流行美语 (Popular American) 298

李华帮Larry收拾东西，准备搬家。今天我们要学两个常用语：the last straw¹和loose ends.

LH: Larry, 你怎么存了这么多垃圾！我看干脆都扔了，别搬走了。

LL: Junk²? Throw it away? These are all precious³! How could I ever throw away my math book from third grade, or my Halloween costume⁴ from five years ago? I looked really great as Michael Jackson.

LH: 那好，三年级的数学作业本和五年前的鬼节服装都收在这个箱子里面，别忘了！不过我还是决定把你这几个旧鞋盒和衣架扔掉，你要坚强，不要流泪。

LL: Fine, but if you go after my Star Trek⁵ dolls, that will be the last straw.

LH: The last what?

LL: The last straw. When a series⁶ of bad things happens to you, the last straw is the final bad thing that you cannot tolerate⁷.

LH: 你是说，the last straw是说一系列不愉快的事情中最令人无法接受的。所以，对你来说，star Trek dolls是你最难以割舍的东西。

LL: Exactly. Or, take this apartment for example. This year the air conditioning broke, the bathroom flooded, and some noisy neighbors moved in next door. But the last straw was when I found a mouse in the kitchen. That's when I decided⁸ to move.

LH: 我知道你最怕老鼠，所以空调失灵、厕所漏水、邻居吵闹都可能忍受，但是老鼠的出现是“最后一根稻草”。我最受不了邻居大吵大闹了，你夜里怎么能睡觉呢？

LL: I didn't. It was bad enough when they played loud music during the day, but when they started playing it at 3am, that was the last straw.

LH: 太过份了。对了，Larry, 你那些狐朋狗友不是要来帮你搬家吗？

LL: Yes, but they're not very dependable. It was bad enough when they forgot about my birthday last week, but if they don't bother to show up and help move, that will be the last straw.

LH: 你看吧，你当初就该听我的，找个搬家公司。

LL: I was thinking about it, but the price was quite expensive. And when they told me that I would have to pay for the gas that the truck used, that was the last straw.

LH: 幸亏我最近一直在健身，浑身是劲！走，我们去打扫厨房。别担心，有我在，老鼠一定不敢骚扰你。

******

Larry和李华在Larry的新公寓楼里。

LH: Larry, 这箱书放哪？放在卧室吗？

LL: Sure. Is there anything left to bring in from the truck?

LH: 没了，这是最后一个箱子。

LL: Great. Thanks for your help, Lihua. I can probably tie up all the loose ends by myself.

LH: Tie the what?

LL: Loose ends. When you are about to finish doing a project, but there are still a few small things left to do, you can call them the "loose ends."

LH: 哦，loose ends就是中文里说的最后剩下的零星工作。比如说把钥匙还给原来的房东，把租的卡车还回去这些事情。

LL: Exactly. Or, if I want to go on vacation, I have to make sure I tie up all the loose ends at work before I go. Otherwise they could become big problems while I'm gone.

LH: 说起渡假，你不是说准备夏天到海边去玩吗？

LL: Yes, I'm almost finished. I have the hotel reservations⁹ and airplane tickets. There's just a few loose ends I still have to take care of, like finding¹⁰ my bathing¹¹ suit and buying sun screen.

LH: 太好了，我也得把中文课的考卷改好，渡假的时候我可不愿意去担心这些loose ends.

LL: Well after all this hard work moving we're both going to need a vacation. I sure hope we get good weather. After all the problems with my last apartment, if we get to the beach and it's raining, that will really be the last straw for me.

LH: 我帮你搬家，你还没说怎么谢我呢！今天干脆别拆包了，你请我吃饭吧！

LL: Wow, all that work for one meal? What a bargain! I'll go get the car while you call for reservations. Have we forgotten any loose ends?

LH: 别忘了带钱包，今天可是你付帐！

LL: Oh right. The only problem is that I packed it away in one of these boxes and I'm not sure where it is. Do you mind paying?

LH: Larry, 你要是没有我可怎么办啊！

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是the last straw意思是最令人无法忍受的事情。另一个是loose ends，意思是还没有处理的零星事情。

1 straw   

n.稻草，麦杆，吸管；adj.用稻草做的，用来作稻草的，麦杆色的，无价值的，象稻草人的，非正式民意测验所发现的

参考例句：

• The old peasant is twisting pieces of straw into a rope.这位老农民正把稻草搓成绳子。
• May I have a straw for my drink?给我一根喝饮料的吸管好吗？

2 junk   

n.废弃的旧物；破烂物

参考例句：

• I bought this old table in a junk shop.我在旧货店里买了这张旧桌子。
• They cleared out the junk room to make a tiny beds.他们将废品间清理用作小卧室。

3 precious   

adj.宝贵的，珍贵的，过于精致的，珍爱的

参考例句：

• Each life is precious.生命都是宝贵的。
• Spring rain is as precious as oil.春雨贵如油。

4 costume   

n.装束，服装

参考例句：

• She had excellent taste in costume.她对衣着特别讲究。
• The kimono is part of the national costume of Japan.和服是日本民族服装的一部分。

5 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

6 series   

n.连续；系列

参考例句：

• The students have put forward a series of questions.学生们提出了一系列问题。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 tolerate   

v.忍受，容忍，容许，宽恕；vt.容忍，忍受，容许

参考例句：

• She can tolerate that rude fellow.她能容忍那个粗鲁的家伙。
• The teacher cannot tolerate eating on the class.老师不容许在课堂上吃东西。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 reservations   

n.[法律]（权益等的）保留( reservation的名词复数 )；预订；保留地；保留意见

参考例句：

• Most of these workers are American Indians living on reservations. 这些工人中的大多数是住在居留地的美洲印第安人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Have you made the reservations for our holiday yet? 你为我们度假做好预订安排了吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

11 bathing   

n.游泳，洗海水澡

参考例句：

• The place is convenient for bathing.这地方适合游泳。
• Naked bathing is not allowed to this beach.这个海滩禁止裸泳。