美國之音之流行美語down with that / pay through the nose

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今天Michael和李華要出去買東西。李華會學到兩個常用語：down with that和to pay through the nose。

M:   Hey, Li Hua.  What do you want to do today? I don't have any special plan, so we can do whatever you want. 

L:  你今天沒事干呀？太好了，我正想去買幾件春天穿的衣服。那些舊的都已經(jīng)過時了。

M:   I'm down with that.  I need to buy some new tennis shoes.  My old ones are really gross.  My roommate is threatening to throw them out.

L:   我也注意到你的球鞋了，實在不像話，怪不得你的室友要把它扔掉呢。哎，那太好了，咱們就一塊兒去買東西吧。不過，Michael，你剛才說I'm down with that。那是什么意思呀？就是你愿意去的意思嗎？

M:   Yes, the expression "I'm down with that" means going shopping is okay with me and I'm willing to go.

L:   這很有意思。那要是你問我，要不要跟你一塊兒吃晚飯，我很愿意的話，我能不能說：I'm down with that?

M:   Yes, that would let me know that you are willing to have dinner with me.  What would you say if I suggested we go to my friend's party on Saturday night.

L:   你建議我們星期六晚上上你朋友家去聚會啊。嗯，那一定很好玩，我愿意去，I'm down with that。

M:   Right.  Now, where do you want to go shopping?  There are lots of places close by. 

L:   去哪兒買東西呀？學校附近有很多買東西的地方。去附近那個購物中心，好不好？

M:   Okay, that's fine with me.  That mall has a shoe store and it's close.  Let's go.

L:   Okay, I'm down with that.  我們可以搭公共汽車去，幾分鐘就到了。然后我們有一整天去買我們要買的東西。還可以在購物中心吃飯呢！

M:   Okay, I'm down with that.

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L:   哎，Michael，這家店看起來真好。我們能不能進去看看呀？我肯定他們有很好的衣服。

M:   That's Neiman-Marcus.  They have nice stuff, but they're really, really expensive.  You have to pay through the nose to buy even a shirt there.

L:   我也猜想它們的衣服一定很貴。你說要在他們這里買件襯衣就要pay through the nose? 東西貴和鼻子有什么關系呀？

M:   To pay through the nose is to pay a lot of money for something, usually way more than the item is worth.  For instance, a shirt in a normal store costs about $40. However, a shirt in Neiman-Marcus easily costs $200.  That's paying through the nose. 

L:   我懂了。To pay through the nose就是用高價買一樣東西，往往要比原來的價值高很多。像普通店里一件襯衣要40美元，在他們這里就要200美元?？墒?，Michael, 我還是不懂，一個人的鼻子和錢有什么關系呀？

M:   Yeah, it is a strange expression, but that's the way it is.  Do you still want to go into that store?

L:   不要，不要，我不進去了。我只是個學生，沒那么多錢，I can't afford to pay through the nose for things.  我啊，付不起這么高的價錢。

M:   I agree.  I don't want to pay through the nose for anything either.  It's stupid to waste so much money on something you can buy cheaper somewhere else. 

L:   就是呀，能夠用便宜的價錢買到的東西為什么要浪費那么多錢去買呢？對了，Michael, 那什么時候我們還可以用to pay through the nose這個說法的呢？

M:   Well, some people are willing to pay through the nose to buy tickets to see their favorite singers. 

L:   噢，花好多錢買票去聽他們喜歡的歌手唱歌。我就有幾個朋友愛買名牌的東西。她們就愿意pay through the nose。
 
M:   I don't understand paying through the nose to eat at fancy restaurants either.  Food is food.  Li Hua, I'm getting hungry. Can we go eat first?  

L:   I'm down with that.  我也有點餓了。但是，I don't want to pay through the nose.

李華今天學到了兩個常用語。一個是：down with that, 意思是“同意”，或者是“愿意”。另一個是：to pay through the nose, 意思是“出高價買東西”。