李華和Larry 要去健身房鍛練身體。今天我們要學兩個常用語：a slim chance
和 set in stone.

    LH： Larry，咱們好久沒去健身房了，今天總算是行動起來了，怎么樣，高
興嗎？

    L ： I'm excited about getting in shape ， but not about paying gym
membership fees. Why can't we just run outside on the street？

    LH：這你就不懂了！健身房的會員費有一個好處，就是能迫使你堅持鍛練。
你想啊，你總不愿意白交錢吧！

    L ： Well I guess that is true. For most people ， there is a slim
chance they will continue to exercise without some kind of motivation.

    LH： A slim chance？這是什么意思？

    L ： When you don't think that something is likely to occur ， you
can say that there is only a slim chance of it happening.

    LH：哦，就是希望不大的意思。你是說，如果沒有外力推動，大部分人都不
大可能自覺地堅持鍛練。

    L ： Right. For another example ， I decided not to bring an umbrella
today because there is only a slim chance it will rain.

    LH：意思是今天下雨的可能性不大，所以你沒帶傘。Larry ，等到了健身房，
我打算先去跑步機上慢跑半個小時，希望鍛練的人不多，沒把跑步機都占了。

    L ： Most people don't go to the gym right now， so there's only a
slim chance it will be crowded.

    LH：那倒是。對了，你說如果你想用的運動器材都被別人占了，健身房會不
會退你一些錢？

    L ： No way ！ The gym is always trying to get more of your money ，
so there's a fat chance of that happening.

    LH：什么？你說a fat chance？這是不是和a slim chance 相反，表示很有
可能？

    L ： Actually ， it's used the same way. It is a sarcastic way of
saying that something is very unlikely.

    LH：哦，是在說反話啊，還是表示希望不大，不太可能。

    L ： Right. For example ， my friend John is very unreliable. He said
he would help me move this weekend， but there's a fat chance that he
actually comes.

    LH：哦，John這個人說話不靠譜，所以他不太可能來幫你搬家。對了Larry ，
你說健身房會不會給咱們免費提供健身教練啊？

    L ： Fat chance of that ， Lihua. The gym charges you extra for everything！

    LH： Larry，你今天氣兒怎么這么不順！希望咱們明天來鍛練時你能高興點
兒！

    L ： Fat chance of that ， Lihua. I'm sure my muscles will be so sore
tomorrow I won't even be able to walk ！

    ******

    LH： Larry，我要去找跑步機了，你打算干什么？舉杠鈴么？

    L ： Hmmm …… First I'm going to find a McDonalds. I need to eat
something to get some energy for my workout ！

    LH：吃麥當勞？Larry ，你別開玩笑了！吃一堆垃圾食品，你不就白鍛練了
么？想有好身材就得控制飲食！

    L ： Sure ， but there are some exceptions to that rule ， right？
It's not set in stone.

    LH： Set in stone ？這是什么意思？

    L ： You can say that something is set in stone if it is impossible
to change.

    LH：噢，就像中文里說的“板上釘釘”，表示絕對不變。你是說，雖然要保
持身材通常得注意飲食，但這也不是絕對的，也有例外。

    L ： Right. Here's another example. I asked my boss if she could give
me a raise， but she said that because the company wasn't doing well，
my salary was set in stone for this year.

    LH：我明白了，你是說，因為公司效益不好，所以你的工資今年都不會變，
漲工資沒戲了。

    L ： Right. So Lihua， what do you think of this gym？

    LH：還可以吧，不過有些設備有點陳舊，有的員工態(tài)度也不太好。

    L ： Well if you don't like it， we can always change to another gym.
Our decision to come here isn't set in stone.

    LH：我們先試試這家吧。對了，咱們的會員資格也可以升級吧？從普通會員
變成高級會員？

    L ： Sure ！ The membership isn't set in stone. I'm sure you can upgrade
it without much trouble.

    LH：太好了！ Larry，我們制定一個健身計劃，每個禮拜一三五都來鍛練，
怎么樣？

    L ： That sounds good ， but it won't be set in stone. Sometimes I
will have to miss a workout if I have to work late.

    LH： Larry，你就別拿加班當借口了！

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是a slim chance ，表示不太可能。另一個
是set in stone，意思是板上釘釘，絕不改變。