VOA流行美語 Unit 339:當兒戲&太難

李華和Larry在夏威夷渡假。倆人今天去衝浪。今天我們要學兩個常用語：make light of something和in over one's head。

LH: Larry，我早就想學衝浪了，聽說夏威夷是世界上最適合衝浪的地方。

LL: Really? I've also heard that the waters have big sharks. Are you sure you wouldn't rather build sand castles?

LH: 在海邊用沙子堆城堡？哈，Larry，你是不是害怕了？放心，鯊魚看見咱倆，一定會選擇我。

LL: I wouldn't make light of the situation, Li Hua. There really are sharks!

LH: Make light of the situation? 那是什麼意思啊？

LL: You can say that you make light of a situation when you joke about something that is actually very serious.

LH: 哦， to make light of 一件事情就是拿正經事當兒戲。那你是說海水裏真的有鯊魚，我不應該拿咱倆誰的肉更香開玩笑嘍？

LL: Right! Now, Li Hua, you're a good swimmer, right? The ocean is pretty strong here.

LH: 我以前上中學的時候還是游泳校隊的呢。這點海浪難不倒我，Larry, 你怎麼今天好象特別的婆婆媽媽。

LL: Well, I just wouldn't make light of the fact that the currents can be very dangerous.

LH: 看，這麼多孩子在水裏玩，如果你有什麼事，他們一定會去救你的。

LL: Haha, very funny. You know, you can also say that you take something lightly when you don't treat it as seriously as you should.

LH: 哦，就是不把正經事當回事兒的意思。Larry, 我是來渡假的，不是來學英語的，咱們還是趕快下水吧！

LL: Wait! First we should put on some sunscreen. Getting a sun burn is really unhealthy, so we don't want to take that lightly.

LH: 對對對，被太陽曬脫皮可非同小可。

LL: Yeah, we shouldn't take skin cancer lightly, so I always try not to get a tan.

LH: 怎麼樣，現在可以讓教練帶我們下水了吧？

LL: Sure. You go in first and make sure the sharks aren't hungry. I'll follow once I know it's safe.

LH: 真夠紳士的。

李華和Larry結束了衝浪課程，回到岸上。

LH: Wow, Larry, 太過癮了。我準備辭掉工作，留下來做職業衝浪運動員。

LL: Not me. I think half the water in the ocean went up my nose.

LH: 別灰心，只要堅持練習，一定會熟能生巧，到時候，別人看到你衝浪就會驚呼，WOW...

LL: I don't know, Li Hua. I think I might be in over my head.

LH: 你說什麼？In over your head? 你意思是站在深水裏，水快要沒過頭了嗎？

LL: Right! You can say that you are in over your head when you are facing a challenge that you aren't able to handle.

LH: 哦，我明白了，in over one's head意思是太難了，難以駕馭。你是說自己學不會衝浪嗎？

LL: Right. For another example, in college, I once tried to take a physics class, but I soon realized I was in over my head because I'm really bad at math.

LH: 這我太能理解了，我數學也不好，所以物理課一直是我的弱項。你說Larry, 咱們明天到底幹嘛？去爬山如何？

LL: You want to hike on one of the volcanoes?

LH: 當然了，如果能在上面宿營就更棒了。

LL: Well Li Hua, neither of us is an experienced hiker. I don't want to go far out in the forest and realize we are in over our heads.

LH: 要不找個導遊？對了，Larry, 我有個更好的主意。我們可以騎車環島遊！

LL: I don't know...I'm not in good shape, and that is a really long bike ride. I think I would be in over my head.

LH: 那你說，咱們乾點什麼才能不讓你in over your head呢？

LL: Well you know, our hotel offers an all-day massage and spa treatment. I think I could handle that.

LH: 什麼，你想一整天都待在旅館裏，休息按摩？那我們來夏威夷幹嘛？我公寓旁邊就有按摩院啊。

LL: Well, it's important to rest on vacation. I don't take relaxation lightly.

LH: 我有個折中方案，既好玩，又不會太累。

LL: Really? What's that?

LH: Sailing! 坐船出海去。

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是make light of, 意思是不認真，當兒戲。另一個是in over one's head，意思是太難。