【大紀元3月4日訊】
Larry正在幫李華填稅表。今天我們要學兩個常用語：playing with fire和do it for me.
LH: Jeez, Larry. 美國報稅怎麼這麼麻煩。要我說，定個25%什麼的，所有人的收入都按這個稅率交，那多簡單。
LL: But Lihua, if it were so simple, all those accountants wouldn’t have jobs. Wouldn’t that be terrible?
LH: 我可管不了那麼多。對了，Larry, 你說，如果我把貓算做撫養對像來抵稅的話，稅務局會不會發現？
LL: Mr. Cuddles is very smart for a cat, but I don’t think he counts as a child. Even though you might not get caught, it would still be playing with fire.
LH: Playing with fire? 玩火，我報稅不老實，跟玩火有關係嗎？
LL: Actually, Li Hua, when you say someone is playing with fire, it means that she is doing something risky.
LH: 哦，我明白了。 Playing with fire不是說真去玩火，而是指做某些危險的事情。
LL: Bingo. For example, say I noticed that you’ve been putting on weight lately. I could suggest you try to lose some weight, but if I know anything about women, that would definitely be playing with fire.
LH: 算你聰明。勸女孩子減肥，那你可是引火燒身。不過，Larry, 報稅實在太無聊了。不如別報了，咱們去看電影吧。
LL: But Lihua, the deadline is coming up soon! If we wait until the last minute to send it in, we’ll really be playing with fire.
LH: 這倒也是。如果報稅過了最後期限，那可是自找麻煩。有了，不如我們花點錢，在網上找家報稅公司，讓他們去做吧！
LL: I don’t know, Lihua. Lots of those Web sites don’t seem trustworthy. If you gave them a lot of your personal information, you would really be playing with fire.
LH: 有道理。如果個人信息在網上被駭客偷走，那才真是玩火呢。看來，還是要求你幫忙。
LL: No problem. That’s what I’m here for.
LH: 你說，如果把我的婚姻狀況填成已婚，能不能少交點稅？
LL: Lihua, you are definitely playing with fire.
******
三個小時過後。
LH: 啊… 終於填完了。我現在最大的願望就是搬到Cayman Island去，每天都是明媚的陽光和溫暖的沙灘，而且不用交稅。
LL: Yeah, but what about Mr. Cuddles? I think he would be really hot, and he would get lots of sand in his fur.
LH: 那不行。我們家Cuddles可不能受半點委屈。要不，我把他寄養在你家吧？
LL: I don’t think so, Lihua. Cats don’t do it for me.
LH: Cats don’t do what for you, Larry? 我們家Mr. Cuddles能做不少把戲呢！不信你試試看！
LL: Actually, when you say that something doesn’t do it for you, it means you don’t really like it.
LH: 哦，我知道了，說一件事情do not do it for me, 就是說不合我的口味，我不喜歡。
LL: Exactly! Or for example, do you know how lots of men think Angelina Jolie is really beautiful?
LH: Larry, 你最好小心！如果你是哪個女明星的粉絲的話，最好不要說出來，否則的話….
LL: Actually, what I was going to say is that although lots of men think Angelina Jolie is really beautiful, she doesn’t really do it for me.
LH: 哦，原來Angelina Jolie不是你喜歡的類型。She is not your type.
LL: You got it. But now that we’re finished with your taxes, let’s go out and have some fun. Do you want to go out to a restaurant for dinner?
LH: 好啊。還去上個月去過的那家墨西哥餐館怎麼樣？我太喜歡吃墨西哥菜了！
LL: Yeah…it wasn’t too bad, but to be honest, it didn’t really do it for me. Let’s go somewhere that we both really love.
LH: It didn’t do it for you? 你竟然覺得一般？好吧，今天聽你的，誰讓你幫我報稅呢！
LL: Hmm … Say, you know what restaurant really did it for me? The Italian restaurant downtown we went to last week.
LH: 慢著慢著，那次吃完意大利菜，你不是鬧肚子來著嗎？I think going there might be playing with fire. 你再去不是「玩火」嗎？
LL: Yeah, it made me sick later, but the food was so delicious it was worth it.
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是playing with fire, 意思是做危險的事情，玩火。另一個是do it for me意思是合乎我的口味和愛好。 (http://www.dajiyuan.com)
