流行美语教程 Lesson 7: choke; money

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Michael和李华今天去看篮球比赛。球赛是在纽约大型室内体育馆[麦迪逊广场花园]举行，这场比赛是华盛顿的球队对纽约的球队。 Michael到中国去学过中文，他让李华跟他讲中文，以便练习听力。现在他们俩正在排队进入体育馆。今天他们在对话中会用choke和 money这两个词。
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' u  {2 z" a" ^8 V6 [" jL: 嗨，Michael，谢谢你买到这么好的票！我真高兴能到[麦迪逊广场]来看球。这可是有名的体育馆哟！
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M： No problem! I am really happy you could come. Yeah, I love coming to the Garden to watch basketball games.
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& Z" e* r) A3 sL: 你也喜欢来这里看篮球比赛啊，那太好了。今天是纽约队比华盛顿队，你看结局会怎样？
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, i  b" ~) m; t7 z/ n8 N  wM：Well, Li Hua, I think New York is going to lose. Knowing them, their going to choke.

" z. E, q3 ]5 N$ s9 XL: 你说纽约队会输？你还说什么 choke? 你是说他们吃饭时会噎着啦？这跟输球有什么关系，我不懂。
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2 m; h% W9 e- X0 c; Q7 I2 N; c2 x/ |M：No, no, no! They're not going to choke on their food! It's the same word with the same spelling, but it has a different meaning. Here, choke means to fail under pressure.

L：噢，我懂了。 你说的choke 是指纽约队会抵挡不住华盛顿球队的压力而输掉，对吗？

M: Yes! And choke has many uses. How else do you think it can be used?

L: Choke 可以用在很多地方。考试考糟了，可以用choke 这个字吧？
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M: Yes! In fact, I choked on a test last week.
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1 U& c; g! a# Y+ H1 v; IL：你上星期考试考糊了？嘿，Michael，我还知道怎么用choke这个字。你不是老想请那个姑娘出去玩吗？你请她，她连电话都不回，这可真让你choked了，对不对？

& s% T1 t9 p- x0 J' gM：It seems like you really understand this word! Yeah, but it doesn't matter with that girl because I don't like her anyway.

L: 噢，你说得可真轻松，没关系，因为你不喜欢她。好，那你告诉我你喜欢哪个女孩呐？

M：Oh, that doesn't matter. Let's go to our seats！

L: 好，好， 去找位置吧！
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(Michael和李华找到了自己的座位)

L: Michael，你看，纽约队看来不会输，他们赢了两个球，现在还剩十秒了。只要纽约队不失去球，他们就不会输。
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8 Y* x& M, W9 I4 Z4 dM：I think that New York is going to win. Maybe they won't choke after all.
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9 R) N% Q2 w$ j; y; M" X  iL：你也认为纽约队可能不会输？等等，你看，纽约队丢了球！这下他们完了！华盛顿队要求暂停，他们还有赢的机会。
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% x" M) ?8 p! h1 A* ~" G( p  WM：Washington is going to win. Michael Jordan will make the last shot. He is money.

L: 你认为华盛顿球队会赢，Michael Jordan 会投进最后一个球。你说 "He is money "是说他会赚钱吗？

M：No, by money, here I mean that he performs consistently at a high level.
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L: 噢，这儿的money不是指钱，是指他打球一直保持在高水平上，一直打得很棒。

: }$ ~# b+ l: cM：Yes, you could say Yao Ming is money too.
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  X8 f+ c; Y& v; |0 ?+ v3 |L: 姚明当然很棒，所以也可以说：Yao Ming is money。那我们班的 Steven，他考试总是考得很好，也能说，He is money?

M：Yup. He's money. You can also call things money. For example, this pizza we are eating is money.
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" n3 u( x4 S9 L' WL: 原来凡是好的东西都可以说是money。我们正在吃的比萨饼是很好吃，所以也可以说是money.

4 q. `7 w) d0 o4 M7 b6 w$ y. ^M：Do you think the coffee shop we like to go to is money?
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9 o2 X$ f' l" r: e! y5 _) j! ?L: 我们常去的咖啡馆当然非常好，我一有空就想去。
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5 S. L4 W7 T" n& R& y8 lM: Michael Jordan won the game! I told you he is money!
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L: Michael Jordan赢得了比赛，他就是棒。
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8 P# \8 e% t# }9 x7 MM：Let's get going, though. I have to study for a test. I don't want to choke on the test again.

$ |- `! Y0 ]: IL: 好吧，你快回去准备考试吧，我知道你要再考糊，就麻烦了。

Michael和李华今天在对话里用的两个词意思是相对的。 To choke是糟糕，失败的意思；而money是保持高水平，非常棒的意思。最好大家都不要choke，都成为money，那就太棒了。
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