李華教Larry 做中國飯。今天我們要學兩個常用語：up in smoke 和burst
somebody's bubble.

    LH： Larry，你想學做什么菜，盡管說！我最拿手的是麻婆豆腐，如果你想
學難點的，我可以做你烤北京烤鴨。

    LL： No no， Lihua. I want to learn how to make REAL Chinese food.
You know， like fortune cookies. How do you keep the paper inside from
getting burned in the oven？

    LH：告訴你可別失望，其實中國根本沒有什么fortune cookie幸運簽餅。這
是美國的原創(chuàng)。

    LL： What ？ All these years I've dreamed of going to China to have
a real Chinese fortune cookie ， and you're telling me they don't exist？
All my dreams are going up in smoke ！

    LH： Up in smoke？我還沒燒菜呢，哪來的煙��？

    LL： When you say that something goes up in smoke ， it means that
it disappears or is no longer possible.

    LH：我明白了，up in smoke 是說一件事情希望破滅。換句話說，你想到中
國吃正宗幸運簽餅的夢想已經成了泡影，your dream went up in smoke.

    LL： That's right. Usually you use this expression for something you
have been planning for a long time. For example ， I always wanted to
go to Harvard ， but that dream went up in smoke when I found out how
much it costs.

    LH：你原來夢想去哈佛上學？這我還是第一次聽說。那我一直夢想去巴黎工
作，結果拿不到簽證，也可以說my plan went up in smoke嘍？

    LL： That's right.

    LH：雖說“幸運簽餅”不是中國的產物，可你也不用讓自己去中國的夢想破
滅啊！

    LL： I know ， it's just disappointing. Last week I got a fortune
cookie that told me that all my dreams would come true. I thought it was
a sign from heaven.

    LH：你還真信，簽餅里紙條上的話可不是上蒼的“意思”，而是簽餅公司的
“意思”。

    LL： This is no time for jokes， Lihua. My life has just come tumbling
down around me. No fortune cookies in China ！ Who would have known ？

    LH： Poor Larry.為了不讓你的夢想徹底破滅，我一定毫不保留地把自己的
廚藝全教給你。說吧，你要學什么！

    LL： Well ， I really want to learn how to make the little white boxes
that you put the food in.

    ******

    LL： Wow， Lihua. I can't believe that I made such great Mapo Dofu
on my first try ！ Isn't it great ？

    LH： Yeah ， it's …… umm……可以說是你的獨創(chuàng)。正宗的麻婆豆腐里面
是不放意大利面條和花生醬的。

    LL： Oh c'mon ， Lihua， don't burst my bubble. I think you're just
jealous that I'm such a natural cook.

    LH： Burst your what？

    LL： Burst my bubble. When someone is really excited or confident
about something ， you burst their bubble when you say something to disappoint
them.

    LH：你是說，burst your bubble ，捅破你的肥皂泡，就是讓你希望破滅。
你本來對自己做的麻婆豆腐特驕傲，結果我卻給你潑冷水。So I burst your bubble.

    LL： Exactly. Or for example， I have a friend who really wants to
be a famous singer. I should tell her to give up that dream because she
has a really bad voice， but I don't want to burst her bubble.

    LH：如果你朋友真的沒有唱歌的天份，即使你不去burst her bubble，到頭
來，her plan will go up in smoke，她的夢想最終也會成為泡影。

    LL： That's true.You know ， to thank you for teaching me how to make
Mapo Dofu ， I'm going to teach you how to make my special recipe ： a
deep-fried hot dog topped with chocolate sauce and broccoli.

    LH： I hate to burst your bubble，不過你這個獨家菜還是自己留著享用
吧，油炸熱狗，加上花菜和巧克力醬，聽上去就沒胃口。

    LL： Are you crazy？ It's delicious ！ You know ， I hate to burst
YOUR bubble Lihua ， but I don't think you are such a cooking expert as
you think.

    LH：你怎么說都可以，我本來也沒自稱是什么烹調專家。但起碼我知道，麻
婆豆腐里不能放薯條。

    LL： Well ， maybe we should just agree to disagree.

    LH：不過，火腿肉炒花菜倒可以說是一道中國菜，但是不能放巧克力醬。

    LL： See！ I knew I was a natural Chinese chef. I've been making a
traditional Chinese dish without even knowing it！

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是up in smoke 意思是希望破滅。另一個是
burst somebody's bubble ，意思是打破某人的幻想。