流行美语 (Popular American) 249

李华到Larry家借书，正好赶上Larry的朋友Dave打电话来 。她今天要学两个常用语, fed up和off the hook¹。

LL: That was just Dave on the phone, Li Hua. He is really fed up right now.

LH: Dave给你打电话，就是告诉你他吃多了吗？

LL: No, Li Hua. To be fed up is to run out of patience in a difficult situation and to become angry.

LH: 噢，fed up不是指吃多了，而是说受够了。

LL: That's right. Dave has been having a bad day, and he has good reason to be fed up.

LH：他遇到什么倒霉事了吗？

LL: Well, Dave's car broke down on his way to work today, and he called a tow² truck to come and get him. He's fed up, because he has been waiting for over an hour for the tow truck to arrive.

LH: 拖车一个多小时还没到。换成我，也会fed up.

LL: And Dave is also fed up with his car. This is the third time in the last month that his car has broken down.

LH: 一个月坏三次。那可真得换车了，难怪他说自己受够了。他给你打电话就是抱怨这些吗？

LL: He was hoping that if the tow truck didn't come in the next few minutes I might be able to give him a ride to work. He doesn't want his boss to get too fed up with him.

LH: 噢，原来是求你送他去上班。一而再，再而三地因为车子抛锚而上班迟到，确实会引起老板的怀疑。

LL: I don't think Dave's boss is completely fed up with him YET, but Dave doesn't want to take any chances.

LH: 那当然了。他好不容易才找到这份工作，因为这个被炒鱿鱼，太不值得了。

LL: Yeah. Personally, I'm a little fed up with Dave right now, too.

LH: Dave有什么让你受不了的呢？

LL: Well, every time Dave's car breaks down, he calls me to ask for a ride. I'm getting a little fed up with having to rearrange my schedule to keep helping³ Dave out.

LH: 确实有点儿烦。不过，他是你的朋友，大家应该互相帮助嘛！

LL: You are right, Li Hua. I shouldn't get fed up with Dave. (Phone rings) It's Dave on the phone.

******

LH: Dave打电话说什么？

LL: He told me the tow truck finally arrived. It looks like I'm off the hook!

LH: Off the hook? 这种说法跟钓鱼有关吧？

LL: Yes, it does, Li Hua. You know when you go fishing for fun, how you put a hook on the end of your line?

LH: 当然了，我还记得上次跟你老爸一起去钓鱼，鱼线最后面有一个钩子，在上面挂上鱼饵。

LL: And when a worm is off the hook, it is free. Just like I am now. I am off the hook, because I don't need to drive Dave to work after all.

LH: 所以，off the hook就是脱身的意思。你不用再开车送Dave去上班了，所以你说自己是off the hook.

LL: That's right. Say, speaking of obligations⁴, don't you have a Chinese class you should be teaching⁵ right now?

LH: Oh, No. I am off the hook today, Larry. 今天学校放假，所以我不用去教中文课了！

LL: I forgot that today is a holiday. Unfortunately, I am NOT off the hook today. I need to go into work this afternoon to finish up a project I am working on.

LH: 那你就是on the hook喽？

LL: Well, we don't really say someone is "on the hook" in English when we mean they have something they need to do.

LH: 所以说不用再去做一件事情是off the hook, 但是反过来，必须去做一件事情，则不能说on the hook.

LL: You've got it, Li Hua. Say, how about going to a movie tonight? Do you still have to write your paper for Professor Jones, or are you off the hook?

LH: 唉，I'm not off the hook. 我今天晚上必须得写完那篇论文。我可不希望让琼斯教授 fed up with me.

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是fed up, 意思是不耐烦，受够了。另一个是off the hook, 是脱身，摆脱责任的意思。
 

1 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

2 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 obligations   

n.债务( obligation的名词复数 )；义务；[法律]债券；合约

参考例句：

• Belgium replied that she had always been faithful to her international obligations. 比利时政府答复说，比利时一贯忠实履行其国际义务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It would never do to neglect official obligations. 玩忽职守是绝对不行的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。