开春了，李华和Larry 正在商量种花种菜。今天我们要学两个常用语：apples
to oranges和penny pincher.

    LH： Larry，终于等到春天了，你说，咱们该种点什么花呢？是玫瑰还是杜
鹃？

    LL： No way ， those are too much work. Let's plant a cactus so that
we only have to water it once every couple weeks.

    LH：什么？就为省事，你居然要种仙人掌？这也太雷人了吧，那还不如一懒
到底，堆几块石头，弄个日本枯山水花园算了。

    LL： Oh come on ， Lihua. A cactus garden is completely different
from a rock garden. You're comparing apples to oranges.

    LH： Apples and oranges ？你不是说要种仙人掌吗？怎么又提到苹果和桔
子呢？

    LL： Actually ， when you say that someone is comparing apples to
oranges ， it means he is trying to compare two very different things
that aren't the same at all.

    LH：哦，我明白了，to compare apples to oranges意思就是把两件完全不
同的东西拿来相提并论。你是在说，仙人掌花园和日本枯山水花园压根儿就是两
回事。

    LL： Right. Or say your favorite actor is a movie comedian， and my
favorite actor only performs in Shakespeare theatre. Comparing the two
would be like comparing apples to oranges.

    LH：就是说，虽然俩人都是演员，可一个是演喜剧电影的，另一个是演莎氏
比亚大戏的，两人没有可比性。

    LL： Exactly！

    LH：可是Larry ，你别忘了，我今天早上把电话借给你用，所以你欠我一个
人情，一定要听我的，种玫瑰，不种仙人掌。

    LL： What ？ Borrowing your phone was just a small favor， but this
garden is going to be a big project. You're comparing apples to oranges.

    LH： Larry，你不是最喜欢草头娃娃吗？种花也是一样啊，浇水、上肥，乐
在其中，你就当是在养宠物好了！

    LL： Lihua， you're comparing apples to oranges ！ Plants and pets
are totally different things.

    LH：我承认，动物和植物确实有很大差别，可起码有一点是共同的。

    LL： Really ？ What's that？

    LH：它们不会跟我吵嘴啊！

    ******

    LH： Larry，要不这样吧，种什么，咱俩一人挑一半。怎么样？

    LL： That sounds good. I'm going to plant some tomatoes ， carrots
and blueberries so that this summer I don't have to buy expensive fruits
and vegetables at the store.

    LH：对啊，我们可以种菜。没想到，你还挺会过日子的。

    LL： Well you know， Lihua， in this bad economy we all have to be
penny pinchers.

    LH： Penny pinchers ？是什么意思啊？

    LL： Penny-pinching is being very careful not to waste money. It means
that you manage to each penny very carefully.

    LH：哦，penny-pinching就是精打细算，一分钱掰成两半花的意思。可是Larry，
这种说法是名词、动词还是形容词呢？

    LL： It can be any of those. I could call someone a penny pincher.
Or， for another example， I could say that Todd really had to pinch every
penny after his boss lowered his salary.

    LH：那好，我举双手赞成你种菜。这样你就可以省下很多钱，带我去吃法国
大餐了。

    LL： Uh ……actually， Lihua， that reminds me of another phrase.
Penny wise， pound foolish.

    LH： Penny wise ， pound foolish？这里所说的Pound 是英镑吗？

    LL： That's right. Penny wise ， pound foolish means that you are
careful to save little bits of money， but then waste large amounts of
money.

    LH：噢，就是说在小钱上精打细算，在大钱上大手大脚。小气鬼，你不会是
转弯抹角地拒绝带我去吃法国大餐吧？

    LL： Well ， if I saved a little bit of money growing my own vegetables，
but then wasted a lot more money on expensive dinner dates， I would be
penny wise， pound foolish.

    LH：你不会觉得把钱花在女朋友身上是浪费吧？

    LL： Uh …… I mean …… of course not！ It's just that I'm pinching
every penny so that I can buy you a really great birthday present ！

    LH：生日礼物？我猜，一定是浪漫的“仙人掌花园”。

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是apples to oranges ，意思是在风马牛不
相及的两件事。另一个是penny pincher ，意思是精打细算的人。