VOA流行美語 Unit 104: out of whack / goofy

VOA流行美語 Unit 104: out of whack / goofy

今天李華和Larry 在圖書館看書。Larry 注意到 Li Hua 和平時有點兒不一樣。Li Hua會學到兩個常用語：out of whack和goofy。

(Library SFX)

LL: Hey, Li Hua, what's wrong? You're acting a little out of whack.

LH: 我什麼事也沒有啊！你說我怎麼了 - acting a little out of whack? 那是什麼意思啊？

LL: Out of Whack - means to be different from usual or abnormal. You're acting different from usual, so you seem a little out of whack.

LH: 噢，原來out of whack意思就是“和平時不太一樣”。你覺得我有點兒反常啊？你還真說對了，我明天晚上有個約會，是我第一次要和這個人見面。心裏有點兒緊張，我連穿什麼衣服都還沒想好呢！

LL: You have a date and you didn't tell me? That's out of whack! But, at least now I understand why you're acting out of whack. First dates make everyone nervous.

LH: 就是啊，第一次約會總是讓人緊張的。就是，我平常的活動你都知道，這次約會我沒告訴你，確實是不尋常，難怪你會說out of whack。 這麼說，Larry，out of whack, 可以指人，也可以指事情，是嗎？

LL: That's right. For instance, I think it's really out of whack that my best friend has a date tomorrow and she didn't tell me about it.

LH: 對不起，Larry. 我其實本來想告訴你的，大概就是因爲我太緊張了，心裏沒準，所以我就給忘了。

LL: Okay, well, I suppose that I can forgive you. Hey, you know what makes me feel all out of whack?

LH: 有什麼東西會讓你反常啊？我不知道，趕快趕快，告訴我啊！

LL: The fact that I haven't slept more than three hours every night this week. I've been so busy.

LH: 什麼？你這個星期每天睡眠還不到三個小時啊？再忙也不至於這樣吧！

******

(Campus SFX)

LL: Li Hua, how was your date last night? Did it go well or was the guy really goofy?

LH: 哎呀，別提了！昨晚的約會簡直糟透了。那傢伙也不知怎麼搞的，第一次見面就忘了帶錢包，結果還是我付的帳呢。哎，Larry, 你剛纔說was the guy really goofy - "goofy" 是什麼意思啊？

LL: Goofy means several things. It can mean silly, funny, crazy or stupid. Or a little bit of all of those things combined. It sounds like your date was goofy.

LH: 要是你說goofy是指“愚蠢、可笑、怪怪的、傻傻的”，或者是這些因素都有點兒的話，我那個 date 可真是goofy。他真的是傻到讓人覺得可笑了呢，要不是那頓晚餐花了我那麼多錢，我真的說不定會笑出來呢！

LL: Yeah, he sounds pretty goofy to me. Was he goofy-looking, too?

LH: Goofy-looking? 你是問他長的樣子是不是也怪怪的、傻傻的啊？

LL: Yep, goofy-looking means silly looking, like a clown.

LH: 噢，他長得倒不錯，看上去一點也不傻，更不像個小丑。哎，Larry, 你也不想想，我哪能找個樣子傻傻的人去約會呢？得了得了，先別說我那個goofy date了。Goofy這個詞我還可以怎麼用呢？

LL: When kids act silly for attention, you can say that they are acting goofy.

LH: 對呀，小孩子爲了讓別人注意他，有的時候會幹些傻事。這麼說，goofy這個詞也不見得都是指不好的事。

LL: Generally, it's not very can call a person "goofy," too. For instance, I would call you goofy if you went on another date with that guy.

LH: 原來goofy這個詞並不一定都是貶意。幸虧你告訴我，不然要是我聽見你說我goofy, 我說不定會生你的氣呢！再說了，Larry, 和那個傢伙出去一次已經夠了。我纔不會再和他約第二次呢 - I wouldn't do something that out of whack!

今天李華從Larry那兒學到了兩個常用語。一個是out of whack, 意思是“反常、和平時不一樣”。李華學到的另一個常用語是goofy, 意思是“愚蠢可笑，傻傻的”。