李华正为了完成一项作业而焦头烂额。她和Larry 要用到两个常用语：Do something
till you're blue in the face和run a tight ship.

    Larry ： Hey， Lihua， are you ready to go to dinner？ I'm starving.

    LH：吃饭？我可没心情吃饭。我没想出这作业要怎么写。我们小组的组长肯
定饶不了我！

    Larry ： You've been sitting there for almost four hours！ Let's go
get something to eat， and then you can come back and think about it some
more.

    LH：不行，我发誓，不写出个提纲我就绝食！

    Larry ： Look ， Lihua， if you don't eat anything， you can sit there
and think about your project till you're blue in the face and you still
won't get any good ideas.

    LH：啊？我的脸变成蓝色？这怎么可能？

    Larry ： That's just an expression， Lihua. If you do something till
you're blue in the face ， you're doing something over and over again
for a very long time - and making no progress.

    LH：哦，Do something till you're blue in the face ，就是说反复做一
件事，但一直不成功。你是说我瘪了半天也写不出论文，可还拼命地想。但是，
我不管，我非写出来不可！

    Larry ： But， Lihua， I'm starving ！

    LH： Larry，别嚷嚷了，就算你一直抱怨到you're blue in the face ！我
是不会理你的。

    Larry ： OK ， OK. I get the point. Maybe I can help you. What's the
project about ？

    LH：这就对了！这个作业是美国历史课的。我们小组的每个人都要介绍一个
美国历史人物，可是别的组员都是美国人，他们的历史知识当然比我丰富啊！

    Larry ： Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Why don't you ask
your group for some help？ That would be more productive than sitting
here until you're blue in the face.

    LH：可是，我们组长凶巴巴的，特别不好说话，还让我们明天都要交一份提
纲出来！

    Larry ： Hmm……I think I have an idea， Lihua. Why don't you do your
report on George Washington ！ He was a military leader who ran a very
tight ship in the American Revolution.

    LH： A tight ship ？一艘很紧的船？乔治华盛顿不是美国第一任总统吗？
难道他还在美国独立战争期间当过船长？？

    Larry ： No ， he wasn't the captain of a ship； he was the Commander
in Chief of the entire army ！ And he ran a very tight ship with his soldiers
- meaning ， he was a very strict leader.

    LH：原来如此！ To run a tight ship就是指纪律严明的领导风格，严格管
理。

    Larry ： That's right. He ran such a tight ship ， in fact， that
he was able to lead an army of largely untrained soldiers through a very
harsh winter during the war.

    LH：率领没受过什么训练的士兵在寒冬作战，这可不简单！

    Larry ： Well ， Lihua， a good leader can run a tight ship no matter
how bad the situation is.

    LH： Larry，这倒让想起了我们的组长。她对我们特别严格。

    Larry ： It certainly sounds like your group leader runs quite a tight
ship， but a good leader can command the respect of his soldiers by setting
a good example， not yelling. Without that respect， you could yell until
you're blue in the face and you still wouldn't be able to lead effectively.

    LH：没错！严格管理并不等于每天冲手下人大喊大叫。我们这个小组的组长
人特别厉害，可说实话没什么威信。我真希望下次分到别的组，不要再待在她的
tight ship上。

    Larry ： I hope so， too. Now ， since you have your topic， let's
go eat pizza！

    LH： Pizza？？不行！我在减肥！

    Larry ： Oh ， Lihua， you're so skinny already ！ You could diet
until you're blue in the face and it won't make any difference. Don't
be so hard on yourself！

    LH：啊？你说我已经很瘦了，所以再怎么减肥也不会变更瘦？得了！我现在
比在中国时胖了好多，我要看牢自己的嘴，I'm going to run a tight ship ，
只吃健康食品！

    Larry ： Not another tight ship ！ I think I'm getting sea-sick.

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是 Do something till you're blue in the
face，意思是“重复做某事，但是不成功”。另一个是run a tight ship，意思
是“严格管理”。