VOA流行美語 Unit 68: GEE / OH WELL

Michael和李華正在教室里等著上課。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：gee和oh well...

L: Michael, 你聽說了沒有，Professor Johnson的車壞了，這節課取消了。

M: His car broke down? (sarcastically) Gee... that's too bad! I was really looking forward to Professor Johnson's class!

L: 你不是最討厭上Professor Johnson的課嗎？你說geeeee, 這是什么意思啊？

M: (sighs) Come on, Li Hua! Don't you know what sarcasm is? Of course I don't like that class!

L: 噢，你是在說反話！哎喲，你們美國學生老是說那些諷刺挖苦的話，有時候我都聽不懂。哎，gee到底是什么意思嗎？

M: Well, "Gee..." is an interjection that shows surprise, wonder, or uncertainty. Sometimes when people say "Gee..." (in a long, drawn out fashion) they are just pretending that they are surprised.

L: 你是說gee放在句子里，可以表示驚奇或是懷疑。可要是拖長了調，說geeeeee，這說話的人啊就是假裝他感到驚奇。等等，那要是我問你，紐約今年的冬天會冷嗎？這個問題當然是很傻啦，因為紐約的冬天總是冷的，那，你會怎么樣帶著諷刺的口氣來回答呢？

M: I would say, "Gee..., I don't know... Winter here has been cold every year for the last ten thousand years, but maybe this year will be different."

L: 幾千年來紐約的冬天都是冷的，今年可能會不同，哎，Michael, 你也真是能說反話哎！

M: Now, Li Hua, why don't you give me an example using "Gee" without sarcasm to show that you are surprised.

L: 舉個不帶諷刺意思的例子啊... 哎，要是你告訴我你得到一大筆讓你到中國去學習的獎學金，我就會說：Gee, that's great!。哎，Michael, 教室都空了，你走不走啊？

M: (Sarcastically, in English) "Gee, I don't know. Sometimes I just like to sit in an empty classroom and do nothing..."

L: 得，你愿意坐在空教室里，那我走了！

M: Hey, wait!

******

M: Did you hear, the football team won't make the playoffs this year. Oh well, that's too bad.

L: 對，足球隊今年不能參加決賽。你說是Owell不好，誰是Owell?

M: I said, "Oh well". Oh, o-h, well, w-e-l-l. "Oh well" is use to show mild regret. We also use it to tease people or pretend that you are upset.

L: 噢，原來這是兩個字，oh和well。 oh well就是表示有點遺憾。Michael, 你等等，我要到那個售貨機去買包土豆片。(sound of vending machine). 嗨，這個機器壞了，我給了一包的錢，它給我兩包。

M: It's broken? Oh well, I guess you have to give me a bag. We don't want to waste food, right?

L: Oh well, 你說這啊是想逗我。我為什么要給你一包土豆片哪！還美其名說什么不要浪費食品。你不就是想白吃我的土豆片嗎？

M: You're not going to give me any chips? (teasing) Oh well, I guess I won't be able to give you a ride home.

L: 你為了一包土豆片就不讓我搭你的車，要我走回家啊？行啊，那我以后就不幫你做中文課作業了！

M: (teasing) Oh well. I guess I won't be able to help you learn English then. Hm, too bad!

L: 你呀，別裝模作樣，不幫我學英語就算了，以后啊不跟你說話了。

M: Um, calm down Li Hua. I was just joking, you know.

L: (in English, sarcastic) Gee, really? (Chinese) 我還真以為你為了一包土豆片就不要我這個朋友了呢。

M: Oh well, we've been kidding too much. Let's go home.

李華今天學到了兩個常用語，一個是：gee, 這是一個語氣詞，可以使你說的話帶有遺憾、驚奇的色彩。另一個是：oh well, 在中文里就是："行啊， 得啦！"