李華和Larry 排隊買票看電影。今天我們要學兩個常用語：rope somebody
into something和spot.

    LH：我真是太想看這部電影了，自從Sex and City《欲望都市》電視系列結
束以后，我就一直眼巴巴地等著電影版上映。

    LL： Yes， I remember. I think you were addicted to that show. In
fact， I might even call it an unhealthy obsession.

    LH： Unhealthy obsession？你才病態(tài)呢！你每天都看Oprah 的脫口秀，雷
打不動，居然還說我病態(tài)。不過話說回來，你能陪我看這么女性化的電影，我還
真沒想到。

    LL： Actually ， you didn't have to rope me in at all. I love Sex
and the City even more than Oprah.

    LH：你說的rope you in 是什么意思�。�

    LL： When you rope someone into something ， it means that you convince
them to do something they don't want to do.

    LH：也就是說，如果你本來不想看這個電影，但是經(jīng)不起我軟磨硬泡，最后
只好同意，就是被我rope into it.

    LL： Yup. But even if I didn't want to see this movie ， I would have
gone anyway. I owed you a favor after I roped you into going to the national
Chia Pet convention with me.

    LH：一個人情？我陪你去參加草頭娃娃展覽大會，你至少欠我五個人情。我
到現(xiàn)在都不知道自己為什么會同意干這么傻的事！

    LL： Well what about the time you roped me into house-sitting your
dog ？ I knew that was going to be a bad idea.

    LH：你幫我照看snoopy難道不開心嗎？它那么可愛！

    LL： He would have been more adorable if he were house trained.

    LH：我正在加緊訓練它不要隨地大小便，下星期還要麻煩你照顧它。

    LL： No way ， you're not roping me into that again. But you know ，
you can also use that phrase when you play a trick on somebody.

    LH： Oh really？

    LL： Yes. For example ……Wait a minute. Oh no！ There's a sign that
say Sex and the City is sold out！

    LH： Oh No！我今天晚上看不成一定會急死的。

    LL： Wow. You are really gullible. I can't believe I roped you into
that joke so easily. It's not sold out.

    ******

    LL： Uh oh Lihua， I think I forgot my wallet.

    LH：不會吧？為什么我們每次出來你都“忘記”帶錢包呢？

    LL： I'm sorry. I was just so excited to find out what happens with
Carrie， Samantha ， Charlotte and Miranda that I completely forgot. Can
you spot me ？

    LH： Spot you ？ Spot you 是什么意思�。颗�，我知道了，你一定是在請
求我的原諒。

    LL： Actually ， no. Spotting somebody is like loaning somebody something，
usually money.

    LH：所以你是要跟我借錢買電影票？

    LL： Er …… yes. But I think you owe me that favor. Remember last
week when you were going to the store to buy some Chia Pets and I spotted
you the money ？

    LH：那不算，因為草頭娃娃本來就是買給你的。那你說，spotting somebody
跟picking up the tab意思一樣嗎？

    LL： "Picking up the tab" is usually only used to refer to paying
the bill at a restaurant. "Spotting" is used mostly for small things and
favors. You wouldn't use it for something big.

    LH：你說spot只能用在小事上，那什么樣的事才算小事呢？

    LL： Well ， for example， since my car is broken ， I might need
you to spot me a ride home after the movie.

    LH：你是說我不僅要買票請你看電影，看完電影還要開車送你回家，你這個
男朋友還真挺難伺候的。

    LL： Maybe， but it's worth it. You know， if you want to get really
colloquial， you can also "bum" something off somebody.

    LH：那bum 可以用在什么事情上呢？大事還是小事？

    LL： "Bum" is only for little things. If I smoked and was out of cigarettes，
I could ask to bum a cigarette off someone. But since my only addiction
is gummy bears， I will need to bum a dollar off you to buy some candy
in the theatre.

    LH：什么？你還要買糖吃。你看人家《欲望都市》里的男人多紳士，從來不
讓女人花錢。你得好好學學。

    LL： Well ， you can't believe everything you see on TV ， Lihua.

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是rope somebody into something，意思是
說服某人去干本來不愿意干的事。另一個是spot，意思是借東西，往往是借錢。