流行美语 394 zone out...

Larry和李华明天要考试，今天一起复习，但李华一直没法专心。她今天会学到两个常用语：zone out和now you're cooking with gas。 

LL: So Reaganomics were the economic policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan - Li Hua? Are you listening?

LH: (Pause) 嗯？发生什么事了？

LL: Li Hua! How can you zone out when your final is tomorrow?

LH: Zone out? 你在说什么啊, Larry?

LL: To zone out means to lose concentration and to not notice what's happening around you.

LH: 喔，你是说我分心吗？

LL: Yes. A 'zone' is an area. If you 'zone out', you mentally drift away from the place you are currently at, and go off into empty, dreamy space. 

LH: 所以zone是指一个区域, zone out就是走神。

LL: Yup. So stop zoning out! We still have a lot of studying to do!

LH: 好吧。那你告诉我，什么是supply-side economics？

LL: Supply-side economics argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services (supply) -

LH: 比如说降低所得税。

LL: Hey! Now you're cooking with gas!

LH: Cooking - cooking with what?

LL: Now you're cooking with gas! It means now you understand what I'm talking about.

LH: 啊, now you're cooking with gas是指我终于跟上了，了解你在说什么。是啊，我还是懂一点点的。不过now you're cooking with gas和了解一件事情怎么能扯得上关系呢？

LL: This comes with a little bit of history. In the 1930's cooking became more convenient as the kitchen evolved from the old coal/wood range into the wood/gas combination. So when we say 'now you're cooking with gas, it means you've crossed the barrier and progressed!

LH: 真有意思。原来是1930年代煮饭从依靠炭和木头进化成依靠天然气，生活方便了许多，所以说now you're cooking with gas就代表我进步了。

LL: Yes, that is correct. Wow you're really cooking with gas now! Learning so fast.

LH: 没错。我现在精神好多了。还是学习英文俚语比较有趣。

LL: But we have to keep going with Economics, or else we're both going to fail the exam tomorrow.

LH: 是啊。But if we keep talking about boring Economics, I'm going to zone out again!

LL: Hmm what should we do then...

LH: 要不这样！你先教我zone out和now you're cooking with gas的用法，让我变得有精神之后，我们再继续看经济学，怎么样？

LL: I guess that could work. Hmm....you seem to be able to use these two phrases already. Do you have any questions?

LH: 当然有。如果分心是zone out, 那很专注的时候就是I'm really zoned in, right?

LL: That's interesting. But no one says it that way. A lot of phrases are only used in one direction. Therefore, you can only say zone out, but there is no such thing as zone in.

LH: 啊，原来如此。分心是zone out, 但注意力集中时不能反过来说zone in.

LL: Right. What about "now you're cooking with gas?" Can you give me an example using that phrase?

LH: Even though I was zoning out at the beginning of this review session, I began to cook with gas.

LL: Hmm. The phrase 'now you're cooking with gas' is usually used together as one, so no words are changed. Therefore, we don't say that someone begins to cook with gas.

LH: 好麻烦。所以说，Now you're cooking with gas. 得要整句一字不露地用。通常是一个人对另一个人说，Now you're cooking with gas. 而不是用来形容第三者的。

LL: That's right. Now you're really cooking with gas! Do you think we can go back to Economics?

LH: 啊！我要回家了。今晚是美国偶像American Idol的决赛。拜拜！

LL: Wait! Li Hua!

今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是zone out, 是走神，发呆的意思。另一个是now you're cooking with gas. 指一个人开始进入情况了。