VOA流行美語 Unit 114: cop out/to get worked up

VOA流行美語 Unit 114: cop out/to get worked up

李華和Larry在學生中心的咖啡館裏休息。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：cop out和to get worked up.

LL: Hey Li Hua. Some friends and I are planning to go camping and hiking next month. Do you want to come along?

LH: 嗯...去露營啊？嗯，下個月我可能會很忙耶！噢！對！那個週末我已經答應幫我鄰居照顧他的狗。

LL: What? I didn't even tell you when we're going! Sounds like a cop-out to me!

LH: 對，你還沒有告訴我是哪個週末。不過，A cop? cop不是警察嗎？我不去露營和警察有什麼關係？

LL: No, no, I don't mean "cop" as in "police officer". A cop out, is a weak excuse for not doing something.

LH: 噢，原來cop out是想推脫做某件事，但是理由又很牽強。哎呀，好啦！我招了，我是不喜歡露營！要走那麼多路，又會被蟲咬，還得睡睡袋，而且我還聽說美國有很多熊呢！

LL: Bears? Don't tell me you won't go just because you're afraid of bears. That's an even stupider cop out.

LH: 好啦好啦！跟熊沒有關係，我就是懶惰！不喜歡露營嘛！

LL: That's what I thought. Well, it's better to be honest than to cop out. So do you understand what "cop out" means now?

LH: 嗯，我想我大概懂cop out的意思了！給你舉個例子吧！我的朋友Jeanna老是說她想學中文，可是當我主動提出要教她時，她又總是說沒時間。這就是cop out嘍！

LL: Yeah, that sounds like a cop out to me. Most people just aren't willing to put the time and effort into really learning another language.

LH: 說到學外語，Larry，我記得不久前，你也叫我教你讀中文報紙，怎麼樣？你明天有時間嗎？

LL: I, um... I think I'm busy tomorrow. The plumber is coming to my house sometime in the afternoon, so I have to wait for him, and...

LH: 得了吧！ 什麼等工人來修水管？誰會相信這種藉口。你這纔是真正的cop out！

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LH: (Growls) 嗨！這些學中文的學生，我真不想教了！怎麼考試考得這麼糟！我看啊，這學期他們一個也別想拿A！

LL: Calm down, Li Hua. Don't get so worked up over it.

LH: 你要我別work up？你是說我不必那麼努力，那什麼意思呀？

LL: No, I don't mean you have to work harder. I mean, you shouldn't get worked up. To get worked up means to get angry or excited.

LH: 噢，don't get worked up是別生氣的意思！不生氣？你看看他們寫的中文有難看，而且還老是寫錯別字。

LL: Let me see those. Hmm... Wow, this isn't bad at all. I can tell they're a lot better than they were a few weeks ago. Don't get so worked up over a few small mistakes!

LH: 你覺得他們比幾個星期前進步多了？我看看...嗯，也許你說的對，也許我對他們要求太高了。

LL: That's right. I can tell most of these students want to learn Chinese. If you always get worked up when they make mistakes, you won't notice when they improve.

LH: Larry，你說的對，大多數學生都是真的想學，我不應該看到他們的錯誤就生氣，應該多多鼓勵他們。

(Sound of distant argument)

LH: 嘿！Jack和Ben兩個人在那兒那麼生氣吵什麼啊？

LL: Oh, nothing. It's election year, and those two are always getting worked up over politics.

LH: 噢，我知道美國人在競選總統方面意見不一致，但是沒有想到有些人會爭的面紅耳赤。

LL: Yeah, sometimes when you get worked up about something, it shows that you really care about it. Just like you with your students!

LH: 那倒是，關心某件事纔會激動，就象我很在乎我學生的成績。說到學習，Larry你準備好上中文課了嗎？

LL: Um... well... OK. No more cop outs. Let's get started.

今天李華學到兩個常用語。一個是cop out，意思是用牽強的藉口來逃避做某件事。另一個常用語是to get worked up，就是爲某件事生氣。