你可想好了，一定要能負(fù)擔(dān)得起保修費(fèi)用才行。
LL: If it breaks down, I will just live in the back. That's how much I love that purple truck.
LH: 好，那咱們可得講清楚，我的男朋友可以住在父母家，但絕不能睡在車?yán)?。That is definitely a deal breaker!
今天李華學(xué)了兩個(gè)常用語(yǔ)。一個(gè)是caught dead意思是打死也不愿意。另一個(gè)是deal breaker，意思是不能通融的條件。
