【大紀元2011年02月10日訊】Larry在學校書店，陪李華買新學期要用的書。他們會用到兩個常用語： bite your tongue和stoop down to someone’s level。
LH: 啊呀，怎麼這麼多人都選今天來買書！
Larry: Well, classes do start on Monday. Everyone is getting ready for school to start.
LH: Larry，剛才我結帳的時候，你聽見那個收款員嘲笑我了麼？他看我買這本書，說甚麼：「呦，你還上這門課哪？有甚麼用啊這種課！」他怎麼能這樣呢？! 氣得我夠嗆!
Larry: Yea, I almost said something to him, but I just wanted to get out of there. Sometimes it’s just better to bite your tongue and walk away.
LH: Bite your tongue? Larry你咬舌頭啦？疼不疼啊？
Larry: No, Lihua. My tongue is fine. Biting your tongue is a phrase that means you force yourself to keep quiet – Like you have to bite your tongue to keep it from talking.
LH: 哦，to bite your tongue意思就是忍著不說話。你是說，你本想說那店員兩句，可不想引起爭執，所以就忍著沒作聲。
Larry: That’s right, Lihua, and saying something mean back to that rude cashier just wouldn’t be worth it. Better to bite my tongue and walk away.
LH: 這倒是。我真希望剛才那個收銀員也知道甚麼時候閉嘴，bite his tongue，不要對客人說這麼沒禮貌的話。
Larry: He was probably just having a bad day. When someone gets frustrated, it’s easier for them to forget to bite their tongue when they should…Like last Friday when my boss asked me to work late…
LH: 啊？老闆讓你加班，你說甚麼啦？
Larry: Well I wanted to tell him to get lost, but, of course, I bit my tongue instead.
LH: 幸好你忍住了！對老闆大發脾氣可不是明智之舉！
Larry: That sure would be a mistake. Another example of a good time to bite your tongue is when your teacher makes you angry in class.
LH: 沒錯！有時候我也想頂老師幾句，可想想得罪老師的後果，我呀，還是bite my tongue，裝啞巴算了!
Larry: That’s definitely the smart thing to do. You wouldn’t want your teacher to be angry at you!
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LH: 每個人在生活中都應該「三思而後言」，不能想到甚麼說甚麼。一想起剛才那個沒禮貌的店員，我就來氣！
Larry: It’s alright, Lihua – there’s nothing we can do about it now anyway. We would only be stooping down to his level if we returned the insult.
LH: “Stooping down to his level”「彎腰到他的水平」？這是甚麼意思？
Larry: To stoop down to his level would mean to be rude to him just like he was rude to us. Just because he is rude does not mean that we have to act the same way.
LH: 我明白了。stoop down to someone’s level意思就是「跟某人一般見識」。如果別人對你沒禮貌，而你也用粗魯的語言去回敬他，那你就是把自己降低到和他一樣的檔次了。
Larry: Right. For example, if someone speeds past you while you’re driving, it’s better to let them go instead of trying to catch up and race them.
LH: 對，別人不守交通規則，咱不能跟他們一般見識，和他們一塊兒違章開車。
Larry: Exactly. If they want to be unsafe, let them be unsafe by themselves.
LH: 對了，Larry, 剛才咱們排隊的時候，後面一群女生在議論你的新鞋。
Larry: My shoes? What did they say??
LH: 呃….她們在嘲笑你的鞋子老土…不過沒關係，我忍了，甚麼都沒說，我不能跟她們一般見識，嘰嘰喳喳說人壞話，你說對吧？
Larry: My shoes? Out of style? That’s so rude. I’m glad you didn’t stoop down to their level. If I had heard them, I might not have been able to control myself. Why, I would……
LH: Larry! 你怎麼啦？!咱們剛才不是才說麼，不要想到甚麼就說甚麼！
Larry: You’re right. I wouldn’t want to stoop down to their level.
LH: 要不，咱們還是給你買雙新鞋吧！
Larry: New shoes? What, you don’t like these either?
LH: Um, I….
Larry: Yes?
LH: 我想我還是bite my tongue吧!
Larry: It doesn’t work if I already know what you are going to say! (Sigh) OK. There’s a shoe store. Let’s hope the cashier there is having a better day.
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是bite your tongue，表示「忍著不說話」。另一個是stoop down to one’s level, 意思是「跟某人一般見識」。
