流行美语 第167课:deadbeat; cool it

Larry和李华在海滩享受温暖的阳光。不过李华有点心事，因为她的朋友Joe向她借了钱，却一直没还。今天李华会学到两个常用语：deadbeat和cool it。

(Ambience sound on the beach)

LL: Li Hua, relax and enjoy the day. Joe isn't a deadbeat. He'll pay you back as soon as he can.

LH: 我也希望Joe会还我钱。你说Joe不是一个deadbeat，那是什么意思啊？

LL: A deadbeat is someone who does not pay his/her debts or fulfill his/her obligations. Joe is not a deadbeat. He always pays people back.

LH: A deadbeat就是一个故意赖帐的人。你说Joe不是那样的人，可要是他一直不还我钱，那我该怎么跟他提这件事，又不伤他的自尊心呢？这事真麻烦！

LL: You're right; money is an awkward subject. I usually just avoid lending people money altogether. That way I don't have to worry about deadbeats.

LH: 唉，我也不喜欢借钱给别人，可我是真的想帮他忙。

LL: Yeah, I know what you mean. Just be careful who you help in the future: there are a lot of deadbeats out there.

LH: 我知道，下回我再要借钱给别人，一定会格外小心，因为借钱不还的人还是有的。对了，Larry，我还听过别人说deadbeat dads。那是什么意思啊？

LL: Well, after a divorce, a man is supposed to send money to his ex-wife to help her support their children. A man who doesn't send money is a "deadbeat dad."

LH: 噢，我懂了，A deadbeat dad就是离婚后不肯负担孩子抚养费的父亲。

LL: Exactly. I know a guy whose father was a deadbeat dad. The poor guy's mother had to work three jobs to support her children.

LH: 这个妈妈要做三份工来抚养她的孩子，就是因为爸爸不肯抚养孩子。难道法律都不惩罚这些不负责任的父亲吗？

LL: Well, the courts can tell a deadbeat dad that he needs to pay child support, but that doesn't mean that he actually will.

LH: 什么！法庭告诉他们要付钱，他们不付也没事呀？唉，真是糟糕！

******

LL: Wow! Those kids over there are really loud. I wish they'd cool it.

LH: 那些孩子是挺吵的。你要他们怎么着，cool it？什么意思呀？

LL: I wish they would "cool it" means calm down. It can also mean to stop what one is doing.

LH: 噢，cool it就是安静下来，或者停止做某件事的意思。你的意思是要这些孩子别再吵了。

LL: Exactly. I wonder where their parents are? I'm surprised that their parents haven't told them to cool it yet.

LH: 就是啊，那些孩子在那里鬼吼鬼叫好一会儿了。他们的爸妈到底听见了没？怎么不好好管教自己的孩子呢？

LL: It's hard to enjoy the day with such noisy kids around. I'm considering going over there myself and telling them to "cool it."

LH: 啊？你想自己过去叫那些孩子安静一点？我不知道这样做好不好呢。

LL: Why not? Their parents obviously aren't going to do it and those kids are ruining the day for a lot of people.

LH: Larry，也许你该冷静一点，cool it，别跟那些孩子一般见识了。不然，我们可以搬到远一点的地方坐。

LL: Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

LH: 来吧，我们把东西收一收，搬到海滩的另一边去好了。

LL: Okay, let's go.

今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是deadbeat，是指借钱不还，故意赖帐的人。另一个常用语是cool it，是指安静下来，或停止做某件事。