【大紀元9月25日訊】
Larry 剛剛給自己的公寓貼了新的牆紙，可是他覺得效果很不理想。 李華今天會學到兩個常用語：diddlysquat和rub it in。
LL: Today, Li Hua, I discovered that I don’t know diddlysquat about putting up wallpaper.
LH: 甚麼? diddlysquat？聽你的意思，你好像是說你對貼牆紙甚麼也不懂，是嗎？
LL: That’s right. I don’t know diddlysquat means I don’t know anything.
LH：噢，Don’t know diddlysquat就是甚麼也不懂，一竅不通。
LL：Right. When I was wallpapering my apartment, I didn’t get the pieces perfectly straight before I put them on, and now the pattern doesn’t line up.
LH: 我也對貼牆紙一竅不通。不過，貼之前好像總得把牆紙弄直了。否則，牆紙的花樣怎麼對得起來呢！
LL: Yeah, but it is harder to do than you might think. I really needed to read instructions in a how-to book before I started, but I didn’t do diddlysquat to prepare.
LH: 原來你甚麼準備都沒有做就開始貼牆紙呀！美國有很多關於如何裝修房屋的書，你甚麼沒看就動手啦？你膽子也夠大的。得了，你來幫我點忙， 分散一下注意力，心情就會好一些。好嗎？
LL: Sure, how can I help?
LH: 我昨天買了一個新的電腦硬盤，可我在這方面甚麼也不懂，I don’t know diddlysquat about computer。 你來幫我裝一下，好嗎？
LL: You are just like my mom, Li Hua. She doesn’t know diddlysquat about computers either─but I am happy to help out. When should I come by?
LH: Larry，你能幫我裝上，那太好了。午飯以後可以過來嗎？
LL: OK, I’ll do that. But maybe you can come help me remove the wallpaper I put up.
LH: 幫你撕牆紙，I don’t know diddlysquat about that! 讓我看看再說吧。
*****
LH: Oh, Larry, 這牆紙還真是沒對齊。
LL: Yeah, I know. Please don’t rub it in.
LH: 不要抹進去？我們不是要把牆紙撕下來嗎？
LL: No, no. By 「rub it in」, I didn’t mean rub the wallpaper into the wall. I meant that I already know the wallpaper doesn’t line up, so you don’t need to tell me again and make me feel worse.
LH: 我明白了， rub it in的意思是在傷口上抹鹽，令人更難堪。 牆紙沒貼好，你已經很難過了，我又提起這件事，就是rub it in – 讓你更難受，對嗎？
LL: Yeah, especially when it is something you are not happy about. 「Rubbing it in」 just makes a person feel worse.
LH: Rub it in，只會讓人更難過， 所以我們的朋友Rick撞車之後，你並沒有對他說， 「你怎麼這麼不小心」，因為你不想讓他更難堪。
LL: Right, I didn’t want Rick to feel even worse about his car.
LH: 上個星期考試，我考得好， 你考得不好，我說，「你本來就該好好複習嘛」。這又是 rubbing it in，往傷口上抹鹽，對 不對？
LL: Exactly.
LH: 可是我只是想對朋友提出忠告，並沒有 抹鹽的意思。
LL: I know you didn’t mean to rub it in, Li Hua. Well, let’s go see what we can do about your hard drive.
LH: Great. 好吧，去看看我的電腦吧。
LL: You are really lucky that we are friends! I mean, you don’t know diddlysquat about computers. You’d never be able to install the hard drive without me.
LH: 我知道我對電腦一竅不通， 你就別往傷口上抹鹽了。You don’t have to rub it in！
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是don’t know diddlysquat about something，意思是對某件事一無所知，一竅不通。李華學到的另一個常用語是 rub it in， 意思是在某個人的傷口上抹鹽，令人更加難過。
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