李華告訴Larry 說，她想多賺點錢，買機票回中國探親。李華今天要學兩個
常用語：bread 和nest egg.

    LH： Larry，我想回中國看看我父母。I need to make some more bread.
LL： You need to make more bread？ I know you aren't a baker， Li Hua ，
so you must have learned that bread isslangfor money.

    LH：沒錯。那天我聽一個朋友說，他要跟父母借點錢，因為he was short on
bread ，缺錢花了。

    LL： Well ， Li Hua ， how about you？ Can you borrow some bread from
your parents for a plane ticket home？

    LH：去中國的機票可貴了，我父母可出不起機票錢。要想回家，我唯一的辦
法就是再出去兼一份差。

    LL： Well ， with the Christmas holidays coming up， there will be
many opportunities for you to earn some bread.

    LH：是啊，快過節(jié)了，很多商店都需要人手，找份活兒應該不難。

    LL： I wouldn't think so， but if you do have trouble ， I can always
loan you some bread.

    LH：謝謝你，Larry.但是不到迫不得已，我還是希望自己想辦法。

    LL： Okay ， I understand. So ， Li Hua ， have you thought about
where you might want to work？

    LH：我想到百貨商店去打工，雖然那里的工作沒太大的意思，但是I'd really
only be doing it for the bread. LL： I think a department store is a good
choice for you. Who knows ？ You may even be able to pay for your plane
ticket to China and save a little bread.

    LH：我也是這么希望的。我教中文的工資實在是不多，總覺得錢不夠花。

    LL： Well ， I am very lucky to have my job at the architect's office.
Right now ， I am bringing in a good amount of bread.

    LH：你的錢都花在什么地方呢？

    LL： Well ， I spend a lot on monthly expenses， but I also try to
save some bread every month and ， if possible， invest it.

    LH：投資？看來你還挺有經(jīng)濟頭腦的，Larry.

    ******

    LL： Saving is important， Li Hua. I am trying to build a nest egg
so that I can buy a house some day. LH：你要建一個窩里的蛋？（開玩笑地
說）那你什么時候變成小鳥�。�

    LL：（Laughs） No ， no ， Li Hua. A "Nest Egg" is a term for money
put away in reserve for some special purpose - like getting married ，
buying a house， or retiring. LH：窩里的蛋怎么會指為結(jié)婚買房子存的錢呢？

    LL： Well ， as I understand it ， a "nest egg" was originallya fake
egg placed in a nest to attract birds to lay more eggs. By putting aside
money as a nest egg ， you hope it will grow and make more money. LH：
噢，我明白了，窩里的蛋原來指的是假蛋，放在那里騙家禽多生蛋的，用來指錢，
就好像是中文里說的錢生錢的意思，放在銀行定期存款里就是個辦法。

    LL： Yes， my parents have done this. But ， they have also invested
some of their nest egg in the stock market. LH：投資股市可有風險，我就
聽說過很多老年人投資股市，結(jié)果賠得一干二凈。

    LL： It can be， but my parents aren't investing in the stock market
on their own. They have an investment company that is helping them manage
their nest egg. LH：那就好，等我開始在百貨商店打工了，I hope I'll have
a nest egg， too.

    LL： Well ， I am building a nest egg to someday buy a house - What
about you ， Li Hua ？ What is your nest egg for？

    LH：我先得存點錢應急，萬一哪天車壞了或是生一場大病，手里有錢心里就
踏實多了。

    LL： That's a good plan. My older brother wants to build a nest egg
for his children. LH： Wait a minute， Larry. 你哥哥不是沒孩子嗎？

    LL： You are right， Li Hua ， but he has recently gotten married ，
and he and his wife want to have children. They will need to have a big
nest egg for that ！

    LH：是啊，養(yǎng)孩子真的需要很多錢，特別是大學學費，做父母的確實需要提
前做好準備。

    LL： Yes， they won't just need a chicken-sized nest egg - they'll
need an ostrich-sized nest egg！

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是bread ，指錢。另一個是nest egg，是
存下來的錢。