開春了，李華和Larry正在商量種花種菜。今天我們要學兩個常用語：apples to oranges和penny pincher。

LH: Larry, 終于等到春天了，你說，咱們該種點什么花呢？是玫瑰還是杜鵑？

LL: No way, those are too much work. Let's plant a cactus so that we only have to water it once every couple weeks.

LH: 什么？就為省事，你居然要種仙人掌？這也太雷人了吧，那還不如一懶到底，堆幾塊石頭，弄個日本枯山水花園算了。

LL: Oh come on, Li Hua. A cactus garden is completely different from a rock garden. You're comparing apples to oranges.

LH: Apples and oranges? 你不是說要種仙人掌嗎？怎么又提到蘋果和桔子呢？

LL: Actually, when you say that someone is comparing apples to oranges, it means he is trying to compare two very different things that aren't the same at all.

LH: 哦，我明白了，to compare apples to oranges意思就是把兩件完全不同的東西拿來相提并論。你是在說，仙人掌花園和日本枯山水花園壓根兒就是兩回事。

LL: Right. Or say your favorite actor is a movie comedian, and my favorite actor only performs in Shakespeare theatre. Comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges.

LH: 就是說，雖然倆人都是演員，可一個是演喜劇電影的，另一個是演莎氏比亞大戲的，兩人沒有可比性。

LL: Exactly!

LH: 可是Larry, 你別忘了，我今天早上把電話借給你用，所以你欠我一個人情，一定要聽我的，種玫瑰，不種仙人掌。

LL: What? Borrowing your phone was just a small favor, but this garden is going to be a big project. You're comparing apples to oranges.

LH: Larry, 你不是最喜歡草頭娃娃嗎？種花也是一樣啊，澆水、上肥，樂在其中，你就當是在養(yǎng)寵物好了！

LL: Li Hua, you're comparing apples to oranges! Plants and pets are totally different things.

LH: 我承認，動物和植物確實有很大差別，可起碼有一點是共同的。

LL: Really? What's that?

LH：它們不會跟我吵嘴啊！

LH: Larry, 要不這樣吧，種什么，咱倆一人挑一半。怎么樣？

LL: That sounds good. I'm going to plant some tomatoes, carrots and blueberries so that this summer I don't have to buy expensive fruits and vegetables at the store.

LH: 對啊，我們可以種菜。沒想到，你還挺會過日子的。

LL: Well you know, Li Hua, in this bad economy we all have to be penny pinchers.

LH: Penny pinchers? 是什么意思啊？

LL: Penny-pinching is being very careful not to waste money. It means that you manage to each penny very carefully.

LH: 哦，penny-pinching就是精打細算，一分錢掰成兩半花的意思。可是Larry, 這種說法是名詞、動詞還是形容詞呢？

LL: It can be any of those. I could call someone a penny pincher. Or, for another example, I could say that Todd really had to pinch every penny after his boss lowered his salary.

LH: 那好，我舉雙手贊成你種菜。這樣你就可以省下很多錢，帶我去吃法國大餐了。

LL: Uh...actually, Li Hua, that reminds me of another phrase. Penny wise, pound foolish.

LH: Penny wise, pound foolish? 這里所說的Pound是英鎊嗎？

LL: That's right. Penny wise, pound foolish means that you are careful to save little bits of money, but then waste large amounts of money.

LH: 噢，就是說在小錢上精打細算，在大錢上大手大腳。小氣鬼，你不會是轉(zhuǎn)彎抹角地拒絕帶我去吃法國大餐吧？

LL: Well, if I saved a little bit of money growing my own vegetables, but then wasted a lot more money on expensive dinner dates, I would be penny wise, pound foolish.

LH: 你不會覺得把錢花在女朋友身上是浪費吧？

LL: Uh... I mean... of course not! It's just that I'm pinching every penny so that I can buy you a really great birthday present!

LH: 生日禮物？我猜，一定是浪漫的“仙人掌花園”。

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是apples to oranges，意思是在風馬牛不相及的兩件事。另一個是penny pincher，意思是精打細算的人。