完全正確的英語口語教學

Larry（L）和李華（LH）一起去逛街，給Larry的朋友Tom買生日禮物。今天我們要學兩個常用語：right on the money和crapshoot。

LH: Larry, Tom平時有什麼愛好啊？

L: Tom really enjoys sports, especially skiing. But he also loves video games too.

LH: 他喜歡滑雪和電子遊戲？現在天氣這麼熱，沒法帶他去滑雪……對了！我們給他買一個滑雪的電子遊戲，這樣他在家裏就能滑了!

L: You want to buy him a skiing video game? I think you're right on the money. Great idea!

LH: Right on the money? 什麼意思？你讓我付錢買禮物嗎？

L: Actually, when you say that something is right on the money, that means it is exactly right.

LH: 哦，right on the money就是“完全正確”的意思。你是説，我提出給Tom買滑雪遊戲是個特別好的主意，對不對？

L: Exactly. Here is another example. When Erica went to visit Karen she wasn't sure which apartment number was hers. Luckily her guess was right on the money.

LH: 我明白了。Erica不肯定Karen家的`門牌號碼，可是她一猜就猜中了，這就叫right on the money.

L: Exactly! You're right on the money.

LH: 那可不！咱們去電器商場買遊戲吧！對了，那家店在哪兒來着？是在14街上麼？

L: Yup, you're right on the money. There is a big electronics store there.

LH: 那我們怎麼去呢？

L: There is a metro station nearby, so I think that will be the most convenient way.

LH: 對，附近是有地鐵。是地鐵的哪條線來着？綠線麼？

L: Yup, you're right on the money again. It's the green line.

L: Larry, 這種滑雪遊戲好像是新上市的，會不會很貴啊？得50塊錢吧？

LH: Wow Lihua, good guess! You're right on the money. The most popular skiing video game is $49.99.

L: 哈！我今天怎麼猜什麼都那麼準啊！那我再猜猜，你買這個遊戲給Tom, 其實是想和他一起玩兒吧？

LH: Actually, Lihua, you're right on the money!

******

Larry和李華正在商場的電子遊戲區選遊戲。

LH: Larry，這裏至少有10種滑雪遊戲！咱們買哪個啊？

L: Hmmm... I don't know. Maybe we could ask a store employee to recommend one.

LH: 找店員問？他肯定給你推薦最貴的，而且還不一定好！

L: I guess you're right. Since we don't have any idea which games are good, it's really just a crapshoot.

LH: A crapshoot? 什麼意思？

L: A crapshoot is something that depends totally on luck.

LH: 哦，crapshoot就是完全靠運氣的事情。

L: Exactly. For example, becoming a movie star is extremely competitive. Even if you're a good actor, it's still mostly a crapshoot.

LH: 對，想成為電影明星很難，即使你有表演天賦，這也基本上是撞大運的事兒。

L: You got it.

LH: Larry，這裏的遊戲都好貴啊，要不咱們去別的店看看，也許有便宜點的？

L: Maybe, but there isn't any way to know which store would be cheaper. It would really be just a crapshoot.

LH: 這倒也是。對了，Tom家的遊戲機是什麼牌子的啊？任天堂？索尼？還是X-Box?

L: Hmm... I have no idea.

LH: 啊？你不知道牌子，那怎麼買遊戲啊。萬一型號對不上，就沒法玩兒啦。

L: Well, we will just have to guess. It will be a crapshoot, but he can always exchange it later.

LH: 那多麻煩。要不我們送給Tom一張購物券吧，讓他自己隨便買點什麼。反正我們也不是很確定他會喜歡滑雪遊戲。

L: Well, it's not a total crapshoot. We know he likes skiing and video games, so it's likely he will like this gift.

LH: 我説 Larry, 你對Tom的生日禮物可真上心啊！我猜，等到給我買生日禮物的時候，你一定會花更多的心思！

L: Of course, Lihua. You're right on the money!