李华教Larry 做中国饭。今天我们要学两个常用语：up in smoke 和burst
somebody's bubble.

    LH： Larry，你想学做什么菜，尽管说！我最拿手的是麻婆豆腐，如果你想
学难点的，我可以做你烤北京烤鸭。

    LL： No no， Lihua. I want to learn how to make REAL Chinese food.
You know， like fortune cookies. How do you keep the paper inside from
getting burned in the oven？

    LH：告诉你可别失望，其实中国根本没有什么fortune cookie幸运签饼。这
是美国的原创。

    LL： What ？ All these years I've dreamed of going to China to have
a real Chinese fortune cookie ， and you're telling me they don't exist？
All my dreams are going up in smoke ！

    LH： Up in smoke？我还没烧菜呢，哪来的烟啊？

    LL： When you say that something goes up in smoke ， it means that
it disappears or is no longer possible.

    LH：我明白了，up in smoke 是说一件事情希望破灭。换句话说，你想到中
国吃正宗幸运签饼的梦想已经成了泡影，your dream went up in smoke.

    LL： That's right. Usually you use this expression for something you
have been planning for a long time. For example ， I always wanted to
go to Harvard ， but that dream went up in smoke when I found out how
much it costs.

    LH：你原来梦想去哈佛上学？这我还是第一次听说。那我一直梦想去巴黎工
作，结果拿不到签证，也可以说my plan went up in smoke喽？

    LL： That's right.

    LH：虽说“幸运签饼”不是中国的产物，可你也不用让自己去中国的梦想破
灭啊！

    LL： I know ， it's just disappointing. Last week I got a fortune
cookie that told me that all my dreams would come true. I thought it was
a sign from heaven.

    LH：你还真信，签饼里纸条上的话可不是上苍的“意思”，而是签饼公司的
“意思”。

    LL： This is no time for jokes， Lihua. My life has just come tumbling
down around me. No fortune cookies in China ！ Who would have known ？

    LH： Poor Larry.为了不让你的梦想彻底破灭，我一定毫不保留地把自己的
厨艺全教给你。说吧，你要学什么！

    LL： Well ， I really want to learn how to make the little white boxes
that you put the food in.

    ******

    LL： Wow， Lihua. I can't believe that I made such great Mapo Dofu
on my first try ！ Isn't it great ？

    LH： Yeah ， it's …… umm……可以说是你的独创。正宗的麻婆豆腐里面
是不放意大利面条和花生酱的。

    LL： Oh c'mon ， Lihua， don't burst my bubble. I think you're just
jealous that I'm such a natural cook.

    LH： Burst your what？

    LL： Burst my bubble. When someone is really excited or confident
about something ， you burst their bubble when you say something to disappoint
them.

    LH：你是说，burst your bubble ，捅破你的肥皂泡，就是让你希望破灭。
你本来对自己做的麻婆豆腐特骄傲，结果我却给你泼冷水。So I burst your bubble.

    LL： Exactly. Or for example， I have a friend who really wants to
be a famous singer. I should tell her to give up that dream because she
has a really bad voice， but I don't want to burst her bubble.

    LH：如果你朋友真的没有唱歌的天份，即使你不去burst her bubble，到头
来，her plan will go up in smoke，她的梦想最终也会成为泡影。

    LL： That's true.You know ， to thank you for teaching me how to make
Mapo Dofu ， I'm going to teach you how to make my special recipe ： a
deep-fried hot dog topped with chocolate sauce and broccoli.

    LH： I hate to burst your bubble，不过你这个独家菜还是自己留着享用
吧，油炸热狗，加上花菜和巧克力酱，听上去就没胃口。

    LL： Are you crazy？ It's delicious ！ You know ， I hate to burst
YOUR bubble Lihua ， but I don't think you are such a cooking expert as
you think.

    LH：你怎么说都可以，我本来也没自称是什么烹调专家。但起码我知道，麻
婆豆腐里不能放薯条。

    LL： Well ， maybe we should just agree to disagree.

    LH：不过，火腿肉炒花菜倒可以说是一道中国菜，但是不能放巧克力酱。

    LL： See！ I knew I was a natural Chinese chef. I've been making a
traditional Chinese dish without even knowing it！

    今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是up in smoke 意思是希望破灭。另一个是
burst somebody's bubble ，意思是打破某人的幻想。