Larry 和李华一起坐地铁回家。今天我们要学两个常用语：take the bull
by the horns和knock your socks off.

    LL： You look really tired， Lihua. What have you been up to？

    LH：别提了，我最近两天一直睡不好觉。比如说昨天晚上，凌晨两点醒来后，
就再也睡不着了，翻来覆去一直到早上起床。

    LL： I am sorry to hear that， Lihua. Sleep is really important. It
can affect your mood and feelings for an entire day ， and it can really
wear you down after awhile. So why did you wake up in the middle of the
night ？

    LH：还不是因为我那个室友Tammy.她男朋友去西岸上学，跟我们有三个小时
的时差，所有她经常半夜三更给男朋友打电话。我们公寓的墙壁又很薄，她一打
电话，我就醒过来了。

    LL： If that's the case ， I think you should take the bull by the
horns and talk to Tammy because her late night phone calls are interfering
with your sleep.

    LH：你说take the bull by the horns是什么意思，抓住牛角？这跟睡觉有
关系吗？

    LL： Haha. Lihua， to take the bull by the horns means to confront
a problem head-on and to deal with it openly. That's what I think you
should do with Tammy.

    LH：哦，我明白了， taking a bull by the horns 意思是采取直接的、果
断的行动，你是让我别不好意思，开诚布公地告诉Tammy ，她打电话影响我睡眠。

    LL： Exactly. You can tell her that her phone calls are keeping you
up at night and that you would appreciate it if she made the calls earlier
in the evening or made the calls outside.

    LH：好，听你的。I will take the bull by the horns and talk to Tammy.
我今天回去就跟Tammy 谈。看她能不能十点以前给男朋友打电话或是到外面去打
电话。

    ******

    虽然缺觉，但是李华的工作好象十分顺利。我们一起听。

    LH： Larry，虽然没睡好觉，我还是想出去庆祝一下，因为我跟你说过的那
个项目，我今天终于完工了。

    LL： Really ？ That's nice！ I know you have been working really hard
on it. I just finished something at work for a client too. We should definitely
go out and celebrate.

    LH：太好了。那我们去哪儿？

    LL： Well the weather's so nice out. How about we go on a walk？

    LH：去散步？好主意！我正好也可以活动活动。今天我一整天几乎没有离开
座位。不过，去哪里走好呢？到处都是车，一点也不浪漫。

    LL： I know a place right off 5th Street which is perfect for romantic
walks. There aren't too many cars ， and they close one lane of the street
during the evenings ， so pedestrians can walk on the street.

    LH：我怎么从来不知道有这么个地方。

    LL： Trust me ， Lihua. It will be so romantic and beautiful in the
evening. It will knock your socks off.

    LH：好，我们就去哪儿。不过，Larry ，散步可以，我可不要脱袜子。I will
NOT take my socks off.

    LL： Haha ， Lihua. I didn't ask you to take your socks off. I said
the walk is gonna be so romantic that it will KNOCK your socks off.

    LH：我还是不明白，你为什么要knock my socks off.

    LL： To knock somebody's socks off means to completely surprise someone
or please someone very much. Like I could say that the movie was so beautiful
that it really knocked my socks off ， or I could say the young pianist
knocked the socks off of the judges.

    LH：哦，这下我明白了， to knock somebody's socks off意思就是把某人
给震了，给人留下深刻的印象。

    LL： You got it. How about after we go on this walk ， we go out to
eat ？ I know an Italian restaurant that will really knock your socks
off ！

    LH：你今天怎么兴致这么高？又是散步、又是意大利大餐，太浪漫了。You're
really knocking my socks off！

    LL： WOW， Lihua. You're such a quick learner. Someday you'll be teaching
me about American idioms.

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是take the bull by the horns，意思是不
回避问题，采取果断行动，勇敢地去面对问题。另一个是knock somebody's socks
off 意思是给人留下深刻印象。