你们大家可能都已经认识了Michael和李华这两个大学生了。Michael讲英文,李华是个中国学生,能讲英文,但是她还在不断地跟Michael学。大家可千万不要认为这两个在纽约的大学生老是到外面去玩。其实他们学习都很努力,现在他们就要在李华的宿舍里一起念书,准备考试。李华今天会学到两个常用语,一个是:what‘s up,这是一个用来打招呼的通俗说法。另一个是:no brainer,意思是某件事很容易,不用动脑子就能做成。
L:嗨,Michael,快进来。
M: Hey, Li Hua, what‘s up?
L:什么?
M: What‘s up? What are you doing?
L:What‘s up? 我倒是听人这么说过,可是我还没有弄清楚这句话到底是什么意思,我应该怎么回答?
M: What‘s up is really a common greeting.
L:噢,what‘s up就是一般打招呼,不是指我的头上是什么呐?
M: No. It‘s like saying, "What is happening in your life?"
L:我知道了,what‘s up就是中文里我们说的:怎么样?
M: Well, it‘s really only spoken language.
L:要是我去看一个我已经有两个月没见的朋友,我在见到她的时候我可以说What‘s up,对吗?
M: Yes, definitely!
L:那别人对我说what‘s up?我又该怎么回答呢?
M: You can explain what‘s going on in your life, or you could say something as simple as: Not much.
L:要是你问我,What‘s up? 我就可以说:Oh,not much, just getting ready for our test. 意思就是:噢,没什么,就是在准备我们的考试。
M: That‘s good usage. You can really say anything.
L:对,你怎么回答都行。好吧,我们该学习了。我真是希望这次考试赶快过去。
M: You stress too much, this test will be a no brainer.
L:你是说我压力太大,没有脑子?你知道我脑子很灵的呀!
M: Smarter than me, that‘s for sure. What I mean is that this test will be really easy. No brainer means something that reqires little or no thought.
L:好,你承认我比你聪明。不过,我还得跟你学英文。你说,no brainer就是某件事很容易,不需要动脑子就行呀?
M: Yeah.
L:我知道了。象我哥哥那天去买车,运气好,碰到一个公司半价出售。在这种情况下决定买不买,不就是no brainer吗?
M: That‘s right.
L:那次那个漂亮女孩邀你出去玩,你接受不接受邀请不也是很容易定的吗?
M: Yeah, that was a really easy decision, could be called no brainer. Of course I would go out with her.
L:对,决定是容易做,但是你到头来还是不喜欢她。
M: That‘s true. When the University gave you a scholarship to come study here in New York, it was a no brainer for you too.
L:当然啦,大学给我奖学金来纽约念书,作这种决定还要动脑筋啊?更何况我学习成绩那么好。
M: So then why are you bothering to study?
L:这还用问?再聪明的人也得念书嘛!
M: On, ok, let‘s get back to work.
李华今天学到了两个常用语,一个是:what‘s up?这是一个用来打招呼的通俗说法;另一个是:no brainer,意思是某件事很容易,不用动脑子就能做成。