流行美语 (Popular American) 265
时间:2019-01-15 作者:英语课 分类:美国之音《流行美语》
Larry开车接李华去看医生,路上堵车迟到了。李华今天要学两个常用语,meltdown和make up.
LL: I'm really sorry I am late, Li Hua. But there is no need for you to have a meltdown about it.
LH: (生气地)如果meltdown是生气的意思,那没错,I am having a meltdown.
LL: (Sheepishly) Well, Li Hua, perhaps now isn't the best time for an English lesson, but a meltdown is an excessively emotional response to a disappointment or a crisis 1.
LH: (还是有点生气)meltdown是融化的意思,跟遇到挫败或是危机,情绪过分激动有什么关系呢?
LL: Well, the term meltdown refers to the melting of the core of a nuclear reactor 2. When that happens, the nuclear reactor becomes unstable 3 and may explode.
LH: 噢,原来是从核反应堆来的。Well, I guess I did have a meltdown. 你今天迟到,我确实很生气。
LL: I must say, it is very unlike you to have a meltdown. You are usually so calm and understanding.
LH: 我生气可是有理由的。你迟到了不是一会儿,而是整整半个小时。看来我去看医生也要迟到了。
LL: I understand why you had a meltdown, Li Hua. But honestly, there is nothing I could do about it. You know how unpredictable the traffic is in New York City.
LH: 也是,我刚才太急了,没有给你解释的机会。你在路上遇到什么状况了吗?
LL: Well, there was a car accident that blocked traffic for a long time. It wasn't very serious accident, but when the two drivers got out of their cars, there was a total meltdown in communication.
LH: 你为什么说这两个司机之间发生了total meltdown呢?
LL: Well, one driver was really angry. He was all red in the face and was yelling 4 loudly. I could tell he was having a meltdown.
LH: 啊,脸红脖子粗的大吵大闹,真是够吓人的。那另外一个司机呢?他们俩没打起来吧?
LL: The other driver ended up having a meltdown, too - but in a different way. When the first driver started yelling at her, she started to cry.
LH: 原来还是个女的,真可怜。警察来了吗?
LL: By the time the police arrived, the two drivers had recovered from their meltdowns and were calm. The police officers were very professional.
LH: 还好最后得到了圆满解决,最重要的是没有人受伤。对不起,Larry,我刚才不问青红皂白就对你大发脾气。
LL: Don't worry about it, Li Hua. Everyone has a meltdown every once in a while.
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LL: Well, after that meltdown, don't you think it is time for you and me to make up, Li Hua?
LH: Make up? 吵完架为什么要化妆呢?
LL: No, no. To "Make Up" means to get back to being friends after a fight.
LH: 我已经向你道歉,你也接受了,这就等于是和好了吧?
LL: Yes, I think we have made up. We are still friends, right, Li Hua?
LH: 我们当然是朋友,你也知道,我不会真跟你生气的。I am glad we've made up. 真希望Janet也能跟她的男朋友Tom和好。他们上星期吵架,到现在都不说话。Janet痛苦极了。
LL: Well, sometimes it is hard to make up with some one - especially when the argument is over something serious or someone is really stubborn 5 and won't listen to the other person.
LH: Janet倒并不固执,她很想跟Tom和好,可是Tom好像没有和好的意思。他们是因为Tom跟另外一个女孩子很接近才吵架的。
LL: Hmmm...Well, if Tom hasn't tried to make up with Janet in a week, maybe he is more interested in that other girl.
LH: Larry, 快别说了,我们还得赶去看医生呢!
LL: Don't have another meltdown, Li Hua. I'll get you to the doctor's appointment. I think it was worth taking the time to make up and be friends again, don't you, Li Hua?
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是meltdown, 是情绪过分激动的意思。另一个是make up, 是和好的意思。
- He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明,在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
- The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。
- The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
- Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里,大分子裂变为小分子。
- This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实,装不了这么多书。
- The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。
- The coach stood on the sidelines yelling instructions to the players. 教练站在场外,大声指挥运动员。
- He let off steam by yelling at a clerk. 他对一个职员大喊大叫,借以发泄怒气。 来自《简明英汉词典》