流行美语 第90课:buy sth.; be sold on sth.

今天Larry和Li Hua一起听了有关环境保护的讲座。Li Hua会学到两个常用语：to buy something和to be sold on something。

(college hallway noise)

LH: 哎，Larry, 听了这个讲座，我觉得“全球变暖问题”真挺让人担心的。

LL: I don't know, Li Hua... I just don't buy the theory that global warming is caused by humans. There is a lot we just don't know.

LH: 你说你不买什么？ 哎，没人想卖你东西啊？

LL: I said that I don't buy that theory. That mean's I don't accept it as completely true.

LH: 噢，原来I don't buy the theory就是“我不接受这种说法”。哎，那不就是我们中文里说的“我不买这一套”吗？得了得了，我没时间跟你争论。哎，你听说了吗 - 我们今年的学费要涨百分之10呢！学校说他们计划要翻修图书馆。

LL: What? That's ridiculous. I don't buy that excuse. They raised tuition last year by 5% to expand the stadium.

LH: 就是嘛，去年学校为了扩建体育馆已经把学费增加了百分之5了。Larry, 那你是不是能够再用I don't buy it 给我举一个和学校没有关系的例子呢？

LL: OK. You know my friend Angela? She's often late for class, and she always has different excuses. So finally one day, Professor Johnson said to her, "I don't buy your excuses. I think you are just not self-disciplined enough!"

LH: 对，你那个朋友Angela，她老是迟到，而且总有借口。可是我不知道Johnson教授这么厉害，居然还公开说不相信她的话，还批评她是自己要求不严格。哎哟，那多不好意思呀。

******

LH: So Larry, 你打定主意去南京哪一所学校留学了吗？

LL: I don't know. I guess I'm still not sold on that school.

LH: Sold? 那不是“卖东西”的“卖”吗？哎哟，“卖东西”和“留学”这有什么关系呀？

LL: No, silly! I said that I am not sold on that school. "To be sold on something" means to be convinced that it's worthwhile, or it's the best choice.

LH: 噢，我明白了。To be sold on something意思就是“你认为这件事值得，是个好选择”。这个说法挺有意思的，你能不能再给我举了例子？

LL: Well, remember when you were looking for a new apartment? At first you weren't sold on that place, but when you heard that the rent was only $600 a month, you were sold!

LH: 对呀，我在找房子的时候，一开始还不太满意我现在住的那个地方，后来听说房租一个月才六百美元，马上我就动心了。哎，Larry, to be sold on something是不是只能用在和“钱”有关的事情上呢?

LL: Not necessarily. For instance, suppose you can't decide if you want to vote for someone who is running for office, you could say "I'm not sold on that candidate yet".

LH: 噢，选举的时候，要是我还不能肯定是不是要投某个候选人的票，我也可以说，I'm not sold on that candidate yet.

LL: That's right. We were just talking about that Professor Johnson didn't buy Angela's excuses, we can also say he wasn't sold on her excuses.

LH: 对，Professor Johnson不相信Angela老是迟到的借口，我们也可以说He wasn't sold on her excuses, 也就是说，to be sold on something也有“相信”的意思。

LL: Hey, Li Hua, I guess I should have told you that was just an example -- Professor Johnson didn't really say it to Angela.

LH: 什么？闹了半天Johnson教授根本就没对Angela说那些话呀？你可真会编故事!

LL: I know - You were totally sold on it - You actually bought it!

今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语，一个是to buy something, 表示“相信某件事”。另一个是to be sold on something, 意思是“认为某件事值得、是真的”。