Larry 准备在公司汇报工作。事先想请李华帮他听听，看报告内容能不能吸
引人。李华今天要学两个常用语。一个是dud ，另一个是oomph .

    LL： Thanks for agreeing to listen to my presentation ， Li Hua. I
really don't want it to be a dud.

    LH： Larry，什么是 "dud"呀？

    LL： Oh ， A dud D-U-D is something or someone that doesn't live up
to expectations and is a disappointment.

    LH： Dud就是让人失望的意思。你是不是想让我帮你听听，你的报告能不能
吸引人啊？

    LL： Right！ I want my presentation to be lively and interesting.
If it is boring and difficult to understand ， it will be a dud.

    LH：愿意为您效劳！不过Larry ，你这人这么幽默，不用听我就知道，你的
报告肯定不会枯燥无味的。

    LL： You never know. I once worked with a woman who I thought was
really funny， and at work we really got along. But then we went on a
date， and it was a real dud.

    LH：你们约会的问题出在哪里呢？

    LL： It turns out that we didn't have much in common except work.

    LH：噢，我知道了，你们俩这叫缺少共同语言。That date really does sound
like a dud.

    LL： What about you Li Hua？ Have you every gone out with a guy who
was a real dud？

    LH： Dud也能指人啊。那要这么说，我可是遇到过真正的dud.

    LL： How was this guy a dud ， Li Hua ？

    LH：他长得特别帅，可是我们俩出去吃饭，他从头到尾都在没完没了地讲他
自己，根本不问问我喜欢些什么。That date was a real dud.

    LL： Kind of like a firecracker that doesn't go off ！ We also call
fireworks that don't go off "duds."

    LH：没错，我们管不响的爆竹叫" 哑炮".我最喜欢放炮了，特别是春节的时
候……

    Larry ，你干嘛呢？

    LL： I am trying to get the slide projector to work. It looks like
the light bulb is a dud ！

    LH：那就别摆弄幻灯了。我光听就行了。

    LL： Okay ， let's get started. Please be honest， Li Hua ， and don't
be afraid to tell me if you think my presentation is a dud.

    LH：你放心，我一定怎么想就怎么说。

    ******

    LL： So ， what do you think， Li Hua ？ Does my presentation need
more oomph？

    LH： Oomph？这又是什么词啊！怎么这么难说。

    LL： It is like "oom" from the word room， followed by an "F" sound.
Say it after me ， Li Hua. Oomph！

    LH：（Imitating ）"oom" ， "oom-f". Oomph ， oomph是什么意思啊？

    LL： When I asked if my presentation needed more oomph， I was asking
if it needed something extra to make it more lively or interesting.

    LH：噢，你是说可以加点儿什么，让你的报告更精彩是吧。老实说，Larry ，
我觉得有的地方确实有点儿枯燥，需要加点儿oomph.

    LL： How do you think I could give my presentation more oomph ， Li
Hua ？

    LH：比方说，你一上来可以先讲个笑话，吸引听众的注意。然后讲到一半儿
有人开始走神的时候，你可以再讲个你自己工作中的真实经历，最好是干过的什
么傻事。这样你的报告就能更生动了。

    LL： That's very good advice， Li Hua. I think doing those things
will give my presentation the extra oomph it needs.

    LH：好，那现在换我了。我最近给中文课设计了一个网页。你也帮我看看，
要不要也加点儿oomph.

    LL： Sure. I'm happy to look at it and tell you if it needs more oomph.

    （Typing on keyboard……）

    LH： Okay ， here it is. Larry，你觉得怎么样？

    LL： Wow， Li Hua ！ Maybe your website has a little too much oomph！

    LH： Oomph还会太多吗？

    LL： Well ， you used orange and pink together on the same page. Those
colors make it hard to read.

    LH：粉红色和桔黄色放在一起是太亮了，看上去眼睛有点儿不舒服，那我换
换其它颜色吧。

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是dud ，意思是令人失望的。另一个是oomph，
是吸引力的意思。