VOA流行美語 Unit 360:過份的想法或行爲&小看,不看好

Larry和李華一起去參觀藝術博物館。他們會用到兩個常用語：Overkill和write something off.

LH: Larry, 聽我的對了吧。逛藝術博物館比看電影強多了！

L: Well I agree. But the art museum would be even better if it served popcorn too!

LH: 這倒也是，要是博物館裏也賣爆米花、熱狗、啤酒，邊逛邊吃，那該有多舒服啊!

L: Hot dogs and beer? I don't know, Lihua. I think that might be overkill.

LH: Overkill是什麼意思？

L: When you think that an idea goes too far, you can say that it is overkill.

LH: 哦，overkill就是過份的想法或行爲。你是說，在博物館裏賣爆米花似乎還不錯，可如果連熱狗和啤酒都一起賣就太誇張了。

L: That's right! Here is another example. Elliot's boss thought about firing him for being an hour late to work, but then decided that would be overkill.

LH: 哦，Elliot遲到了一個小時，老闆本來想因爲這個而炒他的魷魚，不過後來覺得，這麼做太過份了。對了，Larry, 博物館這麼好，我們天天來這裏逛如何？

L: Lihua, I really enjoy the art gallery, but coming here every single day would definitely be overkill.

LH: 什麼過份，你真沒有藝術細胞! 我的藝術氣質比你濃多了，我看，我乾脆去讀個藝術史的博士好了！

L: Lihua, it's fine to enjoy art as a hobby, but I think getting a PhD in art history would really be overkill.

LH: 呵呵，我開玩笑的。對了Larry, 你還記得上次咱們去華盛頓看兵馬俑展覽麼？

L: I sure do! That was one of my favorites.

LH: 就是，多好看啊。可惜展出的只是一部分，要是所有兵馬俑都到美國來展覽就好了！

L: I don't know ... I was satisfied seeing just a few. I think bringing the entire collection here would be overkill.

LH: 纔不會呢! 要看就得看全的！那個氣勢，肯定不一樣! 我給你買張機票，你去中國看吧！

L: Lihua, it's nice that you're encouraging me to see the Teracotta Warriors, but buying me a plane ticket to China is definitely overkill!

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LH: Larry, 你喜歡什麼流派的藝術啊？現實主義還是抽象主義？

L: I definitely prefer the realistic kind. Anybody can make abstract art!

LH: 人人都能創作抽象派藝術作品？那好，你創作一個給我看看!

L: Er ... I guess you're right. I shouldn't write off abstract artists so quickly.

LH: Write them off? 這是什麼意思？

L: When you write something off, that means you decide that it isn't important.

LH: 哦，就是小看，不看好的意思。你是說，你不該小瞧抽象派藝術家。

L: Right! Here is another example. In high school most people had written Jack off as an actor, so they were really surprised when he became a movie star years later.

LH: 我明白了。高中時大家都覺得Jack肯定當不了演員，可後來他成了電影明星，所以大家都很吃驚。

L: That's right!

LH: 對了Larry, 你說這些藝術品的創作者一定都很有錢吧？他們的作品都賣得好貴哦！

L: Actually I don't think so. Many great artists were written off in their own time, and people only started to appreciate them many years later.

LH: 也是，好多藝術家在世的時候不被世人重視，總是死了之後纔得到人們的認可，真可惜！哎， Larry, 你喜不喜歡畫畫？

L: I thought of being an artist when I was a little kid, but I wrote that dream off a long time ago when I realized I was bad at drawing.

LH: 哦，你發現自己畫畫不行，就放棄了當畫家的夢想。

L: Yeah, but I still like to draw as a hobby. Even though I can't be a professional artist, giving it up even as a hobby would have been overkill.

LH: 要不這樣吧，Larry, 把你最近畫的大作拿來，跟我五歲時畫的兒童簡筆畫比比，看看你有沒有達到我五歲時的水平？

L: Very funny, Lihua. I'll write that off as a joke!

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是overkill，表示過份的想法或行爲。另一是write something off, 意思是“小看，不看好”。