李华打电话问Larry 今天下午要不要一块儿去打网球。今天李华会学到两个
常用语：Bum 和ticker.

    （Telephone rings ）

    LH：嘿！Larry ，你今天下午有空吗？想不想和我去打网球？今天天气真好！

    LL： I'm sorry， Li Hua ， but my bumknee is bothering me. I don't
think it's a good idea to play tennis right now.

    LH：你的膝盖怎么啦？Bum knee，那是什么毛病啊？

    LL： I have a bum knee means that there is something permanently wrong
with my knee.

    LH：原来 a bum knee 就是一个膝盖以前受了伤而落下了毛病，也就是老毛
病。Larry ，你什么时候受的伤，我怎么不知道哪？

    LL：I tore a tendon playing soccer several years ago， and now my
knee hurts once in a while and it doesn't always bend well.

    LH：噢，你几年前踢足球的时候受的伤，所以不时会感到痛，还不能弯。我
爷爷年轻时腿也受过伤，现在只要一下雨，他的腿就会发作。

    LL： Yes， having a bum knee or leg is very common， particularly
among former professional athletes.

    LH：就是啊，这种伤害对职业运动员来说都是常见的。我倒是很惊讶那些美
式足球队员，打起球来横冲直撞，居然还能走路。

    LL： Yes， well many of them do suffer from a bum leg ， a bum knee
，or a bum shoulder.

    LH：嗯，他们的工资非常高，据说有的年薪都上百万呢！筋骨受伤大概只是
个小小的代价吧！

    LL： That's true， but not all of them make that much money and they
still suffer injuries that leave them with a bum joint.

    LH：当然不是每个球员工资都那么高的。工资低的也经常会受伤的。

    LL： Li Hua. I would play with you if I could. Try to find someone
who can play with you. If you can't ， give me a call and we can watch
a movie or something.

    LH：我要是找不到打球的伴再给你打电话。看个电影也挺好。

    ******

    LH： Larry，我找不着人和我打网球。你还想去看电影吗？

    LL： I'm sorry， I can't. My mom just called to tell me that my uncle
is in the hospital because he has a bum ticker. I should go and visit
him.

    LH：你要去医院看望你叔叔，他怎么啦？Larry ，你说你叔叔得了什么病，
bum ticker？什么是ticker？

    LL： He has a bum ticker. Ticker is slang for one's heart because
your heartbeats similar to the way in which a clock ticks. My uncle has
a bad heart.

    LH：噢，原来ticker是指心脏啊！对，心脏是像钟表那样滴滴答答地跳动。

    Larry ，你叔叔心脏病发作呀？

    LL： No ， he just had some pains in his chest. He knows that he has
a bum ticker， so he went to the hospital to have it checked out.

    LH：原来他是因为胸口痛才住院。希望他没事。我爸爸的心脏也不好，所以
医生特别叮咛他要小心，避免压力太大。

    LL： Well ， we've warned my uncle to take care of his old ticker ，
but he doesn't listen. He still eats junk food and he has a very stressful
job.

    LH：看来你叔叔不是个听话的病人。心脏不好的人应该要避免吃垃圾食物。

    或许你叔叔这次出院后，能意识到要好好照顾自己的心脏了。

    LL： I hope so， but he has already had a heart attack and surgery，
so I doubt he'll change his habits because of a few chest pains.

    LH：他已经发作过心脏病，还动过手术！那看来胸口痛是不会促使他改变饮
食习惯了。得了，你还是赶快上医院去吧，我明天再跟你聊喽！

    LL： Okay ， bye.