会话学习语：冬去春来种花忙

春天来了，潘妮（Penny）和小倩（Xiao Qian，简称XQ）正商量着在花盆里种点花花草草，点缀下房间。她们打算种些什么呢？一起来看！

情景一：
XQ： 潘妮，终于等到春天了，咱们种点花花草草吧！
Penny： Oh, sounds great. I love flowers so much, so you are clearly the one after my own heart. But, you know, I'm not well up in planting.
XQ： 你说自己对养花不在行，是吗？没关系，种花的诀窍就是把花儿当作宠物来养。
Penny： Come on, Xiao Qian. Raising pets is completely different from planting flowers. You're comparing apples to oranges！
XQ： Compare apples to oranges？咱们不是在说种花吗？怎么又出来苹果和桔子了？
Penny： Actually, when you say someone is comparing apples to oranges, it means he is trying to compare two things that are totally different.
XQ： 哦，原来它表示拿两种完全不同的东西相提并论。我明白了。

[点津]
1.after one's own heart
意为“和某人爱好相同”，相当于汉语的“志趣相投”。

2.be well up in sth.
be well up in sth.常用于口语中，意为“精通某事”，和be good at sth.意思相似。
例：My brother is well up in English literature.我哥哥精通英国文学。

3.compare apples to oranges
这个习语用来表示将两种完全不同的事物进行比较，与汉语中的“风马牛不相及；天壤之别”意义相近。
例：Comparing the average wages of workers and managers is like trying to compare apples to oranges.工人的平均工资跟经理的平均工资简直有天壤之别。

情景二：
Penny： Let me think what I will plant in the pot. You know much about flowers. Please give me some suggestions.
XQ： 哈哈，对于养花嘛，就要出于真心的喜爱，才能养好花。要不你先从仙人掌开始吧！
Penny： Er... Let me think twice about it. I am a green hand at planting, so probably cactus is the best choice.
XQ： 仙人掌生命力顽强，适合培养你的自信心哦！瞧瞧我家的花花草草，它们长势正好呢！
Penny： Wow, they are really beautiful. Xiao Qian, you are far and away an excellent gardener.
XQ： 哈哈，过奖啦！我相信无论做什么事，只要出于真心喜爱，就一定能做好。
Penny： Agree！I am going home and have a crack at planting cactus first.

[点津]
1.think twice about sth.
字面意思是“考虑两遍”，引申为“仔细考虑”.

2.green hand
意为“生手；没经验的人”.

3.far and away
它可不是“很远”的意思，而是表示“无疑地”.
例：This is far and away the best book on how to play table tennis.这本书无疑是关于如何打乒乓球的最好的书。

4.have a crack at sth./doing sth.
该短语意为“企图/尝试（做）某事”.
例：Have another crack at solving the problem.再试一试，把这个难题给解决了吧。