Anyhow
Did you ever have nightmares about going to school dressed only in a vest that was too short anyway.
你做过这样的噩梦吗?只穿着一件特别短的小背心就来到了学校。
注:肯定没做作业。
Home is where you can say anything you like 'cause nobody listens to you anyway.
家是你想说什么就说什么的地方,因为反正也没人听。
注:前半句说明家是自由的港湾,你可以发泄倾诉,后半句说在家里没人搭理你。
Big sister: Eat your spinach. It will put color in your cheeks.
Little sister: Who wants green cheeks anyway?
姐姐:吃点儿菠菜,你气色会变好(在脸上添颜色)。
妹妹:谁想要绿脸呢?
注:Put color: 使人气色变好。妹妹怕吃菠菜多了脸都边绿了。
I don’t believe in an afterlife, but I’m still bringing a change of underwear anyway.
我不相信有来生,但我还是准备带上换洗的内裤。
注:以防万一。如果真有天堂或地狱,等到了那儿,没有换洗的衣服多不方便呀。
Apart
Sex brought us together, but gender drove us apart.
性使我们走到了一起,但性别又把我们分开。
注:两性相吸,男女走到一起,但男女性格的差异又使他们分开。
How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
两车相撞时离得有多远?
注:在法庭上律师严肃地问询问证人。
Apart from a few odd words in Hebrew, I took it for granted that God had never spoken anything but the most dignified[尊贵] English.
除了几句奇怪的希伯莱文,我想当然地认为上帝除了最尊贵的英语以外从没有说过其他语言。
注:如果美国人的上帝说英语,中国人的上帝说中文,他们谁也不想学对方的语言,他们怎么交流呀?
Apartment
All my friends in Paris seemed very happy when I was leaving. To them they were not losing a friend but gaining an apartment.
当我要离开时,我所有在巴黎的朋友好象都很高兴,对他们来说他们一个朋友也没有失去,但却得到了一套公寓。
注:他要暂时离开半年,有套单元房留给朋友们住,朋友们很高兴,他们的友谊得以继续。
I really enjoy camping, especially since I don’t have enough money to buy an apartment.
我喜欢野营,特别是因为我没有足够的钱买房子。
注:他不是喜欢野营,他是没钱买房子,被逼无奈才住在帐篷里。
We’re lucky we have an apartment. If we lived in our car, we'd be home by now.
幸运地是我们还有房子住,我们如果住在汽车里,现在就到家里了。
注:你爸爸在车里抱怨交通拥堵,你这么劝他。
注:应该乐观地看问题。
Apologize
Worn-out baby-sitter to returning parents: Don’t apologize for being late. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to come home either.
疲惫的临时保姆对回来的父母说:别因为回来晚了向我道歉,换了我也不着急回家。
注:小孩儿把他(她)折磨得筋疲力尽了。
场景再现:有些人做错事儿,道歉,接着再做错事儿,再道歉,养成了道歉的习惯,后来没做错事儿时也会习惯性道歉。
She was the type that would wake up in the morning and immediately start apologizing.
她是这么一种人,早上醒来会立刻开始道歉。
I apologize for saying your parents were degenerates.
我说你父母堕落,我向你道歉。
注:表面上是道歉,其实又说了一遍“你父母堕落”。道歉不是因为说错了,而是因为说了出来。
场景再现:夫妻间特别有礼貌,为了一点儿小事儿相互道歉,妻子实在不耐烦了,用手枪指着丈夫的头说:
I’m sorry, but someone has to put a stop to this endless cycle of apologizing.
对不起,但是有人必须结束这场无休止的道歉。
If an Englishman gets run down by a truck, he apologizes to the truck.
如果一个英国人被一辆卡车撞倒,他向卡车道歉。
注:英国人非常绅士,被卡车撞了以后还彬彬有礼地冲卡车道歉。
She was the type who would wake up in the morning and immediately start apologizing.
她是那类早上醒来会立刻开始道歉的人。
I have made the habit of apologizing.
我已经养成了道歉的习惯。
场景再现:这也是一种幽默技巧,你可以无由头地对你的同学说:
Apologize now,, it will save time.
开始道歉吧, 那样会节省时间。
Apology
Never make a defense or apology before you are accused.
被起诉前千万不要辩护或道歉。
注:律师最不希望人们有了点儿小摩擦就道歉了,他们希望人们都走上法庭。
Apparent
I brake for no apparent reason.
我没有明显的理由就刹车。
注:汽车标贴。如果你看到前面汽车上贴着这样的标贴,最好离它远点儿,这开车的没准就是个愣头青。
Bishops tend to live long lives ---- apparently the Lord is not all that keen for them to join Him.
主教们总能长寿——很明显上帝不太想和他们在一起。
注:“上帝让谁长寿就是不想和谁在一起”是个有趣的思维角度。
Appeal
Junior lawyer: Justice has triumphed!
Senior partner: Appeal at once!
年轻律师:正义胜利了!
资深律师合伙人:立即上诉!
注:干了很多年律师已经养成了职业习惯,一听见别人胜利了,马上就要上诉。
Every man wants a woman to appeal to his better side, his nobler instincts and his higher nature --- and another woman to help him forget them.
每个男人都想要一个女人迎合他好的一面:显示他高尚的本能和高贵的天性——需要另一个女人帮助他忘掉这一切。
注:讽刺一些道貌岸然的人。
I’m kind of like the Supreme Court ……No appeal!
我象是最高法院一样。……没有吸引力。
注:appeal吸引力;上诉。最高法院审理的案子没地方再上诉了。一个女人这样调侃自己。
The White House has great popular appeal, a number of families have expressed a desire to set in at anytime --- the Goldwaters, the Nixon, the Regons, and many others.
白宫具有很大的吸引力,很多家庭都表达了随时搬进去的愿望——Goldwater家,尼克松家,里根家
注:中南海地处市中心,交通便利,很多人想买那儿的房子。
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