VOA流行美語 Unit 368:保持耐心&對某人蠻橫無理
李華和Larry要去朋友家聚餐，倆人正在包餃子。他們會用到兩個常用語：keep your shirt on和to walk all over someone.
LH: Larry! 你那個餃子裏放的餡兒太多了! 肯定得破!
Larry: Sorry, Lihua, I'm trying my best here. Look, I've already made half a dozen dumplings - see?
LH: 啊？都快半個小時了，你才包了六個餃子？?
Larry: Keep your shirt on! You know I've never made Chinese dumplings before, Lihua.
LH: Larry, 你在説什麼啊？ keep my shirt on?! 我又沒脱衣服!
Larry: (Sigh) OK, let's both relax. What I mean is, try to be more patient. "Keep your shirt on" means "be patient."
LH: "Keep your shirt on"是“耐心點兒”的意思？那好吧，I will try to keep my shirt on.
Larry: And I'll try to work more quickly. (Pause) Here - is this how to close the dumpling?
LH: 天啊, Larry, 你這個餃子包得太難看了! 在包餃子的時候，You need to keep your shirt on, too - 你也得有點耐心，慢慢包!
Larry: Why don't you help me? The work will go twice as fast - and you can show me how to properly make a Chinese dumpling.
LH: 好吧，聽我説。包餃子最怕餃子皮按不緊，我有個笨辦法，就是在皮的四周抹上一圈水，然後再按緊。你看，這樣，餃子就不會“張嘴”啦!
Larry: Hey, not so fast! How did you do that so quickly? Why can't I make dumplings like that?
LH: 熟能生巧啊，慢慢練習，keep your shirt on! 不過，今天沒時間讓你慢慢練了，咱們得快點包，聚餐快開始了! 哎？剛才讓你燒開水，水開了沒有？
Larry: Keep your shirt on, Lihua! It should be boiling in a minute.
(手機鈴聲響)
LH: 啊呀，來電話催了! (接起電話) 喂？... 啊，對不起，還沒有做好，就快好了! 我知道! 好好，對不起了啊，恩，好拜拜. (掛電話) 唉! 我朋友着急了!
Larry: Geez, she seems really rude! You shouldn't let her walk all over you like that.
LH: Walk... over me? 什麼意思？
Larry: I mean you need to stand up for yourself. To let someone walk all over you means that you are allowing someone to be very rude to you.
LH: 哦，to walk all over someone就是對某人蠻橫無理。
Larry: That's right, and you shouldn't let your friend walk all over you like that.
LH: 你説得對。不過，這個女生是我師姐，我應該尊重她。她説兩句就説兩句吧!
Larry: Respecting her and letting her walk all over you are two different things. For example, I definitely need to respect my boss when he tells me I did something wrong. However, if he made me stay late every night at work, that's walking all over me, and I don't have to accept that.
LH: 對，要是老闆天天讓你加班，就沒有道理了，明顯是在欺負人，你沒必要照做。
Larry: Exactly. Respect between two people should be mutual - regardless of how old they are.
LH: 你説得對! 哎？水開了沒有，咱們快點把餃子做好吧!
Larry: Let's take our time. I don't want to hurry just to make your rude friend happy.
LH: 她要是再打電話來催我，我一定會讓她keep her shirt on - 耐心點! 不過咱們也得加快速度，再包它二十個!
Larry: Keep your shirt on, Lihua! I'll go as fast as I can!
LH: Larry, 包完餃子你還得趕快去趟中國超市!
Larry: The store? For what?
LH: 買臘八蒜啊! 吃餃子哪能沒有臘八蒜! 另外，你最好再額外買點小菜，點心什麼的......
Larry: I'm beginning to think you are walking all over me, too!
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是 Keep your shirt on，意思是“保持耐心”。另一個是 to walk all over someone 意思是“對某人蠻橫無理”。
