股市最紅火的時候幾乎是全民皆股，可自從去年調(diào)整印花稅以來，股市一直是動蕩不安，被套的股民數(shù)不勝數(shù)。他們見面最常聊的就是“你的股票怎么樣了”？
    Kelly: So, Jim, how has everything been with you? Jim: My stocks are losing a little bit, but it's nothing too serious. Kelly: Of course! Stocks, stocks, stocks...Some things never change! Jim: Yeah. How have you been? Kelly: Good, except for all the counterfeit money my software business has been receiving lately. Jim: Really? Is that a big problem? Kelly: Yeah. So I have to invest in one of those machines that can detect fake bills. Jim: Why didn't you just buy one of those little things with a red light beam? Kelly: Those red beams can't sniff out the high-quality fakes. Jim: Sounds like a big hassle. Kelly: It's a drain on small business - a real sore spot.
    Notes：
    1. 對話中Kelly碰見了 Jim，兩個人在談?wù)摫舜说慕鼪r。詢問近況，可以像對話中的那樣，How has everything been with you? 還可以說How have you been? 或者How is everything going on with you?
    2. Jim說最近自己的股票賠了一點，但是還不太嚴(yán)重。Kelly一聽說股票就不耐煩了，股票，股票，總是股票，真是江山易改，本性難移。Some things never change! 這句話就是說，有些習(xí)慣永遠(yuǎn)改不了，說難聽一點就是狗改不了吃屎。俗話說，牛牽到北京還是牛。這里大多數(shù)時候指的是壞習(xí)慣或者錯誤一犯再犯，所以下次如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)別人死性不改，就可以說這句話還表示你的無奈和*。我們來用一個對話做例子：---I can't believe Tom's late again! ---Well, some things never change. Just give him a call. ---真不敢相信湯姆又遲到了。---狗改不了吃屎，給他打個電話吧。
    3. 那么Kelly最近怎么樣呢？還不錯，就是最近賣電腦軟件總是收到偽鈔，counterfeit money，意思就是偽鈔。Counterfeit，既可以作名詞，也可以作形容詞，表示“偽造的，假冒的；贗品”，比如說，This ten-dollar bill is a counterfeit. 這張10美金的鈔票是偽鈔。
    4. Kelly的問題還挺嚴(yán)重的，她不得不花錢買一臺驗鈔機。這里我們可以看出，偽鈔的另一種說法就是fake bills。Jim問為什么不買一支小小的帶紅光的機器呢？還要破費一大筆錢買一臺驗鈔機。Kelly說那紅光根本沒有辦法測出制作精良的偽鈔。
    5. 聽起來還真?zhèn)X筋。Sounds like a big hassle. hassle 這個詞表示“麻煩”的意思，所以當(dāng)你覺得某事做起來相當(dāng)麻煩，就可以跟對方說這句話，委婉地表示“聽起來真頭痛?！蔽覀冇靡粋€對話來做例子，---Oh, no! I forgot to put in the cables. I have to repack all these parcels. ---Sounds like a hassle. ---噢，不會吧！我忘了把電纜線放進去了，我還得重新打包。---聽起來真是麻煩。 6. sniff sth/sb out 這個詞組表示“發(fā)現(xiàn)某人，找出某人”，例如：They were determined to sniff out the murderer. 他們下定決心一定要找到殺人犯。Kelly抱怨說，小本生意加上金錢損失，實在是讓人傷神啊。Sore spot，指“痛處”，這里是用來形容收到偽鈔的痛苦。
    股市最紅火的時候幾乎是全民皆股，可自從去年調(diào)整印花稅以來，股市一直是動蕩不安，被套的股民數(shù)不勝數(shù)。他們見面最常聊的就是“你的股票怎么樣了”？
    Jim: Speaking of losing money, have you heard from Billy lately?
    Kelly: Not a peep. I haven't seen him since we had dinner together last time.
    Jim: Same here. I know his stocks took a hit, though.
    Kelly: Is it happening all over again - you know, Billy, losing money?
    Jim: Well, I told him to invest in the HSI when it was above fifty-five hundred points.
    Kelly: Over five thousand? Now it's hovering around four!
    Jim: Yeah, that's what worries me... for Billy's sake.
