透过俚语学习托福词汇:烧烤与伦敦塔卫兵

　　NO①APieceOfCake小菜一碟
　　I knew little about English when i first came to America,so everyday i went to a language school to learn English.One day during the break i asked one of my classmates a question which i didn’t understand.Then I thanked her for it ,and she said:"You are welcome! It’s a piece of cake!"I thought to myself : America is really a society for money in which everything is done for pay,so i asked her:"I hadn’t taken any pieces of cake with me today ,what about a piece of biscuit?"
　　 She showed a puzzled expression first,then she smiled ,Knowing that she hadn’t got her words accoss ,she said,"A piece of cake means ’No problem’,and it’s just a traffle thing ." On hearing that ,i came to learn that a piece of cake not only means a piece of cake ,but also means things that is very easy.采集者退散
　　我刚到美国时,不太懂英语.于是我每天都到一所语言学校去学英语.一天在课间的时候,有个问题我不太懂,于是就问我的一个同学.她告诉了我答案,我向她道谢,她回道:"没关系!It’s a piece of cake!"我心里在想,美国真的是一个金钱社会,做什么事情要都报酬.于是我说:"我今天没有带蛋糕,来片饼干行么?"
　　听到我的回答,她看起来很迷惑,然后她笑了,明白我没有听懂她的话.她说:" A piece of cake的意思是’没关系’,这只是一件小事情."听到她的话,我明白了,a piece of cake 不仅是一小块蛋糕,还指的是一件很容易做的事情.
　　俚语小故事NO②BBQ烧烤　采集者退散
　　It happened when i just came to America.One day i went to dine in a fast-food restautant and I saw there was a kind of BBQ chicken sandwich in the menu on the wall.I thought I had never tried that kind of sandwich when I was in my home country.Therefore, I told the attentant that i wanted a BBQ chicken sandwich .Unexpectedly,she could not understand what i meant.
　　 Then I repeated what I said,but she was still at a loss .Finally i pointed to the menu on the wall and said:"Isn’t that BBQ chicken sandwich?" After she saw the menu,she laughted and told me that "BBQ" should be pronounced as "Bar-Be-Cue".On hearing that ,i suddenly realized what it was .It turns out that "BBQ" is the abbreviation of "barbecue",which means food,especially pieces of meat,roasted over an open fire.
　　故事发生在我刚到美国的时候,一天,我去一家快餐店用餐,看到墙上有一种BBQ鸡肉三明治.我心想这种口味在国内从未吃过,就对店员说我要一个BBQ鸡肉三明治,没想到她竟然听不懂.
　　我又重复了一遍,可她还是不懂.我就指着墙上的菜单说:"那不是BBQ鸡肉三明治吗?"她看了之后就大笑起来,并告诉我"BBQ"的发音应该是"Bar-Be-Cue".这下我突然明白了.原来BBQ是"barbecue"的缩写,指食物,尤其是指烧烤的意思.
　　俚语小故事③Beefeater伦敦塔卫兵
　　I had a classmate who came from London.One day after class,we went to the school cafe together to enjoy our leisure time.We chatted about local conditions of customs of different countries at will.Suddenly he told me excitedly that his father was once a "Beefeater".
　　I was a bit confused,a Beefeater?Isn’t he a father who eats beef?That is nothing worthy of showing off.But to maintain my minimun good manners,i asked him politedly:"Is your father a Moslem?Does he eat pork or chicked beside beef?" Unexpectedly ,as soon as i finished ,my classmate looked at with a very strange expression,showing he was quited baffled.
　　Through further communication,I realized the "Beefeater"that he said was not a person who ate beef ,but refer to " a guard at the Tower of London,famous for wearing the 16th century uniform."
　　我有位同学来自伦敦.某日下课后,我俩一起到学校的咖啡厅闲坐.无意间聊起各国的风土人情,他突然兴奋的告诉我,他父亲曾是一名"Beefeater?"
　　我听后愣了一下,心想:Beefeater不就是吃牛肉的人嘛,这有什么好炫耀的.但是为了维持起码的礼貌,我很客气的问他:"令尊是回教徒吗?他除了牛肉外,还吃猪肉或鸡肉吗?"没想到刚说完,我那位同学就用很奇怪的眼神看着我,一副莫名其妙的样.
　　经过进一步的沟通,我才明白他说的"Beefeater"不是指吃牛肉的人,而是指"伦敦塔的卫兵,以着十六世纪制服而闻名".
　　俚语小故事④:BigMouth喋喋不休,随便乱说
　　I am a nurse.I was lucky to work at and old people’s home when i first came to America.As my English was poor,my aim at that time was to do more but speak less.One day i gave an old lady,Lina, her medicine.Linda was over 90 years old suffering from aged dementia.I tried several times,but Linda refused to open her mouth .Feeling anxious ,i said without thinking.
　　 "Linda,open your big mouth ."Unexpectedly ,Mrs Linda got angry and shouted,"You have a big mouth.Leave me alone!" I was dumbstrucked and did not know where my mistake laid.
　　 Later on a few pointers from others made it clear to me that "big mouth: in American slang refers to a person who talks too much and spreads sercets around.No wonder Mrs Linda got angry when she heard what i said.Acturall,I should have said:"Open our mouth wide"　　
　　我是一名护士．初来美国时有幸在一家养老院工作．由于英误水平差，我的宗旨是：”多干活，少开口”．有一天，我给一位年龄九十多岁身患老年性痴呆症的老太太琳达喂药．试了几次，琳达就是不肯张嘴．情急之下，我脱口而出： "Linda,open your big mouth ."不料琳达太太生气起来，大声叫喊道,"You have a big mouth.Leave me alone!"（你才是大嘴巴，走开，别管我！”我一下子呆住了，不知错在哪里．
　　后来经人指点我才知道：”Big mouth"在美国俚语中指喋喋不休，随便乱说的人，难怪琳达太太听了会生气．我当时应该说:"Open our mouth wide"．
　　俚语小故事⑤Blackmeatordarkmeat黑肉还是鸡腿肉
　　This story happened when i just came to America.One day I went to the fried-chicken fast-food restaurant attached to the school. A waiter asked me:"What kind of meat would you like ?"At that time it occured to me that i had learned in my college English class that "white meat"refer to chicked breast while "dark meat" means chicken leg.However, when I spoke it went like"Black meat,please."suddenly I found the waiter looking angry(for he happened to be a black).Then I realized that I had said something wrong.After I explained time and again that I just came to America and knew very little about slang,he became happy again.
　　故事发生在我刚刚到美国的时候.一天,我到学校附设的快餐炸鸡店用餐,服务员问我:"要吃哪咱鸡肉?"当时我想起大学英文课所学的"white meat"是鸡胸肉,"dark meat"是鸡腿肉.但是口中却说成"Black meat,please."这时只见这位服务员面呈怒色(他正好是位黑人),我才意识到自己说错话了.几经解释本人初到美国不喑英文俚语,他才转怒为喜.