Larry 和李华在咖啡店里买咖啡。李华今天要学两个常用语，newbie和been
around. LL： Wow， it seems to be taking a long time for this guy to get
our coffee made. Maybe he is a newbie. LH ： A newbie ？你说他是新来的？

    LL： Right. A newbie is someone that is new to a place， activity
or organization. LH ：你说得对，他肯定是新手，好像连咖啡机还用不好呢！

    LL： It is like this new guy in my office. He just started work the
day before yesterday. He doesn't know where anything is. LH ：初来乍到
是最困难的时候，Larry ，你一定要帮帮这个新同事。

    LL： I have been helping him， and he's doing pretty well for a newbie.
He is clearly very bright and has picked up on a lot of things very quickly.
LH：我们的咖啡来了，我们找地儿坐吧。

    LL： MMMmmm ……It may have taken him a while to make the coffee，
but the newbie did a good job. This coffee is great ！

    LH：你看，有时候对新手就是要有耐心。我还记得刚开始教中文的时候，样
样东西都要学。

    LL： What did you find the most difficult about being a newbie Chinese
teacher ， Li Hua ？

    LH：当初最让我头痛的就是安排课堂活动，我总是掌握不好各项活动的时间
长短。

    LL： Yeah ， when I was a newbie， I remember having to learn where
everything was in the office and who was responsible for which aspects
of my job. . .Say ， Li Hua ， I want to show you something on my lap
top.

    （Takes out lap top ）

    LH：是新的电脑游戏吗？

    LL： Yes， it is a fantasy role-playing game where you pretend to
be a warrior or a wizard and run around attacking people and collecting
treasure. I've just started the game， so I am kind of a newbie.

    LH：这里面好像还有其他人，他们也是newbies 吗？

    LL： No ， some people have been playing the game for a long time.
Their characters are very experienced ， and they have fun attacking and
stealing treasure from the newbies.

    LH：那你肯定也是被这些老手欺负的对象喽？我是不会玩电脑游戏，也没兴
趣。

    LL： You should try it， Li Hua. It is a lot of fun to play computer
games ， and it gets more fun when you aren't a newbie any more.

    LH：还是算了吧，在电脑游戏上面，我宁愿做个newbie.

    ******

    LL： Well ， when it comes to computer games， I've been around -
if you know what I mean ， Li Hua. LH ： "Been around"？我还真不知道这
是什么意思。

    LL： "Been around" means to have lots of experience doing something.
It is actually short for a longer expression……

    LH：我想起来了。说什么人特别老道，就是"He has been around the block."

    LL： That's right ！ We shorten it to ''been around ，'' but it basically
means the same thing. LH：所以你说自己''have been around.'' 就是说你打
过很多电脑游戏喽？

    LL： That's right. I started playing computer games when I was seven
years old ， and I still play computer games. LH：对了，Larry ，我一直
想问你，听说你妹妹有新男朋友了？

    LL： Yes， she is dating a new guy. But I'm a little concerned. I
think this guy has been around. He is much older than my sister. LH ：
有经验不见得是坏事啊！

    LL： Well ， he has been around ， but not in a good way. I think
he has dated a lot of girls and may not be as serious about my sister
as she is about him. LH ：你是怕他不当真，让你妹妹伤心吧。那你妹妹呢？
她有没有交过很多男朋友？

    LL： No ， not really. She is still very young. I wish she would wait
until she has been around a bit before deciding she wants to get engaged
to this guy. LH ：别着急，Larry ，你妹妹绝顶聪明，她肯定能做出正确的选
择。你要相信她！

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是newbie，是新手的意思。另一个是been
around，是老手的意思。