Larry 和李华今天去给他们的朋友Jim 买结婚礼物。Jim 下个周末就要结婚。

    今天李华会学到两个常用语：to tie the knot 和drop-dead gorgeous.

    LL： I can't believe Jim is going to tie the knot ！ He seems too
young to get married. LH： Jim已经25岁啦。25岁结婚还算早啊！你说Jim 要
tie the knot. Tie 是绑的意思，knot是结，“打个结”和结婚有什么关系？

    LL： "To tie the knot" is slang for "to get married." LH：噢！to tie
the knot就是结婚的意思啊！好奇怪噢！为什么要用打结来形容结婚呢？

    LL： As far as I know ， a very old type of wedding ceremony involved
tying a knot to symbolizethe joining of the couple's lives and now "tying
the knot" has become a synonym for marriage. LH ：噢，以前的结婚典礼上
要打结，表示新郎新娘的生活从此结合在一起。所以才会用tie the knot来表示
结婚。这真有意思。对了，Larry ，你想你大概什么时候会结婚哪？

    LL： Whoa ， slow down. I need to find a girlfriend first. At this
point ， I honestly have no idea when I'll get married. What about you？

    LH：我和你也差不多啦！你得找个女朋友，我呢，得先找到一个男朋友哪！

    LL： Well ， hopefully， someday we'll both find someone really nice
to tie the knot with. LH：嗯！我也希望我们两个都能找到满意的对象！对了！

    Larry ，你认识Jim 的未婚妻吗？

    LL： No ， I've actually never met her. I'm really curious to see
what she's like. According to Jim ， she's the most beautiful woman in
the world. LH ：嗯，我明白Jim 为什么这样说，每个人都认为自己的另一半是
世界上最美最帅的人！

    LL： Love does have that effect on people. I certainly hope I tie
the knot with someone beautiful. LH ：其实，只要你是真心爱她，你就会认
为她是世界上绝无仅有的大美人！

    ******

    LL： Li Hua ， Jim just showed me a picture of his fiancee. She's
drop-dead gorgeous！

    LH：你看到Jim 未婚妻的照片啦？你说她drop-dead gorgeous？那是什么意
思？是不是说她很丑？

    LL： No ， she's beautiful. "Drop-dead gorgeous" is a way to describe
someone who is incredibly attractive. LH：原来drop-dead gorgeous的意思
是非常漂亮，美极了。所以你认为Jim 的未婚妻是个超级大美女喽？那她到底长
什么样？

    LL： She looks like a super model. LH ：哇！像个超级模特啊！那真是
美得不得了了！Larry ，我有个问题。我能不能用drop-dead gorgeous来形容很
帅的男人呢？

    LL： Well ， I probably wouldn't call another man drop-dead gorgeous，
but you can. Why？ Who do you think is drop-dead gorgeous ？

    LH：嗯，我也不知道谁可以称得上是drop-dead gorgeous的大帅哥。哎，不
过经过你这一问，我想电影明星Brad Pitt 应该可以算是drop-dead gorgeous的
帅哥吧！

    LL： Yeah ， I'm sure there are a million other women who agree with
you. LH ：好啦！现在该你了！你觉得谁算得上是drop-dead gorgeous的大美人
啊？

    LL： Besides Jim's fiancee？ I think that Lisa from our history class
is pretty close to being drop-dead gorgeous. LH ：你是说历史课的那个Lisa？

    我从来没注意过。哎！既然你觉得她很漂亮，为什么不约她出去呢？

    LL： She has a boyfriend. Unfortunately ， most drop-dead gorgeous
girls I meet already have a boyfriend. LH ：她已经有男朋友了！Larry ，
你动作太慢了！