流行美语 第 34 课

Michael 和李华白天上了好几门课，晚饭后又做功课。李华决定到Michael 的住处
去休息一下，看一会电视。今天Michael 会教李华两个常用语：nerd 和cheesy。

M: Are you okay, Li Hua? What's wrong? Why are you crying?
L: 我没事。这个电视剧让人挺伤心的。我一看这种电视剧就会哭，真是 没办法。
M: You are such a nerd.
L: 你叫我什么？A nerd? 我知道那不是什么好话，可是nerd 到底是什 么意思
呢？
M: If you call someone a nerd, it means¹ you think he is weird² and not cool. It can be
used³ in many different situations.
L: 噢，nerd 是指那种跟一般人不一样，有点怪的人。Nerd 可以用在 许多不同场
合。那象你今天穿了这套衣服，怪怪的，我就可以 说：You're a nerd。对不对？
M: Me? A nerd? Well, yes, you could call me a nerd.
L: 我肯定好多人都叫你a nerd。
M: As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, a lot of kids called me a nerd because I
didn't fit in.
L: 你小的时候不合群，所以许多人都叫你nerd。我看你现在很合 群嘛。看不出
你小时候是个nerd。你到底是怎么个不合群呢？
M: Well, as you know I was never very good at sports, and I never knew how to fit in
with the cool kids.
L: 对，你好象告诉过我你从小就不太喜欢体育，跟那些很受欢迎的 同学也合不
到一起。所以，你就成了一个nerd。
M: A typical⁴ nerd is someone who wears glasses and carries a lot of books.
L: 噢，那就是书呆子的形象，戴着眼镜，拿着许多书。
M: That's right. If someone is always studying, or seems to know the answers to
everything, you can call him a nerd.
L: 老念书，什么都知道的人，那不就是书呆子吗？Michael，我看你 有的时候穿
衣服有点怪，也许人家会叫你nerd，可是你绝对不会 成为书呆子。
M: I guess so! Li Hua, That TV show is so cheesy. I don't know why it's so popular.
L: 这个电视剧好多人都喜欢，包括我在内 。可你又在说什么批评的 话，我不知
道cheesy 是什么意思，但是我知道你在说它不好。
M: Cheesy means tacky or dumb⁵. It's usually used to describe a TV show, movie, or
something someone says.
L: 噢，cheesy 就是很俗气，质量很次，很愚蠢。人们经常用cheesy 这个词来形
容电视节目，电影或者某个人说的话。
M: I think the new TV soap opera on Channel 6 is so cheesy. It is fake⁶ and the things
they say on the shows are so weird. I don't know why these shows are so popular.
L: 对，我也看了六频道那个新的电视连续剧。情节是很虚假，对话 也很怪。可
是你想知道为什么那么多人喜欢看吗？我来告诉你。看这 种电视剧总想知道结局
嘛。我有的时候还会流泪的呢。
M: How can those cheesy TV shows make you cry? You're such a nerd.
L: 什么？你说我是个nerd?
M: Don't be mad, Li Hua. But you are a nerd. No one cries while watching these
cheesy TV shows！
L: 我才不信呢。你们这些不流眼泪的人缺乏感情，你们才是nerd。我不 跟你说
了，我要回去了。
M: No, no, Li Hua. Wait, at least you have to finish watching this cheesy TV show so
that you know who's going to marry whom.
L: 对了，不看完这个电视剧，不知道结局，我也睡不着。那就看吧！

看来今天李华真是生气了，因为Michael 说她是个nerd, 也就是说她这个人有点
怪。后来她同意继续在Michael 家看完那个很cheesy 的电视节目。Cheesy 就是
很俗气，没有水平的意思。这次[流行美语]就学习到这里。我们下次再见。

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

4 typical   

adj.典型的，象征的，有代表性的

参考例句：

• This is typical Chinese English.这是典型的中式英语。
• It is a typical Persian garden.这是个典型的波斯式花园。

5 dumb   

adj.哑的；不会说话的；笨的；愚蠢的

参考例句：

• She is very kind to the dumb children.她对哑童非常好。
• It was dumb of you to say that.你说这种话太愚蠢了。

6 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。