流行美语 第168课:whatever floats one's boat; up a creek

Larry和李华正在讨论星期六要干什么。李华要去逛街，但是Larry想去打篮球。今天李华会学到两个常用语：whatever floats your boat和up a creek。

LH: Larry，我真的很想去逛街嘛！这个周末在购物中心有大特卖耶！

LL: I don't understand why you like shopping so much, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

LH: Boat？你在说什么啊？我是想去逛街买衣服，不是要去乘船玩啦！

LL: No, "whatever floats your boat" is an expression. Whatever floats your boat means that you should do whatever you like doing. It also implies that everyone likes to do different things.

LH: 噢，whatever floats your boat就是说你爱干什么就干什，而且还有每个人爱好不同的意思。好，那我星期六去逛街！

LL: Fine then. You should do whatever floats your boat. However, I think I'll go play basketball instead.

LH: 行，你想去打篮球，那就去吧！ Whatever floats your boat!

LL: I guess we won't be spending Saturday together. We could still meet for dinner, though.

LH: 没问题，晚上一起吃晚饭，那你想去哪里吃饭呢？

LL: I don't have any preferences. Whatever floats your boat is fine with me.

LH: 真的吗？由我来决定去哪儿吃饭啊？

LL: Yep, the decision is yours.

LH: 嗯... 这样啊，我们能不能去学校附近那家新开的泰国餐厅？我朋友告诉我，他们的菜很好吃！

LL: If that's what floats your boat, then it's fine with me.

LH: 好，没问题。那我们星期六晚上6点半在餐厅见喽！

LL: Okay, I'll see you then.

******

LH: 怎么啦？Larry，出了什么事吗？

LL: I lost my keys when I went to play basketball today. Now, I'm really up a creek.

LH: 你把钥匙弄丢了？哎呀，那可真是麻烦了。不过，这跟a creek有什么关系哪？ Creek那不就是小溪吗？

LL: If someone is "up a creek" it means that he or she is stuck in a bad situation without an obvious solution.

LH: 噢，我懂了，up a creek就是说一个人碰上难题，而且还没有办法来解决。也就是我们中文里说的“陷入困境”。唉，你现在真的是碰上大难题了。那你打算怎么办呢？

LL: I don't know. I can't get into my apartment or my car without my keys.

LH: 对，你没有钥匙就进不了家，也进不了你的车。那你能不能打电话问你房东，或许他有多一把钥匙。

LL: My landlord is out of town for the weekend, so I'm up a creek until he gets back on Monday.

LH: 什么？你的房东出远门，要到星期一才会回来？那可真麻烦了。也许你可以找个锁匠来开锁？

LL: I think that might be my only solution, but it's going to be expensive.

LH: 我知道请锁匠来开锁，可能要花一点钱，可是那总比你一个周末被关在家门外，不得其门而入要好吧？

LL: Yeah, you're right. I have no idea what to do about my car keys, though. They're a little bit more difficult to replace.

LH: 不好意思，我不开车，所以不知道上哪儿能找到新的车钥匙。看来你真是up a creek, 陷入困境了。

今天李华学到两个常用语。第一个是whatever floats your boat，意思就是你爱干什么就干什。另一个常用语是up a creek。这是形容一个人陷入困境