Larry 和李华在一个大商场里买东西，那里非常拥挤。李华今天学会两个常
用语my bad和back in the day.

    LL： My bad ！ I didn't mean to step on your foot ， Li Hua. It's
just that there are so many people at the mall today.

    LH： My bad ？ Bad不是坏的意思吗？这儿人确实很多，你不小心踩到我的
脚，为什么说my bad？ My bad 是什么意思呀？

    LL： Oh ， That's my bad， too. I should have explained what "my bad"
means. It is a very informal way of apologizing without actually saying
"I'm sorry."

    LH：原来my bad是表示道歉，但是是很不正式的道歉。什么时候用my bad，
什么时候用I'm sorry 呢？

    LL： Because you are my friend， and stepping on your foot was a pretty
minor thing ， I said "my bad." I'd say "I'm sorry" for something more
serious - or if you were my boss.

    LH：明白了，my bad是对很熟的朋友说的，而且发生的事也不是太严重，就
像不小心踩了脚这类小事。要我是你的老板，你就不能说my bad！

    LL： Yeah ， that's right. Say， would you like to get out of the
crowd and stop for a cup of coffee in that shop over there？

    LH：你要去那边那个店里喝咖啡？好呀！可是My bad我没有带现金。

    LL： Don't worry， Li Hua. I've got some cash. You can pay me back
later.

    LH：谢谢你。我在这里占着位子，你去买咖啡吧。我要一杯摩卡拿铁咖啡。

    （Sounds of busy restaurant/cash register transaction as Larry gets
coffee）

    LH： Okay ， Li Hua ， here is your latte. Oh-My bad！ I now remember
you wanted a mocha latte. I got the wrong drink.

    LH：没关系，不是摩卡拿铁也没关系。 Larry，递我一张餐巾纸，好不好？

    LL： Sure ， here's a napkin.

    LH： Oops ， My bad ！对不起，我把咖啡撒了！

    LL： Here let me help you clean that up.

    LH：谢谢你，幸亏你拿了好多餐巾纸，否则还真没法收拾。

    LL： Agh！ Now it's my bad！ I've spilled my coffee ， too. （laughs）

    LH：（Also laughing ）你的咖啡也撒了。Larry ，我们赶快走吧，不然不
知又会出什么事，那样我们就会没完没了地说my bad！

    ******

    LL： I can't believe how rude people are at the mall. I know it is
crowded ， but back in the day people were much more polite.

    LH：没错，有的人真是没有礼貌。Larry ，你说back in the day 人们都很
有礼貌，back in the day 是指哪一天呢？

    LL： No ， no ， Li Hua. "Back in the day" is a general expression
referring to a time in the past when things were better than they are
now.

    LH：噢，back in the day 就是指过去，而不是指哪一天。你是说过去美国
人都很有礼貌？

    LL： Yes， back in the day a man would have taken the time to open
a door for a lady ， especially if she was carrying packages.

    LH：我遇到过这种情况。上次我去看牙，进大楼的时候，前面那个男子看见
我也是进那大楼，就把门开开，等着让我先进去。Larry ，你是说以前都是这样
的吗？

    LL： Yes， and life was much simpler. There were no computers and
cell phones back in the day. Now it is rush ， rush ， rush.

    LH：没错，过去生活是比较简单，别说没有电脑和手机，我们小时候连彩色
电视也很少。现在每个人都好像匆匆忙忙，不知道怎么回事。

    LL： And can you believe it ？ Before e-mail， back in the day people
wrote letters with their own hands！！！

    LH：自从有了电子邮件后，现在拿起笔来写信的人恐怕是很少了，可是我很
喜欢收到别人亲笔写给我的信，因为那让我感到很亲切。

    LL： I agree with you. But， then again ， I guess not everything
back in the day was so great.

    LH：是啊，过去也不是样样都好。我父亲常对我说，他小时候上学要走很远
的路。现在的孩子们就幸福多了，可以坐校车。

    LL： You know ， my dad says the same thing. He would tell me I was
so lucky， because back in the day he had to walk five miles to school.

    LH：你爸爸上学要走五里路。我爸爸更苦，他不仅走路还要背着几十斤重的
课本呢。

    LL：I agree. Li Hua ， let's take the bus and go home. Oh ， let me
open the door for you.

    LH：谢谢你， Larry，你真希望有更多像你这样有礼貌的年轻人。

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是my bad，意思是对不起。还有一个是back
in the day，意思是过去。