(1)This is the Williamsburg diner,owned by Han Lee, who just changed his name to Bryce Lee. Because I guess he wants people to take him even less seriously.Eight months ago he bought it from the Russian mob. Clientele used to be all eastern bloc criminals and crack whores, but then he took it over and ruined it.
这是威廉堡餐厅,老板是韩·李,这货刚改名叫李小笼,是个不当笑柄就受不了的主儿。八个月前他从俄国黑帮那接手这家餐厅,过去顾客多半是东欧小混混、吸毒的妓女。他接手之后,这些客人都跑光了。
这是Max和Caroline初次见面,Max向她介绍餐厅的对白。”Take sb./sth. seriously”表示对某人或某物的重视和关注。Max的老板因为身材矮小不受关注,常常做各种不能理解的蠢事来引人注目,也因此常被Max挖苦。”Mob”指“暴民、黑帮”。Clientele和client一般意义上均指“客户,当事人、委托人”,主要区别是前者比较正式一般是上流社会的人使用。后者比较随意。Max在Caroline面前用clientele是讽刺她的上流社会出身。“Eastern bloc”直译为“东方集团”,借指来自东欧的小混混,反映了美国对东欧一贯的敌视。“Crack whores”,美俚里有个表达“be on crack”,意指吸毒。
(2)Is that annoying? Is that obnoxious and rude? Would you find it distracting if someone did that to you while you were working? Oh, you don’t have a job, sorry.
你不爽吗?觉得对方欠扁又无礼吗?你工作是有人这么着(打响指)你会觉得烦吗?哦,不对,你连工作都没有,抱歉。
obnoxious: 令人讨厌的,可恨的。Max在这里形容顾客打响指使唤她的行为。
He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。
(3)You have tattoos to piss off your dad. My dad doesn’t know he’s my dad.你的纹身是想气死你爹,我爹压根不知他是我爹。
“Piss off”是个非常常见的俚语,一般有两种用法:
主动式:Don’t piss me off.别惹我。
被动式:He got pissed off by the endless complaint.他被无休止的牢骚惹怒了。
Max经常喜欢拿自己素未谋面的老爸吐槽,当然这也是她一直的心结。来自地下阶层、从小缺乏家庭温暖,被迫自力更生。毒舌、爱挖苦成为她的求生技能,隐藏内心的脆弱和不安:
I don’t cry. I sold my tear ducts to an organ bank for cash two years ago.我才不会哭,我早在两年前就把泪腺卖给器官银行换钱了。
(1)(Refering to Manhattan)She’s a bitch. Always shoving her stuff in your face.you can never have it. (曼哈顿)是个贱货。总是把她美好的一面展现在你面前,你却无法企及。
shove指“push in a rush or careless way”,意思和push差不多但动作更粗鲁一点,可译成“推,挤,乱塞”。shove有很多非正式用法,有个常用的俚语“shove (someone or something) down someone’s throat”,直译指“把某物硬塞到某人
喉咙里”,意指强迫某人接受某物。例如:Mary isn’t invited to my party, and I don’t wish for anyone to shove her down my throat! 我不会邀请玛丽参加我的派对。谁也别想让我鸟她!
(2)You are a bartender who’s close to liquor all night and you are not an alcoholic.So clearly you don’t know how to seize an opportunity.你只是个整晚守着酒的酒保,而且你还不酗酒。显然你不是懂得把握机会的人。
alcoholic,酗酒者,酒鬼。-holic是个英语词根,意为过分沉迷于某事,无法自拔。作为词根不单独使用,一般作为形容词词尾。如:workaholic 工作狂,shopaholic购物狂,teleholic 电视狂。
(3)I guess I am your BFF.Broke Friend Forever. 我还以为我是你的BFF(原指Best Friend Forever永远最好的朋友),永远破产的朋友。
英语口语中非常喜欢用缩略语,尤其是年轻人的潮语里,很多美剧都反映了这一现象。例如:FYI(for your information),通知你,告诉你一下
You’re wasting your time with that. Just FYI.这件事你完全是在浪费时间。
(1)slippery slope 走下坡路;滑坡理论
MAX: Look, why don’t you just take some of our cupcake business savings and go to a good dentist office. You know, one where you won’t get a staph infection just from looking at the floor.
