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流行美语 333 apples to oranges...

2013-06-19来源:和谐英语

开春了,李华和Larry正在商量种花种菜。今天我们要学两个常用语:apples to oranges和penny pincher.

LH: Larry, 终于等到春天了,你说,咱们该种点什么花呢?是玫瑰还是杜鹃?

LL: No way, those are too much work. Let's plant a cactus so that we only have to water it once every couple weeks.

LH: 什么?就为省事,你居然要种仙人掌?这也太雷人了吧,那还不如一懒到底,堆几块石头,弄个日本枯山水花园算了。

LL: Oh come on, Lihua. A cactus garden is completely different from a rock garden. You're comparing apples to oranges.

LH: Apples and oranges? 你不是说要种仙人掌吗?怎么又提到苹果和桔子呢?

LL: Actually, when you say that someone is comparing apples to oranges, it means he is trying to compare two very different things that aren't the same at all.

LH: 哦,我明白了,to compare apples to oranges意思就是把两件完全不同的东西拿来相提并论。你是在说,仙人掌花园和日本枯山水花园压根儿就是两回事。

LL: Right. Or say your favorite actor is a movie comedian, and my favorite actor only performs in Shakespeare theatre. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges.

LH: 就是说,虽然俩人都是演员,可一个是演喜剧电影的,另一个是演莎氏比亚大戏的,两人没有可比性。

LL: Exactly!

LH: 可是Larry, 你别忘了,我今天早上把电话借给你用,所以你欠我一个人情,一定要听我的,种玫瑰,不种仙人掌。

LL: What? Borrowing your phone was just a small favor, but this garden is going to be a big project. You're comparing apples to oranges.

LH: Larry, 你不是最喜欢草头娃娃吗?种花也是一样啊,浇水、上肥,乐在其中,你就当是在养宠物好了!

LL: Lihua, you're comparing apples to oranges! Plants and pets are totally different things.

LH: 我承认,动物和植物确实有很大差别,可起码有一点是共同的。

LL: Really? What's that?

LH:它们不会跟我吵嘴啊!

******

LH: Larry, 要不这样吧,种什么,咱俩一人挑一半。怎么样?

LL: That sounds good. I'm going to plant some tomatoes, carrots and blueberries so that this summer I don't have to buy expensive fruits and vegetables at the store.

LH: 对啊,我们可以种菜。没想到,你还挺会过日子的。

LL: Well you know, Lihua, in this bad economy we all have to be penny pinchers.

LH: Penny pinchers? 是什么意思啊?

LL: Penny-pinching is being very careful not to waste money. It means that you manage to each penny very carefully.

LH: 哦,penny-pinching就是精打细算,一分钱掰成两半花的意思。可是Larry, 这种说法是名词、动词还是形容词呢?

LL: It can be any of those. I could call someone a penny pincher. Or, for another example, I could say that Todd really had to pinch every penny after his boss lowered his salary.

LH: 那好,我举双手赞成你种菜。这样你就可以省下很多钱,带我去吃法国大餐了。

LL: Uh...actually, Lihua, that reminds me of another phrase. Penny wise, pound foolish.

LH: Penny wise, pound foolish? 这里所说的Pound是英镑吗?

LL: That's right. Penny wise, pound foolish means that you are careful to save little bits of money, but then waste large amounts of money.

LH: 噢,就是说在小钱上精打细算,在大钱上大手大脚。小气鬼,你不会是转弯抹角地拒绝带我去吃法国大餐吧?

LL: Well, if I saved a little bit of money growing my own vegetables, but then wasted a lot more money on expensive dinner dates, I would be penny wise, pound foolish.

LH: 你不会觉得把钱花在女朋友身上是浪费吧?

LL: Uh ... I mean ... of course not! It's just that I'm pinching every penny so that I can buy you a really great birthday present!

LH: 生日礼物?我猜,一定是浪漫的“仙人掌花园”。

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是apples to oranges, 意思是在风马牛不相及的两件事。另一个是penny pincher, 意思是精打细算的人。