Larry 和李华在谈论他们的朋友Dave. Dave的老板刚刚给他加了一大笔工资。
李华今天要学会两个新的习惯用语，live large和a hoot.

    LL： It is a good thing that Bob got such a big raise. He likes to
live large！

    LH： Live 是生活，你说live large那是什么意思呀？

    LL： By living large， I mean Bob likes to buy expensive things ，
wear the best clothes ， and eat out at fancy restaurants.

    LH：谁不喜欢那样生活奢侈呀？买贵的东西、穿最好的衣服、下高级饭馆？
I like to live large too.

    LL： Right. And Bob does live large. The minute after he heard about
his new raise ， Bob went out and bought a brand new Mercedes.

    LH： Wow，他可真够大手大脚的，钱还没拿到手就已经花出去了。一辆Mercedes
至少要几万美金吧。不过，喜欢live large的人还挺多。教我英国文学的史密斯
教授最近买了一座豪宅，里面有六个卧室，四个洗澡间，还有一个马厩。

    LL： Wow， maybe someday， I'll be able to live large ， too.

    LH：我不知道你，反正我是没有希望了，靠教中文这点收入连做梦也不会live
large.

    LL： I don't earn that much at my job either. I will need more than
one big raise to be able to live large. I'll need several raises！

    LH：要加薪好多次才能过上奢适的生活，那要等到什么时候啊。不过Larry ，
过不上那种日子也没关系，我并不羡慕那种生活。

    LL： What do you mean ？ You don't want to live large ？

    LH：生活奢适是要付出代价的，比如，保养和维修奔驰车要花很多钱。大房
子也要费时间打扫。

    LL： Those are good points， but it sure is fun to dream about living
large.

    LH：过不了那种生活光是梦想有什么好玩的呀！ Larry，如果你有了钱，可
以挥霍地生活，你想作什么呢？

    LL： Well ， I would first buy my own private jet.

    LH：买一架私人飞机？ That would be living large.

    LL： And then I would fly my jet to my own private island in the Caribbean.

    LH：你还想开着飞机到自己在加勒比海买的一个岛上去！你真是在做梦！

    ******

    LL： I loved your reaction when I told you I wanted to buy my own
private island in the Caribbean. It was a hoot！

    LH： "A hoot" 是猫头鹰的叫声。你说我刚才的反映是猫头鹰的叫声？你这
是什么意思呀？

    LL： No ， that's not what I meant. You looked so amazed I thought
it was really funny. Something that is really funny is a hoot.

    LH：我刚才听你说要买一个私人岛屿是让我非常惊讶！想像你在加勒比海的
私人海滩上悠闲地喝着果汁，那情景很可笑的哟。

    LL： Say， you know what else was a real hoot ？ Did you see that
show on the comedy channel last night ？

    LH：你是指昨天晚上那喜剧节目频道播出的节目吗？我当然看了。

    LL： Yes！ Wasn't it the funniest thing you have ever seen？ I thought
it was such a hoot.

    LH：我也觉得很有趣。有个人模仿总统，模仿的真好笑。都快把我笑死了。
He was a hoot ！

    LL： Hey， I hadn't really thought about this before， but doesn't
our friend Bob look like the guy who impersonated the president ？

    LH：是啊，模仿总统的人很像我们的朋友Bob . 真有趣 - What a hoot！

    LL： Speaking of Bob， did I tell you that he took me out for a drive
in his new Mercedes ？

    LH： Bob开着崭新的奔驰车带你去兜风了？下回我也要让他带我去兜风。

    LL： Well ， you wouldn't believe what happened. We were stopped behind
a garbage truck at a stoplight when all of the sudden the truck dumped
trash into the Mercedes all over me and Bob ！

    LH：什么，垃圾车突然把垃圾倒出来，把你和Bob 弄得全身都是垃圾？Larry
，那卡车司机把你们当成了垃圾场了。 这真可笑 - It's really a hoot ！

    今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是live large，意思是生活挥霍。还有一
个是hoot，意思是可笑、有趣。