你可以从我们的蛋糕基金里拿点钱,找家正常点的牙科诊所,不会因为看了眼地板就感染上传染病。 (staph: 葡萄球菌;infection:n.感染,传染)
CAROLINE: No, we can’t do that. That’s our future. Once we start doing that, it’s a slippery slope.
不行,不能动基金的钱。那是我们的未来。一旦开始拿了,就难以回头了。
slippery slope 表示走下坡路;滑坡理论,可用于英语写作的辩证分析中,表示一旦开始了某一种行为,会导致事件不可抑止地往坏处发展,或单纯表达某事物处于“走下坡”
的衰退状态。如:
What can be done to help people escape from the slippery slope of poor health, poor education and deprivation? 我们应该做什么来帮助那些健康走下坡路、教育程度低和贫困的人呢?
Now the automobile crisis. There is no doubt that we are going to government intervention everywhere, government ownership [that is] unprecedented in this country. It is a slippery slope. 无庸置疑的是,政府介入方方面面,这种国家所有的状况是前所未有的,这是走下坡。
(2)get hooked 上钩
MAX: Earl, I have something new I want you to try.
Earl, 我有个新东西想让你尝尝。
EARL: That’s the exact same sentence that got me hooked on cocaine in the 80s.
80年代我就是被这样一句话引诱迷上可卡因的。
hook可作名词表示挂钩、鱼钩;动词可作“钩住”的意思。get hooked:上钩、被吸引、被迷住。get hooked on sth 被某事迷住了。如:
For example, a Chinese e-book is free at first, but once you read half of it and
get hooked, you have to pay a nominal charge per thousand words. 比如,电子图书在最初是免费的,但是当你读到半截时上了钩,你就不得不按每千字计算支付通常所需要的费用。
(3)get/be screwed 糟糕了,玩完了
You are screwed.
你玩完了
screwed,意思是“玩儿完了;完蛋了;在美语口语中非常常见。screw作名词是“螺丝钉”,作动词有“旋紧;拧紧”之意。作名词单用还可以委婉地替代某F开头的四字词语,“screw you”表示“去死吧,给我滚蛋”。
(1)
Sophie: No, you’re never gonna win, Max.
MAX,你永远都不可能赢的
Max: You know, when I was born, the doctors tried to pry my dead twin sister from my hands, but I never let go. She was my first doll.
你知道吗,我出生时医生想把我死去的双胞胎妹妹从我手里撬出来。但我就是不放手,她是我的第一个洋娃娃。
let go放开;释放;发射。有个常用的表达是let it go,有“由他去,放下”的意思,有“顺其自然”的意味。
(2)
Max: Han, you can’t let your mommy keep bullying you. Stand up to her. You’re a
53-year-old man.
你不能总让你老妈这么欺负你。要勇敢反抗,你都是个53岁的男人了。
Han: Max, I am 29.
Max,我才29岁。
bully作名词表示欺凌弱小者,作动词可作“威吓、欺负”解。stand up to sth/sb 表示“经得起;抵抗;勇敢地面对”,如:to stand up to death
勇敢地面对死亡
也有延伸作“可与xxx相比较”,例如:Somebody said that my short novels could stand up to Mark Twain’s.有人说我的短篇小说可以和马克吐温的媲美。
(3)
M: Crew necks are for squares and Mormons.
圆领衫是给”飞机场”(平胸女)和摩门教徒穿的。
C: Oh, cute! Should we do mine?
太棒了! 给我也来一件吧?
