脱身妙语 Running Late
Hogan: Hey! William, sorry, I’m running late!
William: That’s OK. What’re you doing?
(showing Hogan Polishing the boss’ shoes)
Hogan: Oh! The boss just wants me to wrap up some business before I leave. Wrap up=to finish
你和女朋友约定在6点见面,可是马上就到点了,你的老板还在没完没了地谈事情,那么这时你要做的就是装作有很重要的事情要做,对老板说:” I’m running late 我要迟到了,然后告诉他: I ‘ve got to go now我得赶紧走了。这样你就可以堂而皇之地赴佳人之约了。或者你就可以直接打电话给你的女朋友: I’m running late,然后问她 Can I meet you in half an hour? 半个小时后再见好吗?
William: It’s almost sunrise.
Dracula: Really?? I’ve gotta get outaa here!
William: Hold on!! It’s your turn!
在你脱不开身的情况下,还有一句话也是非常有用的:I’ve gotta get outta here, 我得离开这里了。这个句子中有很多缩写结构, gotta=got to, outta= out of,在美国口语中,为了说话方便,人们常常把几个音节放在一起说,这是美国口语最鲜明得特征。所以下次聚会时,女朋友打来电话要你去接她下班,你不妨对朋友试试这句话:Sorry, I’ve gotta get outta here. My girlfriend’s waiting for me. 对不起,我得走了,我女朋友在等我呢。
Momma: Eat your breakfast.
Hogan: But I hate runny eggs and milk!
Momma: Sit down and eat or I’m gonna slap you silly!
Hogan: But I’ve gotta catch the bus!!
早晨起床以后,妈妈千叮嘱万嘱咐的要你吃早饭,可是看到早餐又是你最不喜欢的牛奶和鸡蛋,你就想找个借口赶紧脱身。有一个理由是:I’ve gotta catch the bus. 我得赶汽车去了。言下之意就是说:Stop nagging me, I don’t want to eat that! I’d rather leave! 得了,别唠叨了,我不想吃这样得早点,还是先走人吧。正如我们前面所说过的,英语也是一种很形象的语言。比如说这个短语 catch the busy,把公共汽车抓住了,也就是说赶上公共汽车了。是不是很形象啊。
Culture note
Sorry, I’m running late again. But if you go to a big Western city, it will look like everyone’s running late. Like they’re trying to make up for lost time. I know some people in the United States who plan their lives to every single minute of the day. These people, if they have free time, they don’t know what to do with it. They’re so used to being busy.
You know, this yarning to be busy can come from a desire to not waste time. This has positive and negative side effects. On the positive side, you get a lot done, you live a full and productive life. On the negative side, you fell more stressed, you feel more fatigued and your life gets worse instead of better. So if you decide to have a full life, to be every busy, don’t forget to plan things correctly. Plan them well so that you’re not running late. Sorry, I gotta go.
1、I am running late. 我要迟到了。 Can I meet you in half an hour?半小时后再见好吗?
2、I’ve gotta get outta here. 我得离开这儿了。 我得赶紧走了。
3、I’ve gotta catch the bus. 我要去赶公共汽车了。
4、gotta=got to (相当于have to 不得不,必须) wanna=want to gonna=going to

