李华和Larry 要去打网球，他们会用到两个常用语：shoo-in 和top dog.

    Larry ： Hey， Lihua， are you ready to go？ Where are your tennis
shoes ？

    LH： Sorry， Larry. 今天网球不打了。我得温习功课！我们系里新设立了
奖学金，只有成绩最好的学生才拿得到！

    Larry ： The top student？ Don't worry - you're a shoo-in ！

    LH： Shoe ？ In ？你说我鞋子怎么了？

    Larry ： No no no. Not the shoes that you put on your feet. Shoo is
spelled s-h-o-o. A "shoo-in" is a guaranteed winner.

    LH：哦！ shoo-in就是绝对的赢家，肯定得胜的人。你是说，我不用温习，
也肯定能拿到奖学金？

    Larry ： Yea， exactly. Remember when you tried out for that student
dance group last year ？ I knew you were a shoo-in for the team. You're
such a good dancer！

    LH：真的？！说实话我当时没多少信心！能入选学生舞蹈团真是出乎我的意
料！

    Larry ： Well ， it looks like my prediction was correct - you eventually
made the team ， right？ You should have more confidence in yourself！
You were a shoo-in！

    LH： Thanks Larry ！你还记得么？你找工作的时候，去面试，特别紧张，
可我当时就觉得you were a shoo-in，你肯定能被录取！

    Larry ： Well ， I was hardly a shoo-in for the job. There were a
lot of qualified people vying for that position - I was lucky to get it.

    LH：好啦，Larry ，不要谦虚啦！话说回来。这次奖学金竞争激烈，不光要
看成绩，还要看课外活动和表现，真难啊！

    Larry ： Lihua， you're involved with plenty of extracurricular activities.
Among your classmates ， I'm sure you're a top dog.

    LH： Larry！你怎么说我是狗？

    Larry ： Not a dog - Top dog. "Top dog" means "the best"， you know，
"number one."

    LH：哦？ Top dog是第一名，最棒的人？

    Larry ： Exactly. For instance， my boss is the top dog at my office.
Not only does he have the most experience ， but he also has the ability
to influence the work of his staff. He's definitely a top dog.

    LH：哦，你说你的老板是办公室里最牛的人，他不仅经验丰富，而且能影响
其他的工作人员。不过，Larry ，我可对我的同学没有什么影响力……

    Larry ： Sure you do. I know plenty of your classmates look up to
you. Not only are you a hard worker in class， but you also volunteer
as a math tutor for middle school students at the community center， and
you're a member of the school dance team！

    LH：对啊，我学习努力，还当志愿者给中学生补课，又是舞蹈团成员。经你
这么一说，我也感觉着自己怪不错的！

    Larry ： Haha ！ But seriously， you are the top dog in your class，
and you're definitely a shoo-in for the scholarship. Just show the scholarship
committee how great you are ！

    LH：对，Larry.我现在很有信心，虽然我不敢说I'm a shoo-in for this scholarship，
但是我得奖的机会还是蛮大的！

    Larry ： I'm glad to hear it！ But aren't you forgetting one more
extracurricular activity you can put on your list ？

    LH：啊？什么活动啊？

    Larry ： Playing tennis with the top dog of the tennis court - me ！

    LH：你呀？你才不是网球的top dog ，我自己不是打赢过了你好多次嘛

    Larry ： Oh ， I was just letting you win …… come on， let's go
play！

    LH：对不起啊Larry ，这个奖学金的事确实比网球更重要。我准备好了奖学
金的申请书以后，一定会跟你打网球。我保证！

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是shoo-in ，意思是“绝对的赢家”。另一
个是top dog ，意思是“优胜者，最棒的人”。