叶子飞扬
下载音频李华气喘吁吁地来接Larry 。李华今天要学两个常用语，off the hook和taken aback. LL: Hey, I was about to call you. I was worried something happened to you, because you’re really late! LH: 实在对不起Larry, 路上出了点事。 LL: Oh, that’s a good thing in your case! In this situation, off the hook means that you will not be punished for a rule or agreement you violated. The phrase off the hook can also mean that a person is relieved of an unwanted responsibility. LH: 哦，我明白了，off the hook就是脱身，或是摆脱责任的意思。怪不得那个警察说，I’ll let you off the hook with a warning.就是说警告一下，下次注意就行了。 LL: Yeah. Let’s get in the car. Don’t speed, because you might not be let off the hook this time if an officer catches you! LL: Sure! You’re doing me a favor anyway. Let’s get to the car mechanic’s shop and see if he fixed the company car my boss lent me for this weekend’s business trip. LH: 对啊，最好别让你老板知道公司的车现在正在修车铺里。You’ll be off the hook if your car is fixed. LL: Can you think of any other time that you’ve been let off the hook? The last time my boss let me off the hook was hmmm Never! LH: Hahaha! 别急，Larry, 五点以前我们肯定能赶到修车行。 ******LL: Well, it looks like I’m NOT off the hook. My car won’t be ready until next Monday. LL: He ignored me for five minutes, and then I finally yelled excuse me, could I have some service, please? I was really taken aback by his rudeness. LH: Taken aback? 他干嘛推你啊？我们可以告他们！ LL: No. ‘Taken aback’ means surprised or shocked by something. I was really surprised by his rudeness, because he ignored me even though I was the only customer in the store. LL: It’s ok. He told me that the car’s engine needs to be completely redone. It doesn’t matter how fast he goes, because he needs to order new parts for replacement. LH: 哦，原来是发动机坏了，要先去买零件，怪不得要那么长时间。Well, I’m taken aback by this whole situation. LL: I’m taken aback by the mechanic’s behavior AND the terrible situation I’m in. LH: 我有个主意。要不咱们去租辆车。这样一来，等你老板发现后，就不会那么生气了。 LL: That’s true. He’ll still be taken aback, but not as much, because I’ll still have a car to use for my business trip this weekend. LH: 快五点了，我们赶紧去租车。 LL: Thanks a lot, Lihua. I’m really taken aback by your kindness! LL: (Laughing) No, it’s just that you have gone to a lot of trouble today to help me get out of this horrible situation! LH: 别客气。那我在车里等，你快进去租车吧！ LL: (Out of breath) Ok. It looks like I’m off the hook for the weekend – I got the last rental car available. LH: 太棒了，周末开车出去要注意安全噢！ 天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是off the hook,指摆脱困境和责任。另一个是taken aback,指感到吃惊。