    Notes：
    1. 對話中Kelly 和Jim想起好長時間沒有Billy的消息了。Hear from sb，這個詞組表示“接到某人的來信，電話等”，也就是跟某人聯(lián)系，有某人的消息，比如說，How often do you hear from your sister? 你多長時間收到你姐姐一次信？要跟hear of sb/sth區(qū)分開。Hear of sb表示“聽說過或者知道某人某事物”，比如說，I've never heard of the place. 我從沒聽說過那個地方。
    2. Kelly說，Billy一點消息都沒有。Not a peep. Peep這里的意思是“消息”，那么not a peep的意思就是說“連點消息都沒有”。有人向你問起一個消失了很久的朋友時，你就可以用這句話回答，比如說：---Have you heard from Jimmy recently? --- Not a peep. ---最近有Jimmy的消息嗎？---他一點消息也沒有。Jim也是一樣，他說，Same here. 我們也可以說，Same with me.
    3. 不過Jim知道Billy的股票跌的很慘，take a hit 這個詞組的意思是“受到打擊”。Kelly沒想到Billy在股市上又賠錢了。Jim說他曾經(jīng)告訴Billy在香港恒生指數(shù)還在5，500點以上的時候殺進。HSI 是Hang Seng Index的縮寫，指香港恒生指數(shù)。
    4. 但是現(xiàn)在恒生指數(shù)還在4000點徘徊呢。Billy這次可是賠大了。Hover around 這個詞組表示“在附近盤旋，徘徊”，比如說，She's always hovering around the place annoying people. 她總是在周圍轉(zhuǎn)來轉(zhuǎn)去打擾別人。He hovered around outside, too afraid to go in. 他在外面猶豫徘徊，不敢進去。
    5. 所以Jim很擔(dān)心Billy，for one's sake，表示“因為某人的緣故”。
    Kelly: Hey, Jim. Listen to this: I called Billy's home...
    Jim: And?
    Kelly: His number is no longer in service. Then I called his company...
    Jim: What did they say?
    Kelly: They said they gave him the boot months ago.
    Jim: Holy smokes! What's he doing, then? I hope he's OK.
    Kelly: You know his girlfriend... try giving her a call.
    (A day later.)
    Jim: Guess what, Kelly? Linda and Billy broke up.
    Kelly: Does she know where he is?
    Jim: It sounds like she never wants to hear his name again, that wench!
    Kelly: I thought they were in love.
    Jim: I think she loved his promises of the easy life. Maybe Billy's too ashamed now to contact us.
    Kelly: Let's keep trying his other friends to try to track him down.
     Notes：
    1. 對話中Kelly 和Jim在四處打探Billy的下落，Kelly給Billy家打電話，但是他家的電話已經(jīng)停機了。Be in service 表示“可供使用的”，那么be out of service的意思就是“無法使用的”。
    2. 然后Kelly又給Jim的公司打了電話，但是他們說幾個月前Billy就被解雇了。Give someone the boot這個短語就表示“請某人走路，解雇某人”。一般來說，表示“解雇”這個意義的正式說法是“I was laid off.”
