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2024.04.20 17:38
第十六部 第十四課: hand-me-down , hands down
- Larry 和李華一起去購物。Larry 準備去參加朋友的婚禮，可是原來的西裝太舊了，所以需要買一套新西裝。李華今天要學兩個常用語 hand-me-down 和 hands down。
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- Hey Li Hua, I need your help with something. I want to go to the mall and buy a new suit to wear for my friend Jack's wedding.
- 要我幫你購物？這可是我的專長。你想買什麼牌子的西裝？是Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, 還是Dolce & Gabbana?
- Wo! Wo! Don't overwhelm me already. Any department store will do. All I need to do is find something to replace this old hand-me-down suit that I always wear.
- 什麼？你這套舊西裝是什麼質地的？Hand-me-down? 我怎麼沒聽說過這種西裝布料呀？
- No. Hand-me-down is an expression. It refers to something that is given to you because someone else does not want it any more. My father gave me the suit that I wear now because he could not wear it any longer.
- 噢，我明白了，hand-me-down是說從別人那兒撿來的舊東西，是別人不要的東西。你現在這套西裝原來是你老爸穿不了給你的，怪不得看起來不太合身，而且還有些舊舊的。要這麼說的話，我的鞋也是hand-me-down。
- What? Your wingtip dress shoes?
- 就是啊，這雙鞋其實是我的好朋友Jane不要了給我的。她還告訴我說，她的另外兩個朋友Sarah和Lily也都穿過這雙鞋。
- Wow! Now that's a hand-me-down. How have those shoes lasted so long?
- 這種鞋之所以結實，是因為鞋底可以換新的，我已經換過兩次了。對了，你老爸有沒有給你什麼hand-me-down的鞋，讓你穿著去參加Jack的婚禮啊？
- No, unfortunately, my big feet won't fit into his hand-me-down shoes.
- 你的腳確實不小。那就走吧，大腳，我們買東西去。
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- [Li Hua and Larry arrived at store]
- Larry，你有三種選擇，這種黑色或是棕色的單排扣兩件套西裝，還有就是這件灰色的雙排扣西裝，你更喜歡哪個？
- I think the gray double-breasted suit is better looking than any of the others, hands down. And it makes me look pretty sophisticated.
- 這件灰西裝看上去確實不錯，穿在你身上也挺精神的，但是你剛才說的hands down是什麼意思呀？
- Oh. hands down is an expression that means that something is easily better than something else; that a comparison or competition between two things is uncontested.
- 噢， 我明白了。你是說這件灰色西裝比其它的都強得多，根本沒有好比較的。你說的不錯，那套棕色的好像有點兒容易皺，黑色的看起來又太一般了。這件灰色的樣子確實不錯。
- Yeah, and it costs half as much as the others. You know Li Hua, I would never have found this suit at such a good price without your help. Hands down, you are a much better shopper than I am.
- 而且價錢也不貴，算是讓你趕上了。你也知道，我這人就是喜歡逛街。下次你要買什麼東西，可以再找我。我們倆兒也算是各有所長，誰都知道，要打籃球，我絕不是你的對手，可是，hands down，毫無疑問。
- Yeah you're right about that. Let's go to the check-out counter and pay for this suit so I can finally get rid of my old hand-me-down suit.
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- 今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是 hand-me-down, 意思是別人用過的舊東西。還有一個是 hands down，意思是毫無疑問。
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