Part 2 Singing a New Tune

不太受歡迎的同事Ned邀請Louis和McKenzie下班后跟他一起去唱卡拉OK，權衡再三之后，Louis和McKenzie決定接受邀請，嘗試一些新鮮的事物。

McKenzie: Whew! This stuff is hard work. Hey， Louis， do you know what time it is?

Louis: It’s， uh… twelve past three.

McKenzie: Nope. It’s break time!

Louis: Haha， right on time! But… oh， no! Here comes Ned. Quick， look busy.

McKenzie: I don’t think it’ll help… Ned can go on and on for hours， even when nobody’s listening!

Louis: Well， we’ve gotta do SOMEthing… Too late! Here he is!

Ned: Heeeey， you two! Workin’ hard ，or hardly workin’? Ha ha ha!

McKenzie: Hey， Ned. Actually， we’re kind of busy right now， so…

Ned: Doesn’t look like it to me! ①I could hear you two 1)chitchatting from a mile away. So， ②what’s got you two chatting up a storm?

Louis: Nothing much， you know. The usual. Nothing interesting.

Ned: 2)Snore! I’m bored already. ③Sounds like you two could use a little spice in your life.

McKenzie: Actually， I like my life just the way it is…

Smart Sentences

① I could hear you two chitchatting from a mile away. 我大老遠就聽到你們兩個在閑聊。

(from) a mile away: very easily， used at the end of a sentence（輕易地，用在句末）。例如：

His accent is so strong， you can tell he’s from the south a mile away.

他的口音很重，別人很容易就聽出他是南方人。

② What’s got you two chatting up a storm? 有什么事情讓你們兩個聊得那么起勁？

chat / talk up a storm: chat / talk loudly and excitedly（說得熱烈，聊得起勁）。例如：

Whenever we get together， we always chat up a storm.

我們只要是在一塊，就會聊得很起勁。

③ Sounds like you two could use a little spice in your life. 好像你們兩個能在生活中找到一些新鮮刺激。

use a little spice: make sth. more interesting（讓某事更有趣味）。例如：

Ned: Nonsense! Hey， how about you two come on down and 3)chill with me and my 4)homies and sing some karaoke tonight? It’ll be totally rock! Louis: Sounds， uh， fun， but…

Ned: No ifs or buts! I’ll see you two lame-os there!

McKenzie: But…

Louis: And he’s gone.

McKenzie: Kind of feels like a hurricane just swept through. Well， at least we survived. Can you believe he wants us to come and sing karaoke? I didn’t even know we HAD a karaoke bar in this town…

Louis: Well， come to think of it， maybe it’s not such a bad idea…

McKenzie: Oh， no， really? ④Are you seriously considering taking him up on that?

Louis: Well， why not? Remember this morning? We had a whole conversation on how boring our regular lives can be. Why not mix it up a little?

McKenzie: ⑤Let me get this straight: you think going to karaoke with Ned and his “homies” would be better than sitting at home?

Louis: ⑥Nothing ventured， nothing gained， right? Besides， it’s just one night. What’s the worst that could happen?

McKenzie: I can’t believe you’re taking this 5)tack… you know， if you really want to go， then I’ll go with you. ⑦I don’t want to throw you to the wolves.

Louis: Okay， then! It’s settled! Karaoke with Ned tonight.

McKenzie: I just can’t wait…

Maybe we should use a little spice in our boring life. What about taking a Spanish class?

也許我們應該給自己沉悶的生活增加點樂趣，去報個西班牙語班怎么樣？

④ Are you seriously considering taking him up on that? 你真的打算接受他的邀請？

take (sb.) up on (sth.): accept sb.’s offer of sth.（接受某人的邀請等）。例如：

My roommate said I could stay at his place when I go to Tibet during the National Day holiday， and I’ll take him up on that.

我的室友說我國慶假期去西藏時可以住他家，我打算這么做。

⑤ Let me get this straight: you think going to karaoke with Ned and his “homies” would be better than sitting at home? 我先把事情搞明白：你認為跟內德和他的親朋好友一起去唱卡拉OK比待在家里好？

Let me get this straight: an expression used to clarify sth.（用以搞明白某事）。例如：

Let me get this straight: I’m supposed to go there in the morning and not you?

我先把這事兒搞明白。是我要在早上去那兒，而不是你去？

⑥ Nothing ventured， nothing gained. 沒有風險，哪有收獲。

Nothing ventured， nothing gained: If you do not take risks， you will never accomplish anything.（不入虎穴，焉得虎子）。例如：

—Bill， are you sure you want to put money in that?

比爾，你真的要把錢投到那上面去？

—Nothing ventured， nothing gained. I think I should take this chance.

沒有風險，哪能有收獲啊。我覺得我應該抓住這次機會。

⑦ I don’t want to throw you to the wolves. 我不想置你于危難而不顧。

throw sb. to the wolves: abandon sb. to harm（棄某人于危險而不顧）。例如：

Once the investigation started， the boss decided to throw his subordinates to the wolves and leave the mess to them.

調查一開始，老板就決定自己脫身，讓下屬來收拾爛攤子。