VOA流行美語 Unit 39: FLIP OUT / OFF MY BACK

星期天，邁可和李華約在一道到戶外市場去買東西。他們很自然地聊起前一天晚上各自做了些什么事。李華問邁可昨晚上干嗎？

M: Man, last night I just vegged out in front of the TV all night.

L: 你說什么? 你說你在電視機前面vegged out? 是不是說你在電視機前面吃生菜？

M: No, no, no It doesn't have anything to do with vegetables! To veg out, V-E-G O-U-T, means to sit around and do nothing.

L: 噢，原來如此。"to veg out"意思是說無所事事，呆坐在那里。那你干嗎不出去呢?

M: I was supposed to go out with some friends, but I was too tired after being at work all day. That's why I ended up vegging out in front of the TV all day.

L: 啊，原來你是太累了，昨晚你除了呆坐在家里，什么也沒干。那么veg out 和英語里面另外一個形容：老是坐在電視機前的人是個couch potato一不一樣呢?

M: Yes, it is similar to being a couch potato. However, if you are vegging out, that does not necessarily mean you are watching TV or eating like a couch potato does.

L: 那樣的話，要是我去了公園，呆坐在那兒，啥事也沒干, 那還能不能說我在公園里vegging out呢?

M: No, if you veg out you usually do so at home. You may be reading, listening to music, watching TV or just sitting there. Basically, your are not thinking of anything very complicated.。

L: 所以說要是你veg out的話，通常都是賦閑在家呆坐的。如果你累了一天，或者一直辛苦地在做一件事，看來你多半會翹起二郎腿，什么事也不做，休閑休閑了。

M: Yes, that's true. People often veg out after a long day of working or studying. Sometimes, they veg out when they should be working or studying, but then don't feel like it.

L: 噢，這樣的話，聽起來好像是當一個人該做某件事，卻投閑置散，拖到以后再去做，那就是veg out了。

M: Yeah, you can also say"vegged"for short, as in "I totally just vegged last night in front of the TV."

L: 邁可，讓咱們先停下來歇會兒吧。

L: 我真難以相信你星期六還得上班，我以為你是星期一到星期五上班呢。

M: Usually, I do only have to work from Monday through Friday. But my supervisor has really been in my face about getting this project done. I needed to get it done by Monday, so I decided to come in over the weekend.

L: 我懂得，你是說你的領導一直在逼著你做完你的工作。可是你是怎么說的？ In my face? 那是什么意思啊？

M: To say that my supervisor was "in my face" means that he has been giving me a lot of pressure about finishing the project. Just imagine someone who is standing close to your face, demanding that you finish something.

L: 要是你說某人是in your face的話，聽起來可不是什么好事。像是他不斷地在提醒你該做什么事。看來你的領導是個很難處的人啊。

M: Actually, he is not that bad. I really like him as a person. He is just very demanding when it comes to finishing work on time. He has an "in your face" personality.

L:這樣說來，你也可以說某人有"in your face"的個性吶。

M: Yes, that means they have a very aggressive, direct personality. Someone like that usually doesn't care what other people think about their ideas.

L: 這樣形容一個人的個性，聽起來不太尊敬。

M: You're right, it's not a very nice thing to say about someone. You probably shouldn't tell someone directly that you think they have been in your face about something.

L: 談到"in my face",大太陽正照在我臉上，可真把我曬得夠嗆，咱們到里邊兒去找個陰涼地方吧。

M: Okay, how about getting some ice cream? There's an ice cream store right over there.

L: 好主意，咱們走吧。

今天邁可和李華一塊兒去買東西，李華學了兩個新詞兒："veg out"和"in my face"."veg out"是說什么事也不做，完全輕松一下；"in my face"是一種咄咄逼人的態度或者個性。