李华在咖啡馆跟Larry 见面。今天我们要学两个常用语：taking stock和 dead
tired.

    LH： Larry，这两天还好吗？

    LL： I'm doing pretty well. How are you ？

    LH：还可以，就是这个周末有好多功课要做，肯定会忙得不得开交。

    LL： I know how that goes. I am taking stock of all the errands I
need to run this weekend.

    LH： Taking stock 是什么意思？

    LL： Taking stock means to step back from a situation and try to look
at the whole picture. In this case it means the same thing as collecting
one's thoughts.

    LH：我知道了，taking stock就是纵观全局，全面考虑。你是说我应该从整
体出发，安排所有要做的事情。

    LL： Exactly！ When you take stock of a situation ， you think about
it more clearly as a whole.

    LH：你刚才说，这个周末你也有一大堆事情要做。What things are you taking
stock of？

    LL： This weekend I have to go to the dry-cleaners； drop off some
mail at the post office ； wash my car； and pick up some groceries. I
don't think it will take too long.

    LH：看起来，你已经taking stock of the situation ，把所有要做的事情
都安排好了。

    LL： Yes， taking stock of what I need to do certainly helps put things
in perspective and lets me realize how to best go about getting things
done.

    LH：下星期上课前，我要完成两篇论文，有三篇文章要读，还要借同学的笔
记，把上星期生病缺席的功课补上。

    LL： It certainly sounds like you have quite a bit of work to do.

    LH：不过，我肯定能完成，特别是如今在你的帮助下，把思路全部整理清楚
了，我准备在图书馆泡上一整天，不完成作业绝不出来。

    LL： That's the spirit.

    ******

    星期天晚上，Larry 和李华一起吃晚饭。

    LL： So Li Hua， did you get everything done？

    LH：做是做完了，可我现在连说话的力气都没有了。

    LL： Yeah ， I did a lot today too， and now I'm dead tired.

    LH： Dead tired ？意思应该是特别累吧？

    LL： I am so tired it feels like I'm dying. Chinese has similar expressions，
right ？

    LH：有啊，可以直接翻译成“累死了”。

    LL： Since I am dead tired， what do you say we just order a pizza
for dinner？

    LH：双手赞成！我整整一个周末都是在图书馆里度过的。

    LL： That sounds exhausting ， but are you done now ？

    LH：总算是把功课都做完了，今天晚上可以好好休息一下，明天早上去上课
就好了。

    LL： That sounds like a smart idea. Here let me call in the order.

    ******

    LH： Larry，你说，这么热的天，烤比萨饼的人多辛苦，they must be dead
tired from working in the heat.

    LL： The person who answered the phone did sound dead tired. At least
we will be able to eat soon though.

    LH：这个周末可真是一个名副其实的工作的周末。

    LL： I agree， there sure was a lot to do. Hopefully I can get a good
night's sleep tonight so that I am not dead tired at work tomorrow.

    LH： Yes， me too.上次熬夜复习功课，第二天虽然dead tired，但还是硬
挺着去上课，结果整堂课都是睡过来的。

    LL： Oh ， I've experienced that before. I guess that's the result
of exhaustive research.

    LH：还说呢，这个周末我在图书馆里看到好多人都累得不行，索性趴在图书
馆的桌子上呼呼大睡。

    LL： I believe it. There have even been meetings at work where someone
is so dead tired that they drift off to sleep.

    LH：老实说，你开会睡没睡过觉？

    LL： No ， definitely not. I've been dead tired before， but I avoid
falling asleep in a meeting no matter what.

    LH：说起来容易，我也不想上课睡觉，可有时候实在是太累了，一闭眼就睡
着了。

    （Door Bell ）

    LL： It sounds like the pizza is here ！

    LH： Great！

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是taking stock，意思是全面考虑。另一个
是dead tired，意思是累死了。