现在Michael和李华在准备下午的考试。李华会学到两个常用语：to jinx和come off it.

    L： Michael， 考试准备得怎么样了？ 可别再像上次那样考砸了！

    M： Ahh！ Li Hua， don't say that！ You'll jinx me！

    L： Jinx you？ 听不懂，什么是jinx啊？

    M： Jinx. Jinx can be used as a verb or a noun. One way to jinx someone is to say something unlucky， like you just said.

    L： 噢，jinx这个词可以作动词，也可以作名词。你刚才说：You'll jinx me， 意思是你认为我说“这次你可别考砸了”，这句话不吉利，会让你倒霉。哎哟，Michael， 你那么迷信啊！

    M： Well， some people believe in jinxes. For instance， a lot of people think that there is a jinx on the Chicago Cubs baseball team. It hasn't won a World Series for 95 years.

    L： 有人说芝加哥棒球队“小熊队”撞上了倒霉运，所以老是进不了世界杯决赛。Michael， 你刚才说，There is a jinx on the Chicago Cubs. 这个jinx就是名词了吧？

    M： That's right！ I don't believe in black magic or anything like that. But I do think that if someone hears something unlucky， or believes that there is a jinx， it can affect his or her performance.

    L： 我啊，也不相信真的有什么魔术或巫术的。可是，要是你确实相信听到倒霉话就真的会倒霉，那是会影响你的心理，也会影响你做事的结果。我就不信真的有jinx！

    M： Really？ What if I told you that I think you're going to fail this test unless you apologize to me？ I am jinxing you！

    L： 什么？你要我对你道歉！我要不跟你道歉，我考试就会不及格！你想咒我啊，You are trying to jinx me？ 我才不怕呢。我又不信jinx这一套！我只是希望你这次别考砸了。我是好意啊！

    M： Li Hua， you said it again！ I'm going to give you five seconds to apologize for jinxing me.

    L： 给我五秒钟对你道歉？我干吗要道歉，我又没有说错话。我看你还是赶快去复习你的功课吧！别相信什么悔气不悔气的。

    L： 哎呀，Michael， 我这次肯定考砸了。都是你的错，you jinxed me before the test！

    M： Oh come off it， Li Hua. You said you don't believe in jinxes.

    L： Come off it？ 你在说什么呀？

    M： I said "come off it！" That means "stop talking nonsense" or "stop pretending that something is true".

    L： 噢，come off it就表示“不要瞎说”、“别装蒜啦”。嗨，你不是说你相信听了倒霉的话就真的会倒霉呀？

    M： Come off it， Li Hua！ You're the one who said that if someone fails， it has nothing to do with the jinx.

    L： 我是不相信所谓的jinx， 可是你在考试前和我争来争去，影响我情绪，所以我没有考好啊！

    M： You want me to feel guilty？ Well， I don't！

    L： Come off it， Michael！ 你要我跟你道歉，还说不然我就会考不好，这当然影响我情绪啦！

    M： Come off it， Li Hua！ It's not my fault. It's your fault you didn't come to class on Friday. You missed about a third of the material covered on the test.

    L： 什么？我考试没考好是因为我礼拜五没有来上课？哎，你明明知道那天我生病了嘛！

    M： Oh， come off it！ I saw you later that day. You weren't sick！

    L： You come off it， Michael！ 我是真的生病啦！

    M： Unlucky， huh？ So you're still blaming me for jinxing you？ Come off it， already. You don't really believe in that jinx nonsense， do you？

    L： 对，我考试没考好，不怪你，算我自己倒霉，行了吧？

    李华今天在和Michael谈论考试的时候，学到了两个常用语：to jinx表示“带来坏运气”；come off it表示“不要瞎说”、“别装蒜”。