"布朗尼加分"口語課堂:爲自己掙得喝彩

Hi, 可可網友們，我是Rose。歡迎做客“布朗尼加分口語課堂”。我們常說“不聽老人言，吃虧在眼前。”不過，什麼都按別人設計好的、期望的路去走，人生一定是缺少色彩的。雖然不是每個堅持自己理想的人最終都能像文中的Ron這樣，證明了自己，也改變了父親的看法，但至少，我們應當爲自己的夢想做些什麼。

At the age of twenty-two, Ron decided that he wanted to become a comedian. When he told his father, the old man hit the ceiling. Ron's father shouted that Ron was throwing his college education down the drain and that he would end up as a bum. But Ron was serious about his career. He took steps to become a good comic. He studied acting, talked to comedians, and kept a book of jokes. He soon got his foot in the door and was performing in comedy clubs. And soon his act was bringing down the house. The audience would laugh and clap at all of Ron's jokes.

Ron ended up in the big time, as a major celebrity. When he returned to our town earlier this year the town rolled out the red carpet for him. There was a big parade, and everything in town was on the house for Ron. Now, even Ron's father laughs at his jokes.

當Ron告訴父親自己的想法時，這個老人hit the ceiling。Ceiling, 天花板。這個短語意思是to suddenly become very angry，勃然大怒。因爲老人認爲這樣的選擇就意味着Ron將受到的大學教育throw down the drain，drain下水道。扔到了下水道里，意思很明顯，就是 “浪費；丟掉”。再比如：You've already spent a lot of money fixing your old car. Spending more is just money down the drain. 你已經花了很多錢修那輛舊車。再花錢就是白白浪費。

儘管如此，Ron對自己的選擇很認真的執行着。He took steps to become a good comic。他一步一步靠近自己的目標。Take steps採取步驟。很快he got his foot in the door，這個短語從字面意思上也可以看出是“入了門；邁出開始做某事的第一步”。接下來，Ron的努力得到了回報，他的表演bring down the house。這個短語意思是“讓觀衆鼓掌，大笑”。

Ron得以ended up in the big time, as a major celebrity. Big time在口語中指娛樂行業裏的巨大成功。Celebrity, 名人。成爲了名人的Ron衣錦還鄉，家鄉的人盛情接待，還舉行了盛大的遊行，更有甚者，整個鎮上商品都對Ron on the house，免費的。實在太盛情了。我們再來看一個有關on the house的例子：At our local restaurant, customers get dessert on the house if they order a meal. 在我們當地的餐館，客人們如果點餐可以免費提供甜點。
好了，來聽一個小問題：When someone hits the ceiling, how does the person feel?