VOA流行美語 Unit 119: out to get someone

VOA流行美語 Unit 119: out to get someone / go to bat for someone

Larry和李華剛剛上完美國曆史課，兩人正在討論上課的內容。今天李華會學到兩個常用語: out to get someone和go to bat for someone.

LL: Hey, Li Hua, did you notice how professor Smith kept asking Mary really hard questions? He really seemed out to get her.

LH: 就是啊！我也在納悶呢！Smith教授好象在故意刁難Mary，他問她的問題恐怕誰都答不出來。真是奇怪。Larry你說教授是out to get her，那是什麼意思啊？

LL: If a person is "out to get" someone else it means that he has a grudge against that person and wants to hurt or embarrass her.

LH: 哼，out to get someone 就是故意讓某人難堪，和他過不去。可是Smith 教授和Mary有什麼過節，爲什麼要這樣對她呢？

LL: I heard that a student complained about Prof. Smith to the department chair. It's possible that she was the one who complained and now he's out to get her for it.

LH: 你懷疑Mary在系主任那裏表示對Smith教授不滿，所以教授現在要整她？哎喲！ 要是被教授盯上，故意和你過不去，那可慘了！

LL: Yeah, I can imagine that it's stressful. I've never had a professor that was out to get me, but I had a classmate that was out to get me once.

LH: 真的啊？你那個同學爲什麼和你過不去呢？

LL: Well, I asked out the girl he liked and she went out with me. He was so angry that he was always spreading rumors about me. He even told the girl that I had another girlfriend

LH: 那可不能怪你呀！那個女孩願意和你約會，他就算喜歡那女孩，也不應該散佈中傷你的謠言嘛！那，那個女孩她相信那些謠言嗎？

LL: Of course not. She knew he was out to get me. Have you ever known anyone who was out to get you?

LH: 我啊，我也有過這種不愉快的經驗。我以前那個同屋常常會故意刪掉別人給我的電話留言，特別是一些重要信息內。你說，這不是故意整我嗎？

LL: Yeah, she really had a grudge against you after you asked her to be quieter when she came home at night.

LH: 就是啊！自從我讓她晚上回來別聲音太大以後，她老是跟我過不去。這種人真不講理。

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LH: 我真不敢相信Smith教授居然會當着全班面罵Mary笨！

LL: But did you see how that other student went to bat for her? He told the professor that his behavior was unprofessional in front of everyone.

LH: 對，那個男同學真是有男子漢大丈夫的氣概。他站起來指責教授。可是這和bat有什麼關係？Bat不是球棒的意思嗎？

LL: That term comes from baseball. If you go to bat for someone else it means you stand up for them and defend them.

LH: 噢！Go to bat for someone就是替某人打抱不平，就像那個男同學替Mary出頭，站起來批評Smith教授一樣咯！

LL: Exactly. Can you think of a time that someone went to bat for you?

LH: 嗯，有一次我騎着自行車被一個開車的人撞上，那人還怪我，說是我的錯。不是你跳出來幫我忙的嗎！你怎麼忘了呢？我記得你還叫了警察呢。You really went to bat for me.

LL: Oh, that was nothing. I was just helping you out. I'm sure you would have gone to bat for me, too.

LH: 那當然，朋友有難，我一定會拔刀相助，替你出頭啊！哦！還有一次，一個女同學在考試的時候偷看我的考卷，還向教授說是我做弊呢。

LL: Yeah, I remember that.

LH: 你爲我打抱不平，跑去和教授說你看到那個女孩偷看我的考卷。

LL: Well, that was true. I did see her cheating.

LH: Larry，我真的很感謝你噢！ 你也有男子漢大丈夫的氣概。

LL：Thank you!

今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是out to get someone。意思是故意和某人過不去，讓他爲難、難堪。另一個常用語是go to bat for someone, 是替某人打抱不平，爲人出頭的意思。