流行美語:to horse around ; jump the gun

今天Larry和Li Hua在商店裏給朋友買生日禮物。Li Hua會學到兩個常用語：to horse around和jump the gun。

LH: 哎喲，Larry, 你看那邊那兩個小男孩在打架呢。他們家大人怎麽也不管呐？

LL: Oh, don't worry, they're just horsing around. They won't hurt each other.

LH: 你要我別擔心，說他們隻是在horsing around，HORSE這個詞在英文裏不是"馬"嗎？

LL: Yes, in "horse around", "horse" is used as a verb, "to horse around" means "to play or joke with someone". Those two kids were just playing, they were horsing around.

LH: 噢，horse在這裏是用作動詞，to horse around意思是"和別人開玩笑、鬧著玩兒"。Larry, 你是說那兩個男孩兒是在鬧著玩兒啊！

LL: Hey! Why did you punch me in the arm?

LH: I'm just horsing around! 嘿Larry, 這個horsing around還可以用在什麽地方呢？

LL: Well, sometimes it means the same as "just kidding" or "just joking." Hey, Li Hua, you have something on your shirt...

LH: 什麽？我衣服上沾了東西啊？在哪兒呢？我怎麽看不見呢？

LL: That's because I'm just horsing around. There isn't anything on your shirt. I just wanted to see if you would look.

LH: 噢，原來你又在跟我開玩笑啊。這麽說，和別人開玩笑或者是惡作劇，也可以算是horsing around. Hey, Larry, 你看你的鞋帶鬆了。

LL: Nice try, Li Hua, but I know you're just horsing around.

LH: 哎喲，我們別光顧開玩笑了，趕快給我朋友挑挑生日禮物吧！

LL: Hey, how about this shirt?

LH: What?! 這襯衫多難看呀！You must be horsing around.

******

LL: Hey, Li Hua. You know what happened to my friend George?

LH: 你的朋友George？他最近不是在找工作嗎？聽說他接受了一家大公司的麵試。

LL: Yeah, and he was so sure that he would get the job that he quit his old job. Unfortunately, he really jumped the gun. He just found out yesterday that he didn't get the job after all.

LH: 噢，George以為那個公司肯定會要他，所以把以前的工作給辭了。可是，他昨天才知道那個公司沒有聘他，哎，Larry, 那你說George "jumped the gun", 那是什麽意思啊？

LL: To jump the gun is to do something too soon. For instance, if a runner starts running before the race starts, he's jumping the gun.

LH: 噢，to jump the gun就是過早采取行動的意思！對了，像賽跑的時候，有些運動員信號槍還沒響就提前跑了。所以叫jump the gun，這個說法挺形象的。George在不知道是不是有新工作以前就把舊工作給辭了，那可不是操之過急了嘛！

LL: Okay, Li Hua, now that you understand what "jump the gun" means, can you give me an example?

LH: 嗯，讓我想一想...我有一個朋友前不久要來美國，她還沒拿到簽證就先買了飛機票。這也可以說是jumped the gun吧?

LL: Definitely, because if she doesn't get a visa, then she won't be able to use the plane ticket.

LH: 那可不是，要是簽證領不到，那飛機票就白買了。哎，Larry, 那你給我舉個例子吧。

LL: I have a good one: Once I brought a girlfriend home to meet my parents. My mom really jumped the gun and assumed that we were going to get married.

LH: 什麽？你帶女朋友回家，你媽媽就誤以為你們要結婚呐？哎喲，她可真是jumped the gun了, 當時一定挺尷尬的。

LL: You bet. It was embarrassing!

今天李華從Larry那兒學到了兩個常用語。一個是horse around, 意思是"鬧著玩兒、開玩笑"。另外一個是jump the gun, 就相當於中文裏所說的"操之過急"。