LL: You'll only give me one grand?! That's one-thousandth of a million Li Hua! I thought our friendship was worth more than that...
LH: One ground...是一千块钱的意思吗?
LL: Yup. One grand is equivalent to one thousand dollars.
LH: 喔。所以one grand 是一千块钱的意思。
LL: Yes, that's right.
LH: 那我就可以把五千块钱说成 five thousand grands 咯?
LL: No, no, no. "Grand" replaces "thousand dollars", so you would say five grand.
LH: 原来如此。五千块要说five grand, 因为grand 代替了thousand dollars 这两个词。但为什么是说 five grand 而不是 five grands 呢?
LL: Even though five is more than one, you still say grand because the word is already in its plural form.
LH: 喔。因为grand 已经是复数了, 所以要说five grand 而不是five grands, 那我懂了。
LL: Hey, so back to the topic. You're only giving me a thousand dollars?
LH: Yeah, one grand is a lot of money. 那换做是你,你会给我多少钱呢?
LL: I would give you 10 grand.
LH: 你会给我一万?你真好!Wait, what would be the catch?
LL: There would be no catch! I treat you as a very close friend.
LH: 真的?我不信。不过,catch 还可以怎么用? 能不能多给我几个例子?
LL: Sure. A catch is any benefit that comes with a drawback. For example, when you go on a web site, and they tell you you have a chance to win a laptop, there's usually a catch.
LH: 你是说,某些网站如果说你有机会赢一台手提电脑,通常都要回答问卷,订阅周刊等等好多好多条件,所以这些条件就是the catch 吗?
LL: Exactly. So whenever someone tells you you've won money, or a laptop, don't believe them. Or else, you're going to have to expect a big catch that goes with the benefit.
LH: 难怪有一种说法是 "天下没有白吃的午餐"。Everything that sounds too good has a catch to it.
LL: That's very true.
LH: 但我给你一千块钱绝对没有别的企图喔!There is no catch.
LL: But I'm willing to give you ten grand!
LH: 那我也给你ten grand 怎么样?
LL: Ten grand. That sounds a lot better...
LH: 那就好。对了,你等下有事吗?请我去吃牛排吧!
LL: You want me to treat you to steak? A minute ago you were only willing to give me one grand, and now you want me to treat you to steak. Ai, Li Hua!
今天李华从 Larry 那儿学到两个常用语,一个是 grand, 是一千美元的替代说法;另一个 catch, 指某种好处所附带的条件。
A: 要是我也能中100万美元的大奖,我一定不独吞,Kat, 你说吧,想要什么,等我中了奖就买给你,no catch!
B:谢谢了!I'll do the same for you if I win the lottery.
A: 哎呀,咱们真是有福同享!
B: 有难你当!
A: 啊?
B: 哈哈! Okay, let's move on to the next program.
A: 好,在今天的美语怎么说里,咱们教“抢风头”。