流行美语 第156课:cash cow; tickled pink

Larry和李华到学校附近一家新开的墨西哥快餐店吃饭。今天李华会学到两个常用语：cash cow和tickled pink。

LL: Wow! This place is a real cash cow! Look how crowded it is!

LH: Cash cow？ 什么是cash cow？ 我知道cash就是钱，现金；cow是一头牛。噢，我懂了，cash cow就是一头很有钱的牛。意思就是，这里生意这么兴隆，钱赚很多。对不对？

LL: That is right! A cash cow is a business that is very profitable. This is obviously a popular place, so they must be making a lot of money.

LH: 没错，这家餐厅一定很赚钱。你看，要是这里每小时来200个客人，每人平均消费7美元，那就不得了了！

LL: That's $1,400 an hour! This place is definitely a cash cow. I wish I owned a business like this.

LH: 嗯，我也希望自己能有这样一个赚钱的摇钱树呢。

LL: You know what? The new movie theater that they just opened by campus is another real cash cow.

LH: 对耶！学校旁边那家新开的电影院，是这附近唯一的一家，所以大家都上那儿去看电影。他们肯定也很赚钱。

LL: Tickets are really expensive, too, but we don't have a choice because there aren't any other movie theaters nearby.

LH: 真没办法，就因为这是这儿唯一的一家电影院，尽管票价贵，大家也别无选择！他们变成了赚钱的影院，a cash cow!可苦了我们这些穷学生！

LL: At least they give student discounts on weekdays. That makes it a little bit easier on us.

LH: 看来，我们最好在星期一到星期五之间去看电影。这样可以享受优惠价。不过这对戏院本身也有好处么！这样一来，学生就愿意在生意比较清淡的时间去看电影喽！

LL: You should be a businesswoman, Li Hua. It seems like you really understand these things. If you own a business, I'm sure it will turn out to be a cash cow.

LH: 也不见得啦！我其实对做生意没太大兴趣。

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LL: I'm tickled pink with the food here. What do you think, Li Hua? Do you like Mexican food?

LH: 我很喜欢墨西哥菜，好吃极了。你说你tickled pink ？Tickle是搔痒的意思，pink是粉红色，你是说这道菜太辣了？

LL: No, I mean that I really like the food. To be tickled pink by something is to be really pleased by it.

LH: 噢，原来，tickled pink是指非常高兴，很满意的意思。嗯，我也很喜欢这里的菜。I am tickled pink too。

LL: Oh, I almost forgot to tell you: I got a really good job for the summer. I'm really tickled pink about it.

LH: 你找到一份非常好的暑期工？那太好了。我真替你高兴。那你什么时候开始工作呢？

LL: I'll take a couple of weeks off after exams and then start work at the beginning of June. I told my mom and she was tickled pink too.

LH: 考完试休息几个星期再工作。这安排真是不错。别说你妈听了高兴，谁听了都会替你高兴。我还不知道暑期干什么呢！

LL: Aren't you going to visit Vancouver?

LH: 对，我是要去温哥华看我哥哥，但是我得先打工，赚了钱才能去呀！听说学校图书馆有暑期工作。

LL: That sounds good. You could sit in the air-conditioned library all summer and read and play on the Internet. You should be tickled pink to get a job like that!


LH: 对，要是他们要我的话，我可以一个暑期坐在有空调的图书馆里看书，玩互联网。有那么一个工作，我当然高兴啦！

今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是cash cow，这是指非常赚钱的生意。也就是摇钱树。另一个常用语是tickled pink，是让人非常高兴，非常愉快的意思。