美國(guó)之音之流行美語(yǔ)choke / money
Michael和李華今天去看籃球比賽。球賽是在紐約大型室內(nèi)體育館[麥迪遜廣場(chǎng)花園]舉行，這場(chǎng)比賽是華盛頓的球隊(duì)對(duì)紐約的球隊(duì)。 Michael到中國(guó)去學(xué)過中文，他讓李華跟他講中文，以便練習(xí)聽力。 現(xiàn)在他們倆正在排隊(duì)進(jìn)入體育館。今天他們?cè)趯?duì)話中會(huì)用choke和 money這兩個(gè)詞。
L: 嗨，Michael，謝謝你買到這么好的票！我真高興能到[麥迪遜廣場(chǎng)]來 看球。這可是有名的體育館喲！
M： No problem! I am really happy you could come. Yeah, I love coming to the Garden to watch basketball games.
L: 你也喜歡來這里看籃球比賽啊，那太好了。今天是紐約隊(duì)比華盛頓隊(duì)， 你看結(jié)局會(huì)怎樣？
M：Well, Li Hua, I think
L: 你說紐約隊(duì)會(huì)輸？ 你還說什么 choke? 你是說他們吃飯時(shí)會(huì)噎著啦？這跟輸球有什么關(guān)系，我不懂。
M：No, no, no! They're not going to choke on their food! It's the same word with the same spelling, but it has a different meaning. Here, choke means to fail under pressure.
L：噢，我懂了。 你說的choke 是指紐約隊(duì)會(huì)抵擋不住華盛頓球隊(duì)的壓力而輸?shù)?，?duì)嗎？
M: Yes! And choke has many uses. How else do you think it can be used?
L: Choke 可以用在很多地方?？荚嚳荚懔?，可以用choke 這個(gè)字吧？
M: Yes! In fact, I choked on a test last week.
L：你上星期考試考糊了？嘿，Michael，我還知道怎么用choke這個(gè)字。你 不是老想請(qǐng)那個(gè)姑娘出去玩嗎？你請(qǐng)她，她連電話都不回，這可真讓你choked了，對(duì)不對(duì)？
M：It seems like you really understand this word! Yeah, but it doesn't matter with that girl because I don't like her anyway.
L: 噢，你說得可真輕松，沒關(guān)系，因?yàn)槟悴幌矚g她。好，那你告訴我你喜歡哪個(gè)女孩吶？
M：Oh, that doesn't matter. Let's go to our seats！
L: 好，好， 去找位置吧！
(Michael和李華找到了自己的座位)
L: Michael，你看，紐約隊(duì)看來不會(huì)輸，他們贏了兩個(gè)球，現(xiàn)在還剩十秒了。只要紐約隊(duì)不失去球，他們就不會(huì)輸。
M：I think that
L：你也認(rèn)為紐約隊(duì)可能不會(huì)輸？等等，你看， 紐約隊(duì)丟了球！這下他們完 了！華盛頓隊(duì)要求暫停，他們還有贏的機(jī)會(huì)。
M：
L: 你認(rèn)為華盛頓球隊(duì)會(huì)贏，Michael Jordan 會(huì)投進(jìn)最后一個(gè)球。你說 "He is money "是說他會(huì)賺錢嗎？
M：No, by money, here I mean that he performs consistently at a high level.
L: 噢，這兒的money不是指錢，是指他打球一直保持在高水平上，一直打得很棒。
M：Yes, you could say Yao Ming is money too.
L: 姚明當(dāng)然很棒，所以也可以說：Yao Ming is money。那我們班的 Steven，他考試總是考得很好，也能說，He is money?
M：Yup. He's money. You can also call things money. For example, this pizza we are eating is money.
L: 原來凡是好的東西都可以說是money。我們正在吃的比薩餅是很好吃，所以也可以說是money.
M：Do you think the coffee shop we like to go to is money?
L: 我們常去的咖啡館當(dāng)然非常好，我一有空就想去。
M: Michael Jordan won the game! I told you he is money!
L: Michael Jordan贏得了比賽，他就是棒。
M：Let's get going, though. I have to study for a test. I don't want to choke on the test again.
L: 好吧，你快回去準(zhǔn)備考試吧，我知道你要再考糊，就麻煩了。
Michael和李華今天在對(duì)話里用的兩個(gè)詞意思是相對(duì)的。 To choke是糟糕，失敗的意思；而money是保持高水平，非常棒的意思。最好大家都不要choke，都成為money，那就太棒了。今天的[流行美語(yǔ)]就到此結(jié)束， 我們下次再見。
