Larry 跟李华一起去逛商店。李华今天要学两个常用语，burn a hole in one's
pocket和burned.

    LL： Wow， Li Hua - check out this new flat-screen TV ！ Too bad it's
so expensive！

    LH：是啊，现在物价这么贵，美元又一个劲儿贬值，真不知道还有什么人愿
意买这么贵的电视。

    LL： You're right ， Li Hua. Spending money on things like that can
really burn a hole in your pocket. LH ：什么？把我的口袋烧个洞！这可太
危险了。你说It can burn a hole in my pocket 肯定还有别的意思吧？

    LL： You guessed it ！ The phrase means that an item or expenses such
as bills consume a lot of a person's earnings. LH ：那跟在口袋里烧个洞
有什么关系呢？

    LL： Since money is traditionally carried in our pockets， the saying
'burn a hole in your pocket' symbolizes such high expenses. LH：要这么
说，living in the big city can burn a hole in your pocket.除了电视，还
有房租、电费和食物，光是日常花销就能在“我的口袋里烧个大洞”。

    LL： Well said， Li Hua ！ If you have the same salary but move to
a more expensive city ， the daily cost of living can burn a much bigger
hole in your pocket than before. LH ：这就是为什么花钱要有计划，不能想
买什么买什么，否则肯定入不敷出。

    LL： Gas prices have climbed to new highs. I only drive to work twice
a week to save money， because it was really beginning to burn a serious
hole in my pocket. LH ：最近油价确实贵得吓人，还好我坐地铁上班，既省钱
又环保。

    LL： There are so many things that can potentially burn a hole in
your pocket. Expensive habits can really hurt you ， which is why I'm
glad that I quit smoking. LH：是啊，你戒烟一年省的钱够加好几箱油的！

    LL： Soaring gas prices and cigarette taxes were burning such a big
hole in my pocket that I basically gave up driving and smoking！

    LH：你知道还有什么花销最多吗？

    LL： Let' me guess. Going out to eat！

    LH：没错！跟朋友、同事、家人出去吃饭也是一笔不小的开销。

    ******

    LH：说起现在的开销。我前两天出去看房子，才发现这里的房价原来这么贵！

    LL： It really is ！ Didn't you want to continue renting？

    LH：我本来也是要继续租公寓住的，可是，说来话长。

    LL： What happened？ Did you get burned ？

    LH： Get burned ？被烧伤？

    LL： 'Getting burned' is when you commit to something or personally
invest in something with your emotions or money and you basically get
nothing in return.

    LH：噢，getting burned是吃亏的意思啊。那真让你说着了。我跟另外两个
人一起签了约，结果她们最后一刻反悔了。

    LL： Did you put down a deposit ？

    LH：我交了两个月的租金，其中一半是押金，结果因为违约，押金没要回来？

    I definitely got burned ！

    LL： That's terrible！ Did the two other roommates have another option，
or did they end up getting burned ， too？

    LH：那两个人的押金也没要回来。但是她们决定一起到另外一个地方去租房
子，起码她们还有个伴儿。

    LL： So ， they kind of burned themselves on violating the terms of
the contract， but you were burned worse because what happened was a result
of their actions and not yours.

    LH：没错。她们自己反悔，押金被扣还说得过去，我可是被她们连累的。

    LL： It sounds like you know what 'getting burned' means. Now the
next step is ensuring that it doesn't happen again！ Did you learn any
lessons from getting burned ？

    LH：要说教训，那就是，下次一定不能轻信别人。这就是为什么我在四处看
房子，我准备咬咬牙，自己买个公寓。

    LL： Well ， it looks like you've got it figured out. Hopefully you
won't burn a hole in your pocket for a price.

    LH：（Laughing）听上来真滑稽。我为了下次不再吃亏上当，宁可准备倾囊
而出，自己花钱去买个公寓。

    LL： I know. You will probably end up burning a hole in your pocket
so that you don't get burned again. How ironic！

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是burn a hole in one's pocket ，指价
格昂贵。另一个是 burned ，指吃亏上当。