李华到Larry 住的地方去送一本书，发现鱼缸里的金鱼不见了。今天李华会
学到两个常用语：bite the dust 和funky.

    LH：哎，Larry ，你的金鱼到哪儿去了？

    LL： Oh ， he bit the dust yesterday. I found him floating in the
tank. I'm really bummed out about it.

    LH：你的金鱼怎么了？Bit the dust？ Bit是bite的过去时。意思是：咬；
那dust是尘土的意思。咬尘土？噢，你是说你的鱼死啦？

    LL： That's right ！ That fish was a few years old， so I think he
might have just died of old age.

    LH：那只鱼在你这儿好几年啦？怪不得你显得闷闷不乐！Larry ，要不要我
陪你再去买条金鱼？

    LL： I'm thinking about going to buy a new fish today ， but I want
to clean out the tank first. I don't want the new fish to bite the dust，
too.

    LH：没错，买新的鱼以前最好把鱼缸打扫干净，不然新的鱼也可能会死掉的。

    LL： It's possible. I really don't want to take any chances.

    LH：对，一条鱼价钱也不便宜，可别冒风险。对了，Larry ，你知道吗？John
的奶奶几天前去世了，那我是不是能说：she bit the dust the other day.

    LL： Wait a second， Li Hua ， I don't think you want to say that
your friend's grandma bit the dust. It's not very polite or respectful.

    LH：噢，bite the dust 这个说法用在人的身上是不礼貌的！那我还真是得
小心。

    LL： It's okay to say my fish bit the dust or some bad guy in a movie
bit the dust， but you probably don't want to say that about your friend's
family member.

    LH：嗯，我懂了。To bite the dust可以指鱼，可以指电影里的坏蛋，可是
千万不要在朋友的家人去世的时候用这个说法。

    LL： You've got it！ Now let's go buy a fish.

    ******

    LH： Larry，你为什么不买那条鱼？它的鳍好大而且颜色好漂亮！我从来没
见过色彩这么鲜艳的鱼呢！

    LL： Yeah ， he is kind of funky. I don't think I've ever seen another
fish like that either.

    LH：等等，什么是funky ？是不是很酷的意思？

    LL： Funky has several meanings ， but in this case ， it means cool，
unique， and unusual.

    LH：噢，在这里，funky 就是指很酷、很独特的意思。没错，这条鱼真的很
特别。这鱼放在你的鱼缸里一定很漂亮！

    LL： Hold on， that funky little fish is pretty expensive. Why don't
we get a cheap little goldfish instead？

    LH：小的金鱼是便宜点，可是颜色就没有这么特别了啊！

    LL： I happen to like goldfish. I can buy one of those goldfish with
the funky bubbles behind its eyes.

    LH：你是说那条眼睛后面长两个大球的金鱼呀？我还是喜欢那条很漂亮的鱼，
那条funky fish.

    LL： Well ， I appreciate your opinion， but this is going to be my
fish.

    LH：那也是，别听我的。这是你的鱼，你得天天看的。Larry ，你看，那边
那个人穿的衣服真是与众不同。我觉得很怪，是不是也很funky ？

    LL： Yeah ， he definitely has his own sense of style. It looks as
though he's here to buy a fish， too.

    LH：对，每个人都有自己穿衣服的风格。说不定他会买那条很漂亮的鱼！

    LL： That's a possibility. Now， come on， forget about that fish
and help me pick out a goldfish ， the funkier the better.