文化面面观 Frank Thomas

考考你 小试牛刀

影片对白

Michael: Hey, beautiful, it's so great to hear your voice. I miss you. I've been calling you for over a month, you know...

Julianne: Well, I've been on a book tour.

Michael: I figured you were out of town.

Julianne: No, I mean my machine eats all my messages.

Michael: Or you're just averaging 30 days to return a call.

Julianne: It's less when it's you.

Michael: Look, I have to ask you something. Something incredibly important, that if you turn me down, I don't know what I'll d...

Julianne: You know, if I could just tell you one thing first. Well, this is, this is probably going to hand you the biggest laugh of your adult life . I'm sure. But I'm thinking about you, and I was remembering this unbelievably insane night we spent in Tucson, like, I don't know, a thousand years ago? And you probably won't remember this. But...

Michael: Are you kidding? I think about that night all the time.

Julianne: You do?

Michael: But it's not why I called

Julianne: It's not? 

Michael: I called because I met someone.

Julianne: Well, that's great. That's great. Because you haven't really seen anybody, have you? Since dingbat Jenny Lee.

Michael: You don't understand. I've never felt this way about anybody! And she's all wrong for me!

Julianne: There is a good start.

Michael: No, no. I mean she's a junior at the University of Chicago, she's 20. Her name's Kim. Jules. you're gonna love her. She' s beautiful. And her dad is this billionaire and he owns the White Sox and some cable empire. You know I've always been uncomfortable around rich people.

Julianne: Sure.

Michael: But they're not like that, they're such wonderful people... really, salt of the earth .

Julianne: So. You've met her parents.

Michael: Yeah. Jules, we're getting married this Sunday. Hello. Hello.

Julianne: Michael, it's Wednesday night, how can you possibly be getting married on Sunday?

Michael: Actually, it all starts tomorrow. It's one of these four-day-weddings with all the traditional events, and like ten million people flying in from all over the world.

Julianne: Okay. Okay. But are you working this weekend? I mean, is that responsible?

Michael: Well, the Sox are at home and Sports is letting me do a profile on the Big Hurt. You know. Frank Thomas... wait. What do you mean irresponsible? Taking off a weekend to get married? Jules. I'm scared.

Julianne: Maybe we should talk about this.

Michael: I need you. If you can't come and hold my hand, I'll never get through this. Please come, please.

Julianne: Well.

Michael: Oh, man, I can't wait for you to meet her.

妙词佳句，活学活用

1. be out of town

这个短语如果直译的话，应为“出城”，但是总觉得有些牵强。那么正确的用法如何呢？通常情况下，当我们提到be out of town 的时候指的是“出差”，和be on business 的意思差不多。E.g. Where is your father? Well, he's out of town.

2. My machine eats all my messages.

这是一句讲电话留言机的话。在这句话中用得最好的词就是eat了，意思是“我的留言机把我所有的留言都吞掉了”。现在大家知道“吞”就是eat了吧。设想在取钱的时候，一不小心卡被吞了，这时就可以说 The machine eats my card.

3. Hand you the biggest laugh of your adult life.

hand 在这里是给give 的意思，直译过来就是“给你的成人世界带来最大的欢笑”。我们的日常生活中很少会这么讲中文，给大家一个例子，这样会更好的理解。假设我们想告诉朋友们一件关于自己的非常尴尬的事情，但又怕说出来会被笑话，于是为了做下铺垫，我们会说，“如果我说了你肯定会笑话我的”，而这句话就是 Perhaps it's gonna hand you the biggest laugh of your adult life.

4. dingbat

这是个专门用来形容女孩子的贬义词，指的是女孩子空有外表，但是实际上很傻、很没脑子。

5. salt of the earth

很有用的俚语。盐在古代就被看得很贵重，被认为是尊贵的象征。The salt of the earth出自《新约·马太福音》：耶稣对他的门徒说：“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? ”（你们是世上的盐，盐若失了味，如何才能再咸呢？）这里的意思就是“中坚力量，精英，高尚的人”。

6. Do a profile on somebody

通常情况下，我们所熟知的profile是“侧面”的意思，但是在这里他的意思却是人物的短篇采访，或者短篇人物访谈。而do a profile on sb. 指的就是做某个人的访谈。