【大紀元9月26日訊】
李華通過了博士生的資格考試。Larry漲了工資。兩人一起去吃飯慶祝。李華今天要學兩個常用語，go out和more than friends.
LL: It is so nice to be celebrating such happy events with you, Li Hua! And on such a wonderful evening, I have an important question to ask you.
LH: 重要問題？好，有什麼問題儘管問！
LL: (Nervously) Uh…Well…I was wondering if you wanted to….go out with me.
LH: 出去幹嘛？我們還沒吃完飯呢？再說，外面又那麼悶熱。
LL: (A little embarrassed) Uhhh…Noooo. I don’t actually mean for us to go outside *right now*, Li Hua. By asking if you wanted to go out with me, I meant: Would you date me?
LH: 哦，原來go out with you是約會的意思。
LL: (Hopefully) Yes…So, would you like to go out with me, Li Hua?
LH: Larry, 我們做朋友這麼久了，你現在要跟我談戀愛，我還真覺得有些突然。
LL: We *have* been friends for a long time, Li Hua, and I realized that there isn’t anyone else I enjoy doing things with as much as you. That’s why I decided to ask you to go out with me.
LH: 我得考慮一下，因為這樣一來，我們的關係就全變了。
LL: Well, it wouldn’t change things that much. If we are going out, we will still do all the things we do now: go to restaurants, see movies, and take trips to fun places.
LH: 你說得沒錯，那我們就不能跟別人約會了吧？
LL: That is generally the idea, Li Hua. When you go out with someone, you don’t usually date other people.
LH: 我現在倒是沒跟什麼人約會，可是…
LL: What? Is it that you don’t want to go out with me, Li Hua?
LH: 不是。我很喜歡你，我就是希望我們永遠能像現在這麼好。
LL: So, you will go out with me?
LH: 好，我願意！
******
LL: This is so great! You’ve made me so happy, Li Hua. I was worried you were going to say you wanted to be “just friends.”
LH: 我知道，如果女孩子不接受男子的追求，就可以說She wants to be “just friends.” 只做普通朋友。
LL: How do you know about being “just friends”, Li Hua?
LH: 以前我跟兩個室友住在一起，經常說起交男朋友的事。
LL: So, what did your roommates tell you?
LH: 有個男孩約Nancy出去，可Nancy並不喜歡他，所以她就打電話給那個男孩，說更願意做普通朋友。
LL: Well, Li Hua, it takes a lot of courage for a guy to ask a girl out on a date – and there is nothing worse than hearing a girl say she wants to be “just friends.”
LH: 這我可不信。
LL: I guess you are right, Li Hua. A girl could say worse things!
LH: 不過我可以想像，被謝絕的男孩子的自尊心肯定會受到打擊。
LL: That’s right. And that is why I am so glad you didn’t say you wanted to be “just friends”, Li Hua, just a moment ago. I would have been sad.
LH: 如果不是”just friends”普通朋友，那我們是什麼呢？
LL: Well, when a girl says she would like to go out with a guy, she and the guy become “more than friends.”
LH: 也就是說我們原來是普通朋友，那現在開始約會，所以我們的關係已經不只是朋友，超越了朋友的界限了？
LL: Right, being “more than friends” is a way of saying you are dating someone. So now we are “more than friends.”
LH: 兩個”more than friends”的人做的事情，一定跟”just friends”的人做的不一樣嘍？
LL: Like date each other.
LH: 還有拉手，擁抱…
LL: Oh, look! It’s the waiter with our bill, Li Hua. Maybe we can continue this conversation later…
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是go out, 是約會的意思。另一個是just friends做普通朋友，和more than friends, 戀愛的關係。
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