李华和Larry要去朋友家聚餐,俩人正在包饺子。他们会用到两个常用语:keep your shirt on和to walk all over someone。
LH: Larry!你那个饺子里放的馅儿太多了!肯定得破!
Larry: Sorry, Lihua, I’m trying my best here. Look, I’ve already made half a dozen dumplings - see?
LH: 啊?都快半个小时了,你才包了六个饺子?
Larry: Keep your shirt on! You know I’ve never made Chinese dumplings before, Lihua。
LH: Larry, 你在说什么啊?keep my shirt on?我又没脱衣服!
Larry: (Sigh) OK, let’s both relax. What I mean is, try to be more patient. "Keep your shirt on" means "be patient."
LH: "Keep your shirt on"是“耐心点儿”的意思?那好吧,I will try to keep my shirt on。
Larry: And I’ll try to work more quickly. (Pause) Here - is this how to close the dumpling?
LH: 天啊, Larry, 你这个饺子包得太难看了!在包饺子的时候,You need to keep your shirt on, too - 你也得有点耐心,慢慢包!
Larry: Why don’t you help me? The work will go twice as fast - and you can show me how to properly make a Chinese dumpling。
LH: 好吧,听我说。包饺子最怕饺子皮按不紧,我有个笨办法,就是在皮的四周抹上一圈水,然后再按紧。你看,这样,饺子就不会“张嘴”啦!
Larry: Hey, not so fast! How did you do that so quickly? Why can’t I make dumplings like that?
LH: 熟能生巧啊,慢慢练习,keep your shirt on! 不过,今天没时间让你慢慢练了,咱们得快点包,聚餐快开始了!哎?刚才让你烧开水,水开了没有?
Larry: Keep your shirt on, Lihua! It should be boiling in a minute。
(手机铃声响)
LH: 啊呀,来电话催了!(接起电话)喂?... 啊,对不起,还没有做好,就快好了!我知道!好好,对不起了啊,恩,好拜拜。(挂电话)唉!我朋友着急了!
Larry: Geez, she seems really rude! You shouldn’t let her walk all over you like that。
LH: Walk... over me? 什么意思?
Larry: I mean you need to stand up for yourself. To let someone walk all over you means that you are allowing someone to be very rude to you。
LH: 哦,to walk all over someone就是对某人蛮横无理。
Larry: That’s right, and you shouldn’t let your friend walk all over you like that。
LH: 你说得对。不过,这个女生是我师姐,我应该尊重她。她说两句就说两句吧!
Larry: Respecting her and letting her walk all over you are two different things. For example, I definitely need to respect my boss when he tells me I did something wrong. However, if he made me stay late every night at work, that’s walking all over me, and I don’t have to accept that。
LH: 对,要是老板天天让你加班,就没有道理了,明显是在欺负人,你没必要照做。
Larry: Exactly. Respect between two people should be mutual - regardless of how old they are。
LH: 你说得对!哎?水开了没有,咱们快点把饺子做好吧!
Larry: Let’s take our time. I don’t want to hurry just to make your rude friend happy。
LH: 她要是再打电话来催我,我一定会让她keep her shirt on - 耐心点!不过咱们也得加快速度,再包它二十个!
Larry: Keep your shirt on, Lihua! I’ll go as fast as I can!
LH: Larry, 包完饺子你还得赶快去趟中国超市!
Larry: The store? For what?
LH: 买腊八蒜啊!吃饺子哪能没有腊八蒜!另外,你最好再额外买点小菜,点心什么的……
Larry: I’m beginning to think you are walking all over me, too!