Larry 的父母最近來大學(xué)看望他。Larry 一直忙著招待他們，今天好不容易
抽空在李華的住處休息一下。李華會學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語：drive someone bonkers
和tightwad.

    LL： I can't believe my family has been here only three days. They
are really making me bonkers！

    LH： Making you bonkers ？Larry ，這個(gè)聽起來可不像是什么好話。

    LL： No ， it isn't. Bonkers means crazy. Even though I love my family，
they have all these annoying habits that drive me bonkers.

    LH：噢， make you bonkers 就是你都快瘋了。這我就不懂了，你很愛你的
父母，這是毫無疑問的�？墒撬麄冇心男┝�(xí)慣會讓你受不了呢？

    LL： Well ， there is my mom. She is a great housekeeper， but when
she comes to my apartment ， she rearranges everything. It drives me bonkers，
because I can't find anything ！

    LH：這我完全理解。你媽是好意，看你屋里太亂，幫你整理整理�？墒菛|西
找不到的時(shí)候可真著急，火氣就上來了。我媽來看我的時(shí)候總是看電視，吵得我
都沒法看書。That drove me bonkers.

    LL： And I bet your mom is the kind of person that would go bonkers
if it was always quiet. She probably likes the noise and activity.

    LH：你說得一點(diǎn)都沒錯(cuò)。我媽是個(gè)很活躍的人，一靜下來她就受不了。

    LL： Then there's my little sister. She drives me bonkers because
she is always complaining that there is nothing to do. She says she is
bored.

    LH：你也別怪你小妹妹，沒事干也是很難受的。我回中國探親的時(shí)候，每天
不是吃飯就是聊天，真是很枯燥，有時(shí)真受不了。 Sometimes， it drove me bonkers，
too.

    LL： Speaking of talking and eating ， my brother is making me bonkers
because he talks endlessly and has eaten up everything in my house！ I've
got to go to the grocery store again.

    LH：噢，你弟弟也一起來啦？他那么愛說話，跟我媽在一起倒不錯(cuò)！（哈，
哈……）不過，年輕人能吃，你當(dāng)然得去超市給他去買吃的了！

    LL： It is okay ， Li Hua. Even though I complain about my family ，
I really do love them. For everything they do that drives me bonkers，
there is something wonderful they do， too.

    LH：我知道，抱怨歸抱怨，但是家人總是親人。盡管他們有讓我們受不了的
地方，但是他們對我們總是出于愛心，為我們作了許多事。

    LL：Li Hua， do I drive you bonkers sometimes ？

    LH：沒有啦！你是個(gè)好朋友。 You never drive me bonkers.

    ******

    LH： Larry，你好像沒有抱怨過你的父親，看來你們家里至少有一個(gè)人沒有
drive you bonkers.

    LL： Oh ， no ， my dad is driving me bonkers ， too. He is such a
tightwad！

    LH：什么？你父親是什么？

    LL： He is a tightwad because he doesn't like to spend money on anything.
He is very stingy with his money.

    LH：噢，tightwad就是小氣，不肯花錢。其實(shí)節(jié)省也不是壞事。

    LL： Yes， but let me give you an example. My dad knows my apartment
is very small ， but he is such a tightwad that he didn't want to spend
money on a hotel.

    LH：這個(gè)例子倒挺能說明問題。你這么一小間屋子，你爸爸媽媽帶著弟弟一
起來擠在你這兒是不太方便。

    LL： That is right. It would have been much more comfortable for them
to have a hotel room， but my dad is too much of a tightwad for that！

    LH：對，他們住在旅館里，大家都舒服多了。這么看，你爸爸是很小氣。不
過，我父母也一樣，他們來美國探親時(shí)總舍不得到餐館去吃飯，說在外面吃太貴。

    LL： My dad is the same way about eating out， too. I hope that when
I have kids I won't be such a tightwad.

    LH：你爸爸也不肯出去吃飯哪！我看你呀，Larry ，有了孩子后絕不會像你
爸爸那樣。其實(shí)，作父母的也不容易，要養(yǎng)家，要供孩子讀書，花銷很大啊。

    LL： That's true. If my dad wasn't such a tightwad about the little
things， maybe he wouldn't have been able to send me to college.

    LH：那到是，要是你爸爸不這么精打細(xì)算，你現(xiàn)在可能還上不了大學(xué)呢。你
的弟弟妹妹也要上大學(xué)的，所以你父親節(jié)約是有道理的。

    LL： You are right， Li Hua. I'll forgive my dad for being a tightwad.But
the rest of my family is still driving me bonkers ！

    今天李華學(xué)到了兩個(gè)常用語。一個(gè)是drive someone bonkers ，意思是令人
生氣，受不了。另一個(gè)常用語是tightwad，意思是小氣鬼、吝嗇鬼。