李华告诉Larry 说，她想多赚点钱，买机票回中国探亲。李华今天要学两个
常用语：bread 和nest egg.

    LH： Larry，我想回中国看看我父母。I need to make some more bread.
LL： You need to make more bread？ I know you aren't a baker， Li Hua ，
so you must have learned that bread isslangfor money.

    LH：没错。那天我听一个朋友说，他要跟父母借点钱，因为he was short on
bread ，缺钱花了。

    LL： Well ， Li Hua ， how about you？ Can you borrow some bread from
your parents for a plane ticket home？

    LH：去中国的机票可贵了，我父母可出不起机票钱。要想回家，我唯一的办
法就是再出去兼一份差。

    LL： Well ， with the Christmas holidays coming up， there will be
many opportunities for you to earn some bread.

    LH：是啊，快过节了，很多商店都需要人手，找份活儿应该不难。

    LL： I wouldn't think so， but if you do have trouble ， I can always
loan you some bread.

    LH：谢谢你，Larry.但是不到迫不得已，我还是希望自己想办法。

    LL： Okay ， I understand. So ， Li Hua ， have you thought about
where you might want to work？

    LH：我想到百货商店去打工，虽然那里的工作没太大的意思，但是I'd really
only be doing it for the bread. LL： I think a department store is a good
choice for you. Who knows ？ You may even be able to pay for your plane
ticket to China and save a little bread.

    LH：我也是这么希望的。我教中文的工资实在是不多，总觉得钱不够花。

    LL： Well ， I am very lucky to have my job at the architect's office.
Right now ， I am bringing in a good amount of bread.

    LH：你的钱都花在什么地方呢？

    LL： Well ， I spend a lot on monthly expenses， but I also try to
save some bread every month and ， if possible， invest it.

    LH：投资？看来你还挺有经济头脑的，Larry.

    ******

    LL： Saving is important， Li Hua. I am trying to build a nest egg
so that I can buy a house some day. LH：你要建一个窝里的蛋？（开玩笑地
说）那你什么时候变成小鸟啊？

    LL：（Laughs） No ， no ， Li Hua. A "Nest Egg" is a term for money
put away in reserve for some special purpose - like getting married ，
buying a house， or retiring. LH：窝里的蛋怎么会指为结婚买房子存的钱呢？

    LL： Well ， as I understand it ， a "nest egg" was originallya fake
egg placed in a nest to attract birds to lay more eggs. By putting aside
money as a nest egg ， you hope it will grow and make more money. LH：
噢，我明白了，窝里的蛋原来指的是假蛋，放在那里骗家禽多生蛋的，用来指钱，
就好像是中文里说的钱生钱的意思，放在银行定期存款里就是个办法。

    LL： Yes， my parents have done this. But ， they have also invested
some of their nest egg in the stock market. LH：投资股市可有风险，我就
听说过很多老年人投资股市，结果赔得一干二净。

    LL： It can be， but my parents aren't investing in the stock market
on their own. They have an investment company that is helping them manage
their nest egg. LH：那就好，等我开始在百货商店打工了，I hope I'll have
a nest egg， too.

    LL： Well ， I am building a nest egg to someday buy a house - What
about you ， Li Hua ？ What is your nest egg for？

    LH：我先得存点钱应急，万一哪天车坏了或是生一场大病，手里有钱心里就
踏实多了。

    LL： That's a good plan. My older brother wants to build a nest egg
for his children. LH： Wait a minute， Larry. 你哥哥不是没孩子吗？

    LL： You are right， Li Hua ， but he has recently gotten married ，
and he and his wife want to have children. They will need to have a big
nest egg for that ！

    LH：是啊，养孩子真的需要很多钱，特别是大学学费，做父母的确实需要提
前做好准备。

    LL： Yes， they won't just need a chicken-sized nest egg - they'll
need an ostrich-sized nest egg！

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是bread ，指钱。另一个是nest egg，是
存下来的钱。