李華和Larry在一家中餐館吃飯。李華今天會學到兩個常用語bite the bullet和benchwarmer。

LH: Larry，你點的陳皮牛肉真好吃。 (Groans in pain) Oww!

LL: Hey, what's wrong? Was there something in the beef?

LH: 不，是我的牙。我的一個牙齒壞了，早該去看牙醫， 可是一直不敢去。

LL: Really? Well, if it hurts that much, I guess you have to bite the bullet and see a dentist!

LH: Bite the bullet!? 咬子彈？Larry ，我咬肉都痛，還叫我咬子彈！

LL: No, no, I'm not being mean. To bite the bullet means to resign yourself to doing something that is difficult or unpleasant.

LH: 所以，你的意思是硬著頭皮去難做的事，或不愉快的事。噢，我知道了，以前打仗的時候有時沒有麻藥，傷員動手術時只好咬著子彈，忍住疼痛。這個習慣用語就是這么來的吧？

LL: I guess so. Anyway, your painful tooth will affect your studying, and it might get worse if you keep waiting. Just bite the bullet and see a dentist!

LH: 牙痛當然影響我的學習。我一會兒就打電話給牙醫生約時間。對了， Larry，你上星期因為停車而被罰款有沒有去付啊？

LL: (Sighs) No, I haven't paid them off yet. I guess I'd better bite the bullet and pay them, otherwise the charges will be doubled.

LH: 還沒有付呀！逾期不付會加倍罰款的。 Larry，今年你已經吃了好幾張罰單了， 你平時很少用車，為什么不把它賣掉呢？

LL: Hmm... I like the freedom of having a car, but owning one is pretty expensive in this city. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and sell my car.

LH: 有車是方便， 可是要交停車費、保險費，車壞了還要修理費。 你知道嗎？Ben最近把他的車賣掉了。

LL: Really? You know what else Ben did recently? He finally bit the bullet and asked his girlfriend to marry him! She said yes!

LH: 真的呀？那就是說Ben和他的女朋友要結婚了。這是好事啊， 可你為什么你說He bit the bullet? 為什么要硬著頭皮求婚呢？

LL: No! It's just that a making a marriage proposal takes courage sometimes. I'm sure Ben was nervous. That's why I say he had to bite the bullet.

LH: 那倒是。求婚是要有勇氣的，特別是對Ben這么內向的人來說。

******

(Sounds of indoor court basketball)

LH: Hey， Larry! 沒想到你還會打籃球。

LL: Hey! I've been a part of this recreational league here at the gym for a few months. Years ago I played in high school, but I was just a benchwarmer, really.

LH: 你參加這體育館的球隊已經好幾個月了？ 我怎么不知道呀？ 你說你在中學時只是個benchwarmer，那是什么位置呀？我只知道有前鋒，中鋒和后衛。

LL: (Chuckles) It's not really a position, Li Hua. A benchwarmer is a reserve player on a team. They aren't as good as the starting players, so they have to sit on the bench and wait.

LH: 原來benchwarmer就是我們中國人常說的板凳隊員。 因為他們的技術比較差，入場打球的機會比較少，老坐在板凳上等教練的命令，把板凳都坐暖了。Benchwarmer，這很有意思。

LL: Yeah, well, being a benchwarmer on my high school basketball team was not funny, for me at least. That's why I quit the team after one season.

LH: 這我完全理解。 我以前在大學也參加過藍球隊， 也是老坐板凳，所以不久就退出了。

LL: That's too bad! If I was forced to be a benchwarmer on this team, I'd probably quit too. It's not worth my time if I can't play.

LH: 光坐在那里看而沒機會打球的確不值得。 Larry，你現在差不多每場比賽都參加，球技一定很棒噢。

LL: Heh, not really, this team only has seven players, and everyone always gets a chance to play. No one has to be a benchwarmer on this team.

LH: 你們只有七名隊員，那是沒有人坐板凳了。我也想打籃球，不過我誰都不認識，不知道怎么報名。

LL: Oh, what are you worried about, Li Hua. Just bite the bullet and ask someone about joining!

LH: 好吧，我明天就去問問。

今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是bite the bullet, 意思是硬著頭皮、鼓起勇氣去做不想作或是很難做的事。還有一個是benchwarmer， 意思是指球隊的后備隊員。他們老是坐在板凳上，打球的機會不多。