英语博客：ESL Podcast 773 – Dealing With Debt

 　　Kristin: Let’s go shopping!

　　Ed: Wait a second. What are all these?

　　Kristin: They’re bills, but they don’t have to be paid yet. Don’t worry. Let’s go! There’s a new pair of shoes with my name on it.

　　Ed: Hold on a minute. This is a notice saying that you’re behind on your house payments and if you don’t pay soon, your house will go into foreclosure.

　　Kristin: Oh, they’re just bluffing¹. I’m only a little behind in my payments. I’ll get to it next week.

　　Ed: And this is a notice from your bank telling you that your car is being repossessed because you haven’t made a car payment in three months. Is that true?

　　Kristin: I refuse to look at anything as boring as a bill today.

　　Ed: And these are from the power company and the phone company. They’re going to cut off your services if you don’t pay now.

　　Kristin: If I could just charge those payments, I’d be okay.

　　Ed: Not with these credit cards. You’re maxed out. I’m surprised you haven’t heard from collection agencies already.

　　Kristin: Maybe I have. They can hound me all they want, but I’m not that behind on my payments. I’m tired of waiting. I’m going shopping with or without you.

　　Ed: You’re on your own. I refuse to help you toward your financial ruin!

　　Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 bluffing   

n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing. 我认为他不会开枪—我想他不过是在吓唬人。
• He says he'll win the race, but he's only bluffing. 他说他会赢得这场比赛，事实上只是在吹牛。