本栏目是由世博英语Starry_Night原创编写!
第十一篇
Ross和Monica接到电话说他们的祖母快要不行了(it’s a matter of hours.)于是兄妹俩便赶到医院去见她最后一面。在Ross俯下身亲吻奶奶的额头以示告别时,已被宣布去世的她突然叫了一声并抽搐了一下,把两个大活人吓得够呛。
Rachel: So, um, did she…
Ross: Twice.
Joey: Twice?
Phoebe: Oh, that sucks!
Joey: You guys okay?
Ross: I don’t know , it’s weird. I mean, I know she’s gone, but I just don’t feel, uh…
Phoebe: Maybe that’s coz she’s not really gone.
Ross: Nono, she’s gone.
Monica: We checked. A lot.
【世博视角】
一看到Ross和Monica回来了,Rachel就想问他们的奶奶是不是 “去”了,但又觉得不能太直接,所以就问了半句:So, um, did she… (哦,她是不是……)。Ross点点头并回答说:“两次(twice)。” Joey这下搞不懂了,怎么还是两次呢?不过他也没多问,可平时说话一直不动脑筋的Phoebe立马来了句不合时宜的话:“Oh, that sucks! ” suck原本是 “吮吸”的意思,但在口语里它经常用来表示 “……糟糕透了” ,是个极其不正式的表达法,且只能用于现在时, 例如:
If your job really sucks, leave it.
“My mom says I have to clean the garage.” “That sucks.”
Joey接着问他们兄妹俩是否还好(You guys okay?)Ross说: “I don’t know , it’s weird. I mean, I know she’s gone, but I just don’t feel, uh…” 直到现在这个 “去” 字才终于被说出来了,但一般在这种情况下都会避免使用die这个字眼,所以Ross只是委婉地说 “She’s gone.” 然而他又觉得怪怪的(it’s weird), 好像奶奶不曾真的离去。说到 “奇怪”,我们大多都会想到strange, 可美国人却喜欢用weird这个词来形容怪人怪事,如:
That’s weird – I thought I’d left my keys on the table but they’re not there.
The man we spoke to was really weird.