    3. 如果要口語化一點，就是“I was fired.” 或者“I was canned.” 對話中的give someone the boot也可以表示“解雇”這個意義，我們一個對話來做例子，比如說：---Have you heard of it? Tom's given the boot! 你聽說了嗎？湯姆被解雇了。---Wow! It's unbelievable! 哇！真叫人無法想信！
    4. 除了“解雇”這個意思之外，give someone the boot也可以表示“和某人斷絕關(guān)系”，不過這里的關(guān)系通常是指男女關(guān)系。比如說：---Hey, Julie. Where's Peter? I thought he was coming. 嘿，Julie，Peter呢？我以為他也會來呢。---No, I gave him the boot. He was too possessive.沒有，我把他甩了。他的占有欲太強了。
    5. Jim對這個消息感到很吃驚，他說“Holy smokes!”，在口語中表示“天哪！”，跟“Oh, God!”差不多。Kelly讓Jim打電話給Billy的女朋友，問問她知不知道Billy的下落。但是Jim帶回來的消息卻是，Billy和女朋友Linda已經(jīng)分手了。她根本不知道Billy在哪，而且再也不想聽到這個倒霉的人的名字了。Jim很氣憤，說Linda是wench，wench在口語中表示“可惡的女人”，就跟*****差不多。
    6. Kelly還以為他們兩個人是相愛的，沒想到卻大難臨頭各自飛，因為Linda看重的只是Billy承諾的輕松優(yōu)越的生活。愛情事業(yè)都不得意，也許現(xiàn)在Billy沒有臉跟朋友們聯(lián)系了。Too ashamed to do something 表示“感到很羞愧而不能做某事”，比如說：He felt too ashamed to ask for help. 他不好意思請求幫助。
    7. be ashamed of someone / something / oneself，表示“為某人/某事/為自己感到慚愧，感到羞恥”，比如說：You should be ashamed of yourself for telling such lies. 你應(yīng)該為自己說謊而感到羞恥。He felt ashamed of having done so little work. 他因為只做了這么一點工作而感到慚愧。
    8. Kelly還是不放棄希望，要繼續(xù)打探Billy的消息。Track something /someone down，表示“經(jīng)追蹤或搜索而發(fā)現(xiàn)某人或某物”，比如說：I finally tracked down the reference in a dictionary of quotations.
    炒股失敗的，有的甚至傾家蕩產(chǎn)，還欠銀行的錢。Billy 就是一個不幸的倒霉蛋。這里還是要告訴大家：股市有風(fēng)險，入市須謹(jǐn)慎。
    Kelly: You'll never guess what happened!
    Jim: What? Tell me!
    Kelly: You know now I'm looking for a new home?
    Jim: Yeah. You said the housing market is thirty to forty percent lower than two years ago.
    Kelly: Right. Well, the real estate agent took me to see Billy's old place!
    Jim: Wow! He's really hit rock bottom!
    Kelly: Yeah. It was almost creepy to see Billy's pad up for sale!
    Jim: Oh. Something else a friend of Billy's told me...
    Kelly: What's that?
    Jim: The banks are leaning hard on Billy to return some unpaid loans.
    Kelly: Maybe he left the city - or the country - to escape all this pressure.
    Jim: I would too if I had collection agencies breathing down my neck!
    Notes:
    1. 看來Billy真的是夠倒霉的了。Kelly一直在找新房子，因為房市比起兩年前，價錢低了三到四成。但是今天房屋中介帶Kelly去的就是Billy以前住的地方?？磥鞡illy真的是窮途末路了。Hit rock bottom 是“陷入低潮”的意思。這個短語是用來形容一個人正處于人生的“低潮”，也就是low point，心情跌倒谷底。這時候好像做什么事情都不順利，好像一瞬間所有壞運氣都聚集到他身上，就像中文里面的“屋露偏逢連夜雨”。比如說：
    ---Tom's wife left him after he lost his job. Tom丟了工作之后，老婆也離開了他。
    ---Poor guy. He is definitely hit rock bottom.可憐的家伙。真是禍不單行，倒霉透頂。
    ---Don't let yourself hit rock bottom, turn yourself around before it's too late! 別讓自己陷入萬劫不復(fù)的境地，在一切還沒有太晚之前浪子回頭吧。
    ---Thanks for the advice. 多謝你的提醒。
    2. Kelly說看到Billy的房子等著被拍賣實在讓人心底發(fā)毛。Jim還聽說銀行這個時候也在催Billy還一些未付清的貸款。也許Billy已經(jīng)離開這里，甚至潛逃出境，來擺脫所有的壓力。Jim說，如果討債公司死纏著我，我也會這么做。Collection agency 的意思是“討債公司”。
    3. breathe down one's neck 表示“緊盯著某人”，小時候，如果你遲遲沒有交作業(yè)，你的老師會用緊迫盯人的辦法要你立即寫完。Breath down one's neck 正是用來形容這樣的動作，想象一下，如果有人在背后緊盯著你，近到連他的呼吸你都可以感覺到，相信在這樣的壓迫感之下，被盯著的人應(yīng)該馬上就能把該交的東西交出來吧！我們用一個對話來做例子：
    ---Are you coming home soon? 你快要回家了嗎？
    ---I can't. The boss is breathing down my neck for this report. 還不行。老板正盯著我要這份報告。