李华正在帮Larry 为面试做准备。今天我们要学两个常用语：shot in the
arm 和off the cuff.

    LH： Larry，明天早上求职面试，你现在心里是不是特别激动？

    LL： Actually ， I'm pretty nervous about this job interview. I really
want to work at this company， so I need to make a good impression.

    LH：别紧张，你一定没问题。再说了，不录用你是他们的损失，象你这么出
色的人才，想要你的公司多的是。

    LL： Thanks Lihua. That encouragement is a real shot in the arm for
me.

    LH： A shot in the arm？

    LL： You can say that something is a shot in the arm if it gives you
a lot more confidence and energy.

    LH：哦，就是中文里说的强心针。你是说我刚才鼓励你的话大大地增强了你
的信心吗？

    LL： Right. For example ， I could say that Joe was thinking of dropping
out of his economics class because it was so hard. But when he got an
A on the midterm， it was a real shot in the arm and he decided not to
quit.

    LH：就是说，期中考试得了A ，极大增强了Joe 对自己修完经济学这门课程
的信心。

    LL： Exactly. You know， Lihua， my career hasn't been going well
lately， but I think this job could give it a real shot in the arm.

    LH：你现在的工作确实没什么发展潜力，换个新工作一定会对你今后的事业
发展有好处。对了，我还没问你，你明天准备面试的那家公司是做什么的？

    LL： Well Lihua ， it's a small company that sells Chia Pets.

    LH：什么？是一家卖草头娃娃的零售商？

    LL： Yeah ， but it hasn't been doing well lately. I hope that with
my business experience and passion for Chia Pets， I could give this company
a real shot in the arm.

    LH：你当真啊？？？嗨，不管怎么说，我支持你去追求自己的梦想。

    LL： Thanks ， Lihua. Did you know that Chia Pets cost about $15 each？
If everybody went out and bought one， it would give the economy a real
shot in the arm.

    LH：好，为支持你，只要你得到这份工作，我保证一定去买一个草头娃娃。

    ******

    LH：言归正传，Larry ，你有没有想好他们可能会问你哪些问题呢？

    LL： Well ， just a little. But it would probably be good to practice
a little bit.

    LH：那好，我假装考官，我们来模拟一下怎么样？

    LL： Sounds good！ It's important for me to prepare beforehand， because
I'm not good at speaking off the cuff.

    LH： Speaking off the cuff？这是什么意思啊？

    LL： You can say that someone speaks off the cuff when he talks spontaneously
without any preparation.

    LH：噢，就是在没有事先准备的情况下即兴发言。

    LL： Right. For example ， some politicians can speak very well when
they have a speech prepared ， but don't do well when they have to respond
to questions off the cuff.

    LH：我明白了，你还记得上个周末我们一起去看电影，我穿了一件白色大衣，
看上去圆滚滚的吗？你还说我象个大白兔奶糖。

    LL： Oh come on Lihua ， it was just an off-the-cuff remark ！ You
know I didn't mean it.

    LH：我一点都没生气，反而觉得很好笑。Your off-the-cuff jokes are so
funny.对了，我以前听人说过 "off-hand，" Off-hand跟off-the-cuff是同一个
意思吗？

    LL： It's very similar. An off-hand comment is something you didn't
think about or consider very seriously before you said it.

    LH：忘记告诉你了Larry ，你带着这副厚厚的黑边眼镜活像一只眼镜猴。

    LL： What ？ No I don't. I look very smart， like a scholar.

    LH：别生气啊，It was just an "off-hand" joke. 我是随便开玩笑的。

    LL： Alright Lihua， I understand your point. I won't make any more
off-hand jokes about your fashion sense. Now can we please get back to
practicing for my interview ？

    LH：那好，面试现在正式开始。 Larry，你想加入我们公司来卖草头娃娃吗？

    LL： Of course. I really love Chia Pets.

    LH：这我信，看你留的发型，就知道你是个草头娃娃的忠实爱好者。

    LL： Another off-hand joke， Lihua？

    LH：哈哈哈……对不起，你的发型跟草头娃娃实在是太象了。

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是shot in the arm ，意思是强心针。另一
个是off the cuff，或是off-hand，意思是即兴的。