【大紀元6月16日訊】
Larry的新鄰居非常吵鬧，經常吵的他晚上睡不著。Larry問李華有沒有甚麼好辦法可以解決這個問題。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：to knock it off和to conk out。
LL: My neighbors are still making a bunch of noise. I wish that they would just knock it off so that I could get a few hours of sleep. I’m exhausted.
LH: 你的新鄰居還是那麼吵啊？你只睡幾個小時當然會感到疲倦啦！你說希望他們怎麼啦？Knock it off?那是甚麼意思？
LL: Knock it off. When someone says 「knock it off」 it means that they want you to stop whatever you’re doing, most likely because what you’re doing is annoying.
LH: 噢，knock it off就是要人停止做某件事，特別是讓人討厭的事。你的鄰居這麼吵，所以你希望他們安靜下來，別再吵了。
LL: Exactly. They have been yelling, singing, and watching TV nonstop for days. I would give anything if they would just knock it off.
LH: 整天都在大吼大叫，又是唱歌，又是看電視的，難怪你會受不了。那你有沒有跟他們說過叫他們別再吵了？
LL: I’ve thought about it, but I don’t want to get into an argument with them. I’ve even thought about calling the landlord.
LH: 你不想和他們吵，所以你還沒說啊？或許你說的對，先和你的房東談談，讓他去告訴你的鄰居。
LL: But they’ll probably guess that I’m the one who complained.
LH: 就算他們猜到是你去向房東抱怨的，那又怎麼樣？你管他們生不生你的氣？
LL: You’re right, I guess it doesn’t matter if they’re mad at me as long as they knock it off.
LH: 就是啊，只要他們不再吵了，誰管他們高興還是生氣？我的鄰居經常會把他的垃圾丟在我家門口。
LL: Did you tell him to knock it off?
LH: 當然嘍，我很客氣的請他不要再把垃圾放在我家門口。他現在不再那麼做了。
LL: That’s great. I wish my neighbors were as cooperative.
LH: 你要鄰居合作，你就得跟他們講，客氣點就行了嘛。Larry，我覺得你很愛抱怨耶。也許你也應該knock it off.
LL: Very funny, Li Hua.
*****
LH: Larry, 你好像很睏，是不是剛起床啊？
LL: I must have really conked out. I fell asleep on the couch a few hours ago. I was so tired that my neighbors couldn’t keep me awake any longer.
LH: 你在沙發上睡了幾個小時，連你那鄰居也沒有把你吵醒。你肯定睡得很沉。Larry，你說你conked out? 是睡得很死的意思吧？
LL: Right. To conk out is slang for falling into a deep sleep.
LH: 你看，我猜對了吧！我知道你過去幾天有多累，能好好睡一覺總是好的。
LL: Yeah, it was wonderful to finally conk out for a few hours. I really needed the sleep.
LH: 我也希望我能像你一樣，conk out a few hours – 睡上幾個小時。可惜我還不能睡；我還有很多功課要做。
LL: Maybe you could conk out early tonight and do your homework in the morning before class.
LH: 啊？你要我早點去睡，明天早上再起來做功課？不行，不行，我如果還有功課沒做完，我是睡不著的。
LL: You’re a little too conscientious, Li Hua. Sometimes, you have to relax and take care of yourself.
LH: 你覺得我太認真呀？別人也是這麼說。看來我真應該放鬆一點。嗯，（yawn），好吧，那我就去睡了，I’ll try to conk out now.
李華今天學到兩個常用語。第一個是to knock it off，意思是要人停止做一件事，通常是令人討厭的事。另一個常用語是to conk out，就是睡的很深，很沉的意思。
轉自《美國之音》(http://www.dajiyuan.com)
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