LESSON 57
今天Michael和李華談到和父母溝通的問題,李華學到了folks和rag on這兩個習慣用法。
M: Hey look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye. (sound of putting the phone down). Oh, geez!
L: 哎,Michael! 我不想打斷你說話。
M: Oh don't worry about it, Li Hua. It was just my folks.
L: Folks? 你說你在跟誰說話?
M: My folks. Here "folks" means "parents".
L: 噢,folks就是指“父母”啊。聽起來你好象不太想和你爸媽說話。這不太好吧?
M: I just get tired of talking to them, that's all. My folks call me two or three times a week to remind me to do things, like go to the dentist, or change the oil in my car. I am an adult now, and they don't need to do that.
L: 你爸媽每星期給你打兩三次電話,提醒你去看牙醫(yī)、換汽車的機油,那不是很好嗎?哎,對了,Michael, 你去看了牙醫(yī)了沒有?你不是說牙痛嗎?
M: Please, Li Hu, you sound just like my folks.
L: 你呀,真不領情。對了,用folks來稱呼父母,這是不是不太禮貌???
M: No, its not impolite really, but it is very informal.
L: 噢,folks是很隨便的稱呼,但并不是沒有禮貌的。哎,Michael, 一般是你會主動給你父母打電話,還是他們給你打電話?。?span lang="EN-US">
M: Well, um. Usually my folks call me first! I don't have to call them!
L: 你不給他們打電話,那是為什么?
M: I don't usually have a lot to say to my folks. They call me so often, I have no new news to tell them. By the way, Li Hua, how often do you talk to your folks?
L: 怎么會和父母沒話說呢?我和我爸媽每個星期至少要打兩次電話呢。
M: Wow, that must be expensive.
L: 還好啦。我和我爸媽都有電腦,這樣我們就可以通過電腦免費通話了。
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L: 哎,你知道嗎,Michael, 你真是應該多給你父母打電話。你們都住在同一個城市,不打電話太不應該了。
M: Li Hua, please stop ragging on me about my parents. I still visit them all the time!
L: 你說要我不要怎么啦?Ragging on? 那是什么意思???
M: I said, "Stop ragging on me". "To rag on someone" means "to scold or tease someone over and over."
L: To rag on someone就是說你不斷地責備或者取笑某個人。嘿,我才提醒你兩次,這樣也算是ragging on you啊?
M: Well, not really. You're not as bad as my folks. They rag me all the time about all kinds of things.
L: 等等,你剛才說they rag me,那rag后面到底有沒有on啊?你說清楚好不好?
M: Ok ok, stop ragging on me! "To rag" can be used with "on", or without "on." The meaning is just the same.
L: 噢,我懂了。哎,那你爸爸媽媽他們老是說你什么?
M: They rag on me about not cleaning my car, not eating right, drinking too much, not having a girlfriend, not going to church, not calling them, not calling my other relatives.
L: 哎,等等,等等。你說你父母說你不洗車,不吃健康食物、喝酒太多,還有,沒有女朋友,又不去教堂,也不給他們打電話。哎喲,這批評還真不少啊。我的父母好象不怎么說我哎。
M: Well, anyway, its getting late. Want to get some pizza?
L: Michael, 干嗎不自己做點健康食物呢?
M: First my folks, and now you. It seems like everyone wants to rag on me today.
李華今天和Michael一起談到和父母溝通的問題的時候,學到了兩個美國用語的用法。Folks是指父母;Rag on則是不停地批評和嘲笑他人的意思。