流行美语 第57课:folks; rag on

今天Michael和李华谈到和父母沟通的问题，李华学到了folks和rag on这两个习惯用法。

M: Hey look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye. (sound of putting the phone down). Oh, geez!

L: 哎，Michael! 我不想打断你说话。

M: Oh don't worry about it, Li Hua. It was just my folks.

L: Folks? 你说你在跟谁说话？

M: My folks. Here "folks" means "parents".

L: 噢，folks就是指“父母”啊。听起来你好象不太想和你爸妈说话。这不太好吧？

M: I just get tired of talking to them, that's all. My folks call me two or three times a week to remind me to do things, like go to the dentist, or change the oil in my car. I am an adult now, and they don't need to do that.

L: 你爸妈每星期给你打两三次电话，提醒你去看牙医、换汽车的机油，那不是很好吗？哎，对了，Michael, 你去看了牙医了没有？你不是说牙痛吗？

M: Please, Li Hu, you sound just like my folks.

L: 你呀，真不领情。对了，用folks来称呼父母，这是不是不太礼貌啊？

M: No, its not impolite really, but it is very informal.

L: 噢，folks是很随便的称呼，但并不是没有礼貌的。哎，Michael, 一般是你会主动给你父母打电话，还是他们给你打电话啊？

M: Well, um. Usually my folks call me first! I don't have to call them!

L: 你不给他们打电话，那是为什么？

M: I don't usually have a lot to say to my folks. They call me so often, I have no new news to tell them. By the way, Li Hua, how often do you talk to your folks?

L: 怎么会和父母没话说呢？