VOA流行美语 Unit 86: HANG IN THERE / STRESSED OUT

今天Larry到Li Hua的宿舍去串门，Li Hua会学到两个常用语：hang in there和to be stressed out。

LL: Li Hua, you look exhausted. Is everything OK?

LH: 哎哟， Larry, 我得在星期五以前赶出两篇论文，星期五还有一门课要大考，你说我能不累吗？I AM exhausted!

LL: Hang in there, Li Hua! After Friday it will be all over, and then you can relax.

LH: Hang in there? 那是什么意思呀？

LL: Hang in there. Hang in there just means "to keep enduring" or "to persist through a difficult situation."

LH: 噢，hang in there的意思就是，在困难的情况下再忍一忍，或者坚持下去。HHang in there - Hmm...这个说法很有意思。不过hang这个词本意不是"悬挂"吗？

LL: That's right, but "hang in there" can also mean "to stay the same" or "to not give up".

LH: 噢，我明白了，hang in there就是要"坚持下去，不要放弃"的意思。

LL: Exactly! Remember last semester when you had two tests and a term paper due the same week, you hung in there and even managed to get good grades. When things get tough, you just have to hang in there.

LH: 我当然记得上学期的那个礼拜。一个星期里，我有两门课要考试，还要交一篇学期论文。我当时咬紧牙关坚持学习，结果还得了好分数。所以你说，这就是hang in there的意思吧？

LL: You're right! Let me give you another example. If someone is having an emergency and calls the 9-1-1 emergency hotline, the operator might say, "Hang in there, an ambulance will be there in a few minutes".

LH: 噢，你说要是遇到紧急情况打911电话，接线员可能会说，Hang in there! 也就是说："别着急，坚持一下，救护车马上就到"的意思。

LL: So, just hang in there, Li Hua. You'll finish the papers before Friday and