VOA流行美語 Unit 206:chock full和doohickey

這是個週末，Larry和李華在Larry叔叔的農場裏摘了一天的蘋果。李華會學到兩個常用語：chock full和doohickey。

LL: Wow, Li Hua, your basket is chock full of apples.

LH: Chock full of apples？你是不是說我的籃子都裝滿了？

LL: Yeah, chock full means full to the point of overflowing, and I don't think you could put another apple in that basket.

LH: 噢，chock full是指籃子不僅滿了，而且是滿得快掉出來了。那也是，我這籃子裏是一個也放不下了。Larry，你的籃子怎麼還沒有裝滿呀？

LL: You are right. My basket is not as chock full of apples as yours, but I have an Excuse!

LH: Excuse！ 什麼理由？

LL: When I'm out picking apples on a nice, sunny day in the fresh air, I start to think about things. Soon my mind is chock full of ideas, but I'm afraid my basket isn't chock full of apples.

LH: 我纔不信呢！什麼一到陽光明媚，空氣新鮮的環境裏摘蘋果，你就開始動腦子。那你倒說說，今天都想了些什麼呀！

LL: I was thinking of things we could do with these apples. My aunt has a cabinet in the kitchen chock full of recipe books.

LH: 你在想怎麼處理這些蘋果? 得了，這是你動作慢的藉口罷了。不過，我對你說的你阿姨廚房裏的食譜倒很感興趣，咱們去找她聊聊吧。

LL: And while we are in the kitchen talking to my aunt, we can have a little snack. She has a jar on the counter that is chock full of cookies.

LH: 餅乾我就不吃了， 太油太甜，They are chock full of sugar and fat.

LL: Oh, a little sugar and fat won't hurt you, Li Hua. Besides the cookies are chock full of things that are good for you, like nuts, oatmeal and peanut butter.

LH: 餅乾裏有果仁，麥片和花生醬？這些都是對身體有好處的？多吃了也是一樣不好，你只是嘴巴讒而已！

LL: Ha, ha, Li Hua. Very funny. Hey, while we on are way to the kitchen, let's stop by my uncle's tool shed.

LH: 你要先去看看你叔叔的工具房？ 好呀！

******

LL：Boy, I forgot my uncle has so many tools. Can you hand me that doohickey on the tool bench?

LH: Doohickey是什麼呀？

LL: Oh, I should have been more specific, Li Hua. A doohickey is a generic term for a tool or a gadget.

LH: Doohickey是工具或小型工具的總稱。那你要的是哪個呀？

LL: I want the doohickey in the middle of the bench。

LH: 在板凳當中的那個， 給你。Larry，這個東西是幹什麼用的？

LL: This doohickey is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It is an apple corer, peeler and slicer.

LH: 這玩藝兒既能削皮，挖掉蘋果的核還能把蘋果切成片，有這麼多功能呀。怪不得你說它是最偉大的發明之一。

LL: Yes, it does. This doohickey may look simple, but it is a good tool to have in a country kitchen when you have a lot of apples.

LH: 當然啦，在這樣的農村廚房裏，摘了那麼蘋果，有這麼一個工具當然好呀！這個工具怎麼用的？

LL: Well, first you stick the entire doohickey on a flat surface of a table.

LH: OK， 先把這工具放在平的桌面上。我來試試， 看看這個東西是怎麼切蘋果的。

LL: Put the apple here like this. And then turn the handle of the doohickey. And there you have it -- a cored, peeled, and slice apple!

LH: 把蘋果放在這裏，然後轉動這個把手。真的耶，你看，皮也削了，核也沒了，而且已經切成片了。

LL: Isn't this doohickey great?

LH: Wow! 真有意思， 你叔叔的工具房裏還有什麼好的小玩藝兒呀? Any other interesting doohickeys ?

今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是chock full , 意思是裝的滿滿的。還有一個是doohickeys，意思是工具。