VOA流行美語 Unit 150:On the spot; schmooze

這是星期天的早晨。李華和Larry正在星巴克咖啡館裏喝咖啡。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：on the spot和schmooze.

LL: I'm dreading my Chinese exam tomorrow. The teacher will give us a topic and she expects us to talk about the topic for two minutes on the spot.

LH: 你明天要考中文呀？老師給每個學生一個題目，讓你們當場就這個題目講兩分鐘。這是好難。不過Larry，別擔心，你可以先跟我練習啊！對了，你剛纔說on the spot，那是什麼意思?

LL: Oh, to do something "on the spot" is to do it immediately - right then and there.

LH: On the spot就是立刻，當場的意思。所以你剛纔的意思就是教授在考試的時候當場給題目，你就得立即上臺講兩分鐘。

LL: Exactly. It's always nice to have time to prepare, but sometimes doing something on the spot can be fun.

LH: 有充份時間做準備那當然好呀。但是，我可想不出有什麼事情馬上要做而能讓我感到有意思的。你給我舉個例子好不好。

LL: Well, we can decide right here - on the spot - to go to the movies. That would be fun, right?

LH: 嗯，我們現在就決定去看電影，那當然好玩呀。可是我們不知道看哪部電影，到哪裏去看哪。

LL: That's a problem. Where can we find the newspaper or a computer on the spot!.

LH: 就是嘛，我們既不能上網，也沒有報紙可以查電影時間表。而且你明天不是有中文考試嗎？你現在應該在家裏背單字嘛！

LL: I should. If I don't study the vocabulary, then I won't be able to come up with a speech on the spot.

LH: 對，要當場發表兩分鐘講話，不熟悉有用的詞彙是不行的。

LL: No, it's more like a good strategy for failing my test. Hey, why don't you help me study?

LH: 一點沒錯，要是你不多記住一些單詞，那你肯定會考砸的。你要我就在這裏幫你複習功課？On the spot？

LL: Why not? I brought my Chinese book with me.

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LH: 我真不敢相信，咖啡館的那個女服務員居然會送你一杯免費的咖啡！

LL: Well, it helps that I schmoozed her a little bit.

LH: Larry，你對那個女服務員怎麼啦？Schmooze是什麼意思啊?

LL: To schmooze means that someone is extra nice to him or her, usually in the hope that you'll get something in return.

LH: 噢，schmooze就是對某人特別好，希望能得到一些回報。那不是“討好、獻殷勤”嗎？你想讓服務員對你客氣一點，所以你就對她特別好啊？

LL: Well, no. I was actually hoping to get her to go out on a date with me, but I'll settle for free coffee.

LH: 原來你是想約那個女孩出去，現在喝了一杯免費咖啡就滿足了。哎呀，你呀，你還不如去schmooze你的中文老師，讓她明天評分的時候對你客氣點。這不是更實際嗎！

LL: Hopefully, I won't need to schmooze my teacher in order to get a good grade.

LH: 不討好老師也能得好分數，你怎麼一下子變得那麼信心十足了呢。不過，你要我幫你複習功課，那至少也該schmooze我這個義務家教吧！

LL: Hey, you're my friend, you're supposed to do things out of friendship, not because you want something.

LH: 我知道啦。我是跟你開玩笑的！不過，你要是想對我好一點，schmooze我一下，我也不會反對的！

LL: I'm always nice to you - and it's not because I'm trying to schmooze you.

LH: 那倒是，你一向對我不錯，算得上是我最好的朋友嘍！

今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是on the spot，就是即刻，當場，馬上的意思。另一個常用語是schmooze，這是指討好某人，對某人獻殷勤，通常是想得到回報。