李薇 譯注

When a boyfriend and girlfriend decide to get married for sure, they get engaged. Sometimes, they have an engagement party. Sometimes, the man gives the woman a diamond ring to wear on the same finger as the future wedding ring. In Canada, we also have a saying: If you want to know what a woman will look like in the future, look at her mother. Do you think this is true?

A: Hi, I hear your girlfriend and you are going to get married. Is that true?

B: I love her and she loves me. We’re planning to get engaged next week.

A: Are you sure about this? You’ve only been dating for two months.

B: Yes, but she’s the girl of my dreams.

A: Every time you go out together, you have to foot the bill.

B: That’s only natural, I’m the man.

A: Yes, but I saw you in the coffee shop last week. You had to wait on her hand and foot, bringing her anything she needed.

B: That’s a man’s job, too.

A: Do you want to do that forever?

B: I’m happy to take care of my sweetheart.

A: Yes, but she’s very headstrong. She has to be the boss. Two weeks ago, you wanted to meet us, but she put her foot down and made you go out with her, instead. She’s very hard-headed.

B: Yes, she’s a little stubborn, but that’s cute.

A: And, when she’s in a bad mood, you have to walk on eggshells. You told me she threw a plate of food at you when you smiled at a waitress.

B: She’s jealous. I like that.

A: And, my friends say she’s very mouthy at home, telling her parents they’re wrong and giving them lip when they try to make her do anything.

B: Yes, she’s sassy and she talks back. I like a woman with spunk.

A: Wow, you’re really under her thumb. I think she cast a spell over you.

B: Hey, stop ribbing me. That’s love!

A: I’m not just teasing you, I’m worried. Her mom has a big pot belly, too. You know what they say: women grow to look like their mothers.

B: Now, I’m getting cold feet. Maybe I’ll postpone the engagement!

Exercise

1. foot the bill a. don’t listen to others’ advice and determined not
to change mind

2. wait on sb. hand and foot b. don’t change mind and very determined

3. headstrong c. don’t change your mind and very determined to do
what you want

4. put one’s foot down d. often say bad or rude things to others

5. hard-headed e. meaning rude, angry talk

6. stubborn f. answer someone rudely

7. walk on eggshells g. courage

8. mouthy h. girl doesn’t obey and very rude

9. give sb. lip i. be strongly influenced by someone that they control
you completely

10. sassy j. like a slave or nurse, to do everything for someone
(often used humorously)

11. talk back k. say very firmly and strongly that someone must stop
doing something

12. spunk l. make jokes and laugh at someone to make them
embarrassed

13. under sb.’s thumb m. joke softly and friendly to make the other person
shy and embarrassed

14. cast a spell (on) n. a big, round stomach

15. rib o. be very careful to someone because they easily
become very angry

16. tease p. delay the special plan to a later time

17. pot belly q. you do magic to attract and change someone

18. get cold feet r. suddenly get nervous and not brave enough to do
something you planned to do

19. postpone s. pay for something, especially something expensive

Answers: 1–s, 2–j, 3–c, 4–k, 5–b, 6–a, 7–o, 8–d, 9–e, 10–h, 11–f, 12–g, 13–i, 14–q, 15–m, 16–l, 17–n, 18–r, 19–p

Usage Tips

1. postpone這個詞是“延遲，延期”的意思，一般指“事先定好的計劃只是暫時取消一下，改到稍后的時間”，而且往往推遲的理由也比較充分。如：

Jane: I have to postpone my trip because my son is sick.

Judy: They postponed the baseball game until tomorrow because of rain.

與其意思相近的詞還有delay，如：The teacher delayed the start of the class because there was a train delay and the students were late. 相對來講，postpone要更正式些。

2. 如果孩子之間相互取笑，可以用tease一詞，但意圖并不友善，是在嘲笑（laugh at）對方，如：

Jane: When I was young, the other kids teased me because my clothes were too old. 而當大人之間用tease時，則含友善的意味，如：My brother always teased me when a boy phoned me. He always made me blush.

3. spunk 一詞是“勇氣，膽量”的意思，常見于口語中，男女均適用，該詞常用在那些雖看似是弱勢群體的人但有膽量和信心去敢做敢說的人身上，比如向嚴苛的老板要求加薪，等等。該詞帶有褒義色彩，其形容詞形式是spunky，即“有膽量的，充滿勇氣的”，如：a spunky team captain（有膽量的球隊隊長）。另一個口語中較常用的同義詞是guts，語氣較spunk要更強些，如：He has the guts to admit his mistakes.

（來源：英語學習雜志）