李华和Larry 在夏威夷渡假，俩人今天坐着帆船出海。今天我们要学两个常
用语：the ropes 和 get the hang of.

    LH： Wow， Larry，我太喜欢坐帆船了。你看，蓝天白云，海天一色，微风
拂面，我好象已经融化在大自然里了。

    LL： Yeah ， this is really great ！ Do you think the captain would
teach me how to sail the boat ？

    LH：你想试试看吗？可是Larry ，这么大一条船，驾驭起来可没那么简单，
肯定不是一下子就能学会的。

    LL： That's OK， Lihua. I don't expect to become an expert in one
day. I just want to learn the ropes a little bit.

    LH： Learn the ropes？你是指如何用这些绳子来控制船帆吗？

    LL： Exactly！ Actually ， when you learn the basic rules of how to
do something， you can say that you learn the ropes.

    LH：哦，the ropes ，就是指最基本的知识和技巧，那你的意思是，不是真
要学会驾驶帆船，只是要了解一些皮毛。

    LL： Right！ Or ， here is another example. When you start a new job
and don't know how to do things ， you should find a more experienced
colleague to teach you the ropes.

    LH：没错，到了一个新的工作单位，是要找个熟悉工作的同事带你入门，给
你介绍一下工作的基本要求和流程。

    LL： So Lihua ， do you like sailing or surfing better？

    LH：坐帆船出海更放松，去海边冲浪更刺激，嗯，我更喜欢冲浪，而且我冲
浪已经入门了，可以自己练习了。

    LL： Right. Once the surfing instructor has shown you the ropes ，
you can practice by yourself.

    LH：今天出来坐帆船算是休息，明天我们加大活动量，去爬山！

    LL： Sure ！ But since we are visitors and don't know anything about
hiking in Hawaii， we should find a local guide to show us the ropes.

    LH： Come on Larry！你的冒险精神都跑到哪里去了？好了，我们还是去找
船长，让他教我们几招show us the ropes ，好不好？

    ******

    两小时后，Larry 和李华回到岸上。

    LH： Wow， Larry，看不出，你还真有两下子，船长教了你一下，你就自己
把船开了回来，真是让我刮目相看。

    LL： Thanks ， Lihua. You weren't nervous when the captain let me
sail the boat ？

    LH：那有什么好紧张的？你的飞车我都敢坐，更别说帆船了，大不了掉到海
里去，反正我会游泳。驾驶帆船难不难？

    LL： Well learning to sail was pretty hard at first ， but after a
little while I got the hang of it.

    LH： You got the hang of it ？这是什么意思啊？

    LL： When you get the hang of something ， that means that you succeed
in learning it.

    LH：哦，我明白了，to get the hang of something，就是学会、掌握的意
思。你是说驾驶帆船虽然并不容易，但是练习一会，就能学会基本技巧。

    LL： Exactly. Or for another example， I could say that John is a
really talented athlete in whatever sport he tries. When I showed him
how to play football， he got the hang of it very quickly.

    LH：就是说John有体育天分，凡是体育项目一教就会，所以没用多久就掌握
了橄榄球的基本技巧。

    LL： Right. So Lihua， you don't think I'm a good driver？

    LH：这么说吧，我倒是觉得在海上开船更安全，地方大，足够你横冲直撞。

    LL： Well driving is hard ！ Remember when I taught you ？ It took
a long time before you started to get the hang of it.

    LH：怎么会，我可是天生的司机，考驾照都是一次通过。对了，Larry ，我
们明天真的要去钓鱼吗？我可从来没钓过鱼，you have to show me the ropes.
你得手把手地教我。

    LL： Sure. Fishing is pretty simple. so I'm sure you won't have problem
getting the hang of it.

    LH：好，如果咱俩明天真能钓到鱼，我保证回去做给你吃。

    LL： That's a great idea. I've never got the hang of how to cook Chinese
food. All the dishes I make taste terrible！

    LH： Right……Larry ，你难道就想不出更好的借口逃避做饭吗？

    LL： Haha …… I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是the ropes ，意思是基本技巧和要领。另
一个是get the hang of ，意思是学会，掌握。