VOA流行美語 Unit 282:short fuse; out of the world
Larry早上起來正在看報紙，忽然接到小燕的電話。今天我們要學兩個常用語：short fuse和out of this world.
LL: Hello?
XY: Hey Larry! 你起牀了？昨天玩到那麼晚，我不會把你吵醒了吧！
LL: Hey no problem. I was just reading the newspaper and drinking a lot of water. I have quite a headache. I can't believe you bought so many beers for me last night!
XY: 我願意！昨天我可能也喝多了點，當着你的面跟酒吧裏的服務生吵架，真不好意思，對不起了。
LL: Well, Xiaoyan, it's not really a problem at all. I mean, you tend to have a short fuse anyway.
XY: Short fuse這是什麼意思啊？你每次都說這些我聽不懂的話，真是急死我了。
LL: There's a perfect example! When a person has a "short fuse," it means that they have a short temper - they get angry very easily! Now don't get mad because I said this, or you will further prove my point - haha!
XY: 噢，你是說我急脾氣啊。這我承認。不過，我更願意聽人家說我是一個“充滿激情”的女人。
LL: Having a short fuse can be a good thing, sometimes, but most of the time, I must admit that it can be a bit intimidating or scary. It's why I try my best to keep you from blowing your fuse - or erupting in anger. It's ok, my new boss is like this - and I can handle it.
XY: 你真覺得我的脾氣有些嚇人嗎？那我一定改正。對了，你下午有空嗎？我請你吃午飯，而且還有新車接送。不是我吹，買車的時候討價還價，我可是鎮定自若，沒發脾氣。I did not blow my fuse!
LL: I'm impressed, Xiaoyan! Number one, you have a new car. Number two, you didn't blow your fuse! So what time were you thinking, since you have the car?
XY: 下午一點怎麼樣？這樣你還有時間“梳妝打扮”，以帥哥的形象出現在我的面前。(笑)
LL: Ok. Do you need directions?
XY: 不用，我有全球定位系統。我保證，就算走丟了，我也不會打電話跟你發脾氣。
LL: OK, just call me if there's a problem!
******
LL: Wow. Nice car! You must have saved your tip money for YEARS to get such a nice one....
XY: 勤儉節約可是我最大的優點。
LL: Since you're driving, I'll pick the joint we'll go to. There's a diner just down the street that's good.
XY: 這家餐館從外面看起來好象不錯，我們進去吧。
LL: So here's the menu. Their sandwiches are absolutely out of this world.
XY: out of this world? 你吃他們的外星三明治吧。我只要個色拉就行了。Larry, 有的時候，我真懷疑你是不是有點瘋狂，也許這就是你吸引人.....
LL: Xiaoyan. "Out of this world" means really, really good. Excellent. Superb. Delicious. The best.
XY: 哦，out of this world意思是好吃得不得了，簡直非人間食物。那我可得來一個。既然你對吃的東西這麼在行，我能不能說你的品味也是"out of this world" 呢？
LL: Ha ha. Yeah, but you're the first person to ever tell me that!
XY: 真的嗎？那我再告訴你個祕密：我覺得你這個人也不是一般男人能比的: You are out of this world!
LL: Um... (embarrassed) hey hey... now, anyway, with the sandwiches...
XY: 服務生！給我們來兩個你們這兒最好的三明治，外加兩杯咖啡。希望你們的咖啡也是香濃美味， out of this world!
LL: So, Xiaoyan, I wanted to tell you something...
XY: 你先聽我說，我有個絕妙的主意，就是不知道你明天晚上是不是有空？
LL: That depends, Xiayan, because...
XY: 我想帶你去見我父母。他們在這裏的僑界非常活躍，我想讓他們認識一下你。
LL: Are you sure this is a good idea?
XY: (嚴肅地)當然是個好主意嘍！怎麼會不是好主意呢？
LL: Well, perhaps they'd get the wrong impression. Perhaps I'm getting the wrong impression from you, too.
XY: 誤解？不會有什麼誤解的。怎麼樣，星期天下午五點我開車來接你。咱們就這麼定了。
LL: (Reluctantly) Ok, Xiaoyan. I must admit - your powers of persuasion are out of this world, as well.
XY: 沒錯，我最能說服人了，你就聽我一次吧！
我們今天學習了兩個常用語。一個是short fuse, 意思是急脾氣。另一個是out of this world, 意思是極其美妙。
