Larry 跟李華一起去逛商店。李華今天要學兩個常用語，burn a hole in one's
pocket和burned.

    LL： Wow， Li Hua - check out this new flat-screen TV ！ Too bad it's
so expensive！

    LH：是啊，現(xiàn)在物價這么貴，美元又一個勁兒貶值，真不知道還有什么人愿
意買這么貴的電視。

    LL： You're right ， Li Hua. Spending money on things like that can
really burn a hole in your pocket. LH ：什么？把我的口袋燒個洞！這可太
危險了。你說It can burn a hole in my pocket 肯定還有別的意思吧？

    LL： You guessed it ！ The phrase means that an item or expenses such
as bills consume a lot of a person's earnings. LH ：那跟在口袋里燒個洞
有什么關系呢？

    LL： Since money is traditionally carried in our pockets， the saying
'burn a hole in your pocket' symbolizes such high expenses. LH：要這么
說，living in the big city can burn a hole in your pocket.除了電視，還
有房租、電費和食物，光是日�；ㄤN就能在“我的口袋里燒個大洞”。

    LL： Well said， Li Hua ！ If you have the same salary but move to
a more expensive city ， the daily cost of living can burn a much bigger
hole in your pocket than before. LH ：這就是為什么花錢要有計劃，不能想
買什么買什么，否則肯定入不敷出。

    LL： Gas prices have climbed to new highs. I only drive to work twice
a week to save money， because it was really beginning to burn a serious
hole in my pocket. LH ：最近油價確實貴得嚇人，還好我坐地鐵上班，既省錢
又環(huán)保。

    LL： There are so many things that can potentially burn a hole in
your pocket. Expensive habits can really hurt you ， which is why I'm
glad that I quit smoking. LH：是啊，你戒煙一年省的錢夠加好幾箱油的！

    LL： Soaring gas prices and cigarette taxes were burning such a big
hole in my pocket that I basically gave up driving and smoking！

    LH：你知道還有什么花銷最多嗎？

    LL： Let' me guess. Going out to eat！

    LH：沒錯！跟朋友、同事、家人出去吃飯也是一筆不小的開銷。

    ******

    LH：說起現(xiàn)在的開銷。我前兩天出去看房子，才發(fā)現(xiàn)這里的房價原來這么貴！

    LL： It really is ！ Didn't you want to continue renting？

    LH：我本來也是要繼續(xù)租公寓住的，可是，說來話長。

    LL： What happened？ Did you get burned ？

    LH： Get burned ？被燒傷？

    LL： 'Getting burned' is when you commit to something or personally
invest in something with your emotions or money and you basically get
nothing in return.

    LH：噢，getting burned是吃虧的意思啊。那真讓你說著了。我跟另外兩個
人一起簽了約，結果她們最后一刻反悔了。

    LL： Did you put down a deposit ？

    LH：我交了兩個月的租金，其中一半是押金，結果因為違約，押金沒要回來？

    I definitely got burned ！

    LL： That's terrible！ Did the two other roommates have another option，
or did they end up getting burned ， too？

    LH：那兩個人的押金也沒要回來。但是她們決定一起到另外一個地方去租房
子，起碼她們還有個伴兒。

    LL： So ， they kind of burned themselves on violating the terms of
the contract， but you were burned worse because what happened was a result
of their actions and not yours.

    LH：沒錯。她們自己反悔，押金被扣還說得過去，我可是被她們連累的。

    LL： It sounds like you know what 'getting burned' means. Now the
next step is ensuring that it doesn't happen again！ Did you learn any
lessons from getting burned ？

    LH：要說教訓，那就是，下次一定不能輕信別人。這就是為什么我在四處看
房子，我準備咬咬牙，自己買個公寓。

    LL： Well ， it looks like you've got it figured out. Hopefully you
won't burn a hole in your pocket for a price.

    LH：（Laughing）聽上來真滑稽。我為了下次不再吃虧上當，寧可準備傾囊
而出，自己花錢去買個公寓。

    LL： I know. You will probably end up burning a hole in your pocket
so that you don't get burned again. How ironic！

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是burn a hole in one's pocket ，指價
格昂貴。另一個是 burned ，指吃虧上當。