夏天到了，酷暑难当，李华和Larry 一起去游泳。今天我们要学两个常用语
：few and far between 和take the plunge.

    LH： Larry，这几天怎么这么热啊！每天都有快40度！

    L ： I know ！ I have my air conditioner turned all the way to full
power ， and my apartment still feels really hot.

    LH：华盛顿每年夏天都这么热。

    L ： Even though summers in Washington DC can be hot， summers that
are this hot are few and far between.

    LH：你说这么热的夏天是few and far between ？这是什么意思？

    L ： Something that is few and far between is very rare.

    LH：哦， few and far between就是很少见的意思。你是说，虽然华盛顿的
夏天比较热，但像今年这么热的还是很少见的。

    L ： Right！ Here is another example. Hurricane Katrina caused a lot
of terrible damage in Louisiana. Luckily， hurricanes that big are few
and far between.

    LH：对，像卡特里娜那种威力的飓风也是很少见的。Larry ，你看天气预报
了么？不知道什么时候会下雨，能凉快凉快？

    L ： Not any time soon…… we can have a nice day having fun swimming.
I've been so busy lately that my chances to relax have been few and far
between.

    LH：是啊，你最近好像特别忙。怎么那么多工作啊？

    L ： Well there is a promotion opportunity for a great job at my company.
Chances like this are few and far between ， so I'm working really hard
to get it.

    LH：现在经济不好，能有升职的机会的确不容易，你要好好争取！不过今天
我们还是在游泳池里好好轻松一下吧！咱们去哪个泳池？

    L ： We're not going to the pool. My friend Andy is taking us out
to swim in the ocean on his boat！

    LH：啊？你朋友Andy有船？这么有钱的朋友我怎么一个都没有！

    L ： Well that's true ， friends with boats are few and far between
，so you have to be careful to maintain the friendship.

    LH： Larry，你不会是因为Andy有钱才跟他当朋友的吧？

    L ： Of course not！ But you know ， Lihua， in heat like this， some
friends might be more important than others.

    ******

    Larry 和李华上了Andy的船，准备在海中畅游一番。

    LH： Larry，在游泳之前，我得问问你，这海里到底有没有鲨鱼啊？

    L ： Hmmm …… probably. But to be honest ， right now I am more afraid
of the sun than I am of any sharks.

    LH：你不在乎，我可在乎！我不想成为鲨鱼的下午茶！

    L ： Lihua， I understand that you are a little nervous. But sometimes
you just have to take the plunge.

    LH： Take the plunge？ Plunge ，不是往下跳的意思么？你是说，让我不
管三七二十一，跳进海里就好了？

    L ： Right！ But you know ， you can also say that you "take the plunge"
any time you do something risky or scary.

    LH：哦，take the plunge 就是冒险一试。你是说，虽然我有些害怕，但还
是应该果断地下水？

    L ： Right！ For example， Anthony was really nervous about quitting
his job and switching careers ， but eventually he decided to take the
plunge.

    LH：哦，Anthony 在辞职和改行的问题上一直挺犹豫的，但最后他还是决定
冒险一试。这么说起来，我也有类似的经历，我来美国留学就是这样的！

    L ： Exactly！ I bet it was a big decision to leave China and come
to America， but you decided to take the plunge. Aren't you happy you
did ？

    LH：哈，那可不好说，如果下面有鲨鱼，我被吃了，那我来美国的决定可就
是大错特错了！

    L ： Trust me ， Lihua. The sharks out here are few and far between.
And even if there are any around， I don't think sharks like Chinese food.

    LH：哦？你说鲨鱼不爱吃中餐？不如这样吧，Larry ，你先跳下去，咱们看
看鲨鱼是不是比较爱吃美国饭！

    L ： Well ， let's find out ！ This sun is so hot that I'm willing
to take the plunge. Are you ready ， Lihua？

    LH：好吧！大海，我来啦！

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是few and far between ，表示很少见。另
一是take the plunge ，意思是冒险尝试。