M:I don’t know. If you have no car, why open the garage?
我真不明白,你明明就没有车,买车房干嘛啊?
crew neck:水手领。MAX在这里用“车房”的比喻是挖苦CAROLINE胸小。square是“广场”,在形容女性身材时的作用和“飞机场”是一个概念。
(4)
M: I can’t believe you masking taped the shoe to your leg.
有没有搞错,你竟然用胶带包鞋子。
C: I know but these are Christian Louboutins aneven all busted up like this they
still have the classic red bottoms.
我知啊,但这鞋子可是Louboutin啊(名牌鞋以红鞋底著称)。虽然它已经被整得面目全非但这经典的红鞋底仍在。
M: You know what else has red bottoms? baboons.
你知道还有什么是”红底”的吗?狒狒屁股。
baboon:狒狒。bottom有多个意思,底部、底端、屁股等等。MAX在这里玩文字游戏,借此又毒舌了一番。
(1)
They were out of business and I left a note.
他们停业了。我给他们留了张纸条。
What did it say? “I’m loco, gracias.”
上面写的是啥?“我是个疯子,谢了。”
No, I said,” Sorry I took your roof. Hang in there.”
不,我写的是:抱歉我拿走了你们的房顶,撑着点。
loco: adj. 美国西部俚语,意同crazy,发疯,发狂。gracias: 西班牙语的“谢谢”。
英文中表示海报或通知内容都写了些什么,一般用say和read表示,不用write。如:
At the entrance there is a sign which reads:“No Admittance —keep out!”在入口处有一个牌子,上面写着“严禁入内!”
(2)
Max找到个了可以赚很多钱的活儿:做卵子捐献者
Check it. Egg doners needed.
需卵子捐献者。
Ten to twenty grand.
酬劳一到两万。
Grand单复数同形,做钱的数量词:一千。口语,可以指一千美元;一千英镑等。例如:
It will cost you five grand! 这要花掉你5000块钱呢!
(3)
You should totally go for the hot guy.
你真该去追那个帅哥
Or you can go for him.
或你去追他。
Let’s think about this. He’s clean and not a drug addict. So, he’s more my type.
我们看看哈,他干净整齐又不吸毒,更该是我的菜。
Go For 努力争取,试图获得。my type,适合我的类型,口语中常常用来表示“我的菜”。如:
You are not my type.你不是我喜欢的类型(不是我的菜)。
(4)
Max, honestly, I mean, I use those stupid emojis to buy time to figure out what I wanted to say.
Max,说实在的,我发的那些愚蠢的表情符号是为了拖延时间想好我想对他说的话。
地道表达Buy Time: 争取/赢得/拖延时间
(1)
Well, I’m still holding out hope we’re in this, even though I’ve been hurt two months in a row.
我仍抱着希望我们会上杂志,尽管已经连续2个月失望了。
Hold Out Hope(在不利情况下仍)对…抱希望/存有希望/寄予希望;in a row,连续,成一长行。
(2)
And I found all kinds of opportunities to make some cash.
我找到了许多赚钱的机会。
I’m fighting the instinct to weep. But keep going.
我强忍着要哭的冲动,你继续说。
At first I thought I might call pit pig.
首先,我找到了一个可叫作“闻香师”的活儿。
He just wants his armpits smelled. But that’s like 1000 sniffs.
他想让别人闻他的腋下,但大概得闻1000次。
Big commitment.
代价真不小啊。
armpit名词,腋窝; sniff动词,闻、嗅;Commitment n. 除了有熟悉的“承诺,许诺”之意外,还有“献身,奉献,投入”的意思。the willingness to work hard and give your energy and time to a job or an activity.
(3
)I went out with a guy last night. Asked me if we could go Dutch.
我昨天和一个男的约会,但他竟然问我咱能不能AA制。
go Dutch:AA制,关于这种付款方法的来源,百度是这么说的:16~17世纪时的荷兰和威尼斯,是海上商品贸易和早期资源共享本主义的发迹之地。终日奔波的意大利、荷兰商人们已衍生出聚时交流信息、散时各付资费的习俗来。因为商人的流动性很强,一个人请别人的客,被请的人说不定这辈子再也碰不到了,为了大家不吃亏,彼此分摊便是最好的选择了。而荷兰人因其精明、凡事都要分清楚,逐渐形成了let’s go dutch(让我们做荷兰人)的俗语。
(4)
Oh, Caroline. I never noticed you had a club foot. I would have set you up with my brother.
Caroline. 我之前从没发现你有只畸形足。不然我差点就把你和我弟弟配对了。
Set sb up with sb 牵红线,牵线搭桥
(1)
M: Don’t get any ideas.
你想都不要想。
众人在餐馆看见一位年轻母亲给6、7岁的孩子哺乳而张口结舌,Han说孩子都有他高了,然后一转头不小心盯住了Max的胸部……Don’t get any ideas.直译过来是“不要有任何想法”,口语中常常用来打消别人的坏念头或者提醒、警告别人,表示“不要打什么歪主意、馊主意”。如:
Once you get out safely, stay out. Don’t get any lame ideas about saving your high school yearbook. 安全逃出后,请留在外面,千万不要有回到火场抢救高中同学录的荒谬想法。
And don’t get any ideas. That money is staying in the very successful lock box. We’re not touching it. 千万别打任何坏主意,因为这些钱被完好地保存在一个非常安全的保险箱里。我们都动不了。
(2)
C: No, Daddy. I haven’t given it a second thought…I am not at all emotional about this.
放心,老爸。这事儿我想都没多想。我的心情完全不受影响。
M: Thank God it is not flip-flop Friday.
幸好今天不是周五拖鞋上班日。
Caroline和老爸在电话中谈论自己家产被拍卖的事情,故作潇洒说不在乎,事实上已经怒得开始烧东西了。
give it a second thought,左思右想,再三考虑。如:
Funny as the picture is at the first sight, the meaning behind it is far-reaching when we give it a second thought. 虽然第一眼看到图画的时候觉得很搞笑,但是当我们再想想的时候会发现图画很有意义。
flip-flop Friday:flip-flop在美语中指人字拖。有些外国企业为了让办公室气氛活跃起来,会在周一到周五的工作日里安排一些不用穿工作服的主题日,“周五拖鞋上班日
(flip-flop Friday)”就是其中一例。同理还有睡衣上班日、便装上班日等等。
(3)
M:I used to hide my stash in my mother’s bowling trophy.And you’re telling me the man who invented a way to defraud most of New York isn’t as clever as a stoned 12-year-old with a butter knife?
我以前也把大麻藏在我妈的保龄球奖杯底座。你觉得一个能够想出方法来骗尽大半个纽约的天才想不到十二岁嗑药妹子就能想出的法子吗?
MAX陪CAROLINE去狱中探望她的父亲MARTIN。MARTIN让MAX一定要帮女儿在家产拍卖会里买回马术奖杯。MAX认为肯定是因为奖杯里藏了钱,说服CAROLINE去拍卖会夺回奖杯。
stash,藏匿物,一般是不合法物品;defraud,欺骗、诈骗;stoned,;12-year-old,12岁的孩子,一般用连字符连接的话不用加s:She is 12 years old.= She is a 12-year-old.
(1)
Earl: Well, it’s a joke. Take it easy there, fun size.
开玩笑嘛,别那么紧张,小不点。
Han, take no offense. He’s just pulling your leg a little.
别生气啊,Han。他就是开个小玩笑。
EARL的儿子开玩笑冒犯到了HAN,触到了HAN的痛处(身高……)。
Take offense,因被冒犯而感到生气,如:People of the kind who take offence where no offence is meant also tend to cultivate hatred of anyone better adjusted.
有些人就是会对那些没招惹他的人生气,对那些比他好的人产生敌意。
Pull One’s Leg:开某人玩笑,愚弄某人,不要理解成”拖后腿“,不然就Chinglish了。如:Don’t worry. I’m just pulling your leg. 别担心,我只是和你开个玩笑而已。
(2)
HAN:Caroline, you know I’m not one to gossip. But just about 30 seconds ago, I saw Max drop some major attitude and blow a chance with a possible cupcake customer.
Caroline,你知道我不喜欢说闲话的。但半分钟前我见到MAX又耍脾气,赶走了一个小蛋糕的潜在客户。
Han在餐厅见到MAX在推销自己的小蛋糕时耍性格,向CAROLINE打小报告。Blow a chance,意为“失去机会、机会告吹”,还有miss a chance, lose a chance等。 Blow除了作动词表示“吹气、风吹”,作名词还有“打击、殴打”的意思,如:
The blow on his head stunned him for a moment. 击在他头上的一拳使他有一阵儿昏了过去。
The change is yet another blow to the newspaper industry. 对于美国报业而言,这种变化又是一大打击。
(3)
MAX:Now give me my phone. Ok, take it, done. I’m over her.
把我的电话也给我。算了,你拿去吧。我看开了。
MAX在苦苦等待家政女王的电话,启动自己的小蛋糕事业。但是对方迟迟不来电话,MAX苦恼不已又故作潇洒。Be over sb指”对某人某事已看开、不在乎“了;对某人某事感到释然。如: I’m over you. 我已经不在乎你了。(一般用在描述分手男女之间)
注意区分: I’m all over you. 我对你非常着迷。
(1)
Han: You don’t have to learn it, Max. The machine will help you.
你不需要特地去学用这些系统,它们很能帮忙的。
M: That’s how it started with machines in The Matrix. Next thing you know, the human race was enslaved.
《黑客帝国》里的机器一开始也是那样啊,结果人类很快就变成了电脑的奴隶。
Earl: Been there, done there. I’m with Max.
我亲身体验过了,我支持MAX.
Han: We are doing it. It’s important to move the business into the future. So get with it, you Luddites.
不行也得行,让生意与未来接轨是十分重要的。慢慢习惯吧, 卢德份子们。
HAN宣布要将餐馆的点餐系统智能化,MAX等人表示不赞成。
enslave,使沦为奴隶、被征服、被受控制;human race,所有存活的人类,表示“人、人类”的同义词还有mankind , humanity , people , human beings等。Luddites,勒德派成员;勒德分子(英国1811年~1816年间以捣毁机器等手段反对资本家压迫的人),可作名词也可作形容词,表示“强烈反对机械化和自动化的人;设法阻碍技术进步的人”;Get with it,美俚,表示“快点、赶上时髦、赶快做该做的事”,如:
Please! Cell phones are a necessity nowadays. Get with it. 拜托! 现在手机是必需品。你跟上一点好不好?
(2)
Max: There is no luck. There is only work.And right now, you’re working my last nerve.
这世界上不靠运气。努力才是硬道理。可你现在快让我忍无可忍了。
CAROLINE因为幸运珍珠项链断掉了变得很沮丧,对未来失去信心。MAX想方设法安慰她。You’re working my last nerve表示“你快让我忍无可忍了”,类似于“get on my nerve”,在美俚中是“把我惹毛”的意思。nerve作名词指“神经、勇气”。
(3)
CAROLINE:Why are you carrying a spray-paint in your purse?
你怎么在手提包里还带了支喷漆?
MAX: For the same reason I carry a tampon, ’cause you never know.
这和我随身携带卫生棉条是一个道理,以备不时之需嘛。
两姐妹在大楼里看见一台小蛋糕自动售卖机,MAX邪恶地掏出喷漆想去搞破坏。spray-paint:喷漆;tampon:(女士)卫生用品、卫生棉条
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