今天Larry和Li Hua下课以后一起去吃午饭，Li Hua会学到两个常用语：threads和load up.

    （campus noise）

    Larry： Hey， Li Hua， those are nice threads you're wearing. Li Hua： Threads？ - 那不是“缝衣服用的线”吗？哎哟，Larry， 你是说我的连衣裙开线了吗？

    Larry：No， no. Threads， when used in plural， is another word for clothes. I was just telling you that you are wearing nice clothes. Li Hua：噢，原来thread用作复数——threads，就可以代表“衣服”。这倒挺合理的，因为衣服就是用线织成的嘛！你刚才说these are nice threads， 原来是夸我的连衣裙漂亮啊！

    Larry：That's right！

    Li Hua：谢谢你，Larry， 其实，这件连衣裙挺旧的了。 Larry，要是我说一件衣服，是不是要用单数thread？

    Larry：No. It's always threads. I think that's because even one piece of clothing is made of many threads. Li Hua：说得也是，即使一件衣服，也是用很多很多线做成的，所以，还是要用复数 - threads.

    Larry：So， Li Hua， let me test you. If I say， "I went shopping yesterday and bought lots of threads"， what does that mean？

    Li Hua：这么简单的句子，还要考我。你是说“我昨天买了很多衣服”。Larry，你真的买了好多衣服呀？

    LL：No， I was just giving you an example. I don't go shopping for threads. LH：你老是穿牛仔裤加T恤衫，怎么也不换换样子嘛？

    Larry：What's wrong with the threads I'm wearing？ Oh， please， Li Hua， my threads are just fine —— Jeans and T-shirt are comfortable.

    （cafeteria sound）

    LL：Hey， not many people in the cafeteria. That's the benefit of coming late. Li Hua：来晚了人少是没错，但是好东西可能也都给吃完了。哎，Larry， 我知道你饿了，可是你也不能一下子拿那么多嘛，你吃得完吗？

    Larry：I won't have time to eat dinner until late， so I'm trying to load up on food now. Li Hua：噢，今天你晚饭要很晚才能吃，可是，你说什么 - load up on food？ 那是什么意思啊？

    Larry： To load， load up on something is to get a lot of it， usually so that you can store some of it for later. Li Hua：噢，我明白了。你是想午饭多吃点，晚上就不会太饿了。哎，Larry， 除了说吃的东西，load up on还可以用在别的地方吗？

    Larry：Of course. Do you remember the storm we had last summer？ Well， people were worried about losing power， so they loaded up on batteries before the storm. Li Hua：去年夏天的那场暴风雨呀？我当然记得。就是啊，当时大家特别担心停电，所以买了好多电池 - We loaded up on batteries.

    Larry：Yup. Also， Li Hua， we can load up on sleep， too. Li Hua：噢，除了可以说load up on food， load up on batteries， 我们还可以说load up on sleep， 意思是多睡觉、多休息。

    Larry：If you load up on sleep and vitamins， you shouldn't get sick very easily. Li Hua：是没错，多休息、多吃维生素，我们就不容易生病了，哇，Larry， 我看你装了整整两盘菜啊，要是我像你这样load up on food，我肯定早就发胖了。

    Larry：All right， Li Hua， what are you trying to say？ You know I don't load up on food like this everyday！

    Li Hua：那倒也是！

    今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是threads， 在口语里表示“衣服”。另一个是load up on something， 意思是“大量储存某样东西”，比如load up on food， 就表示“吃得很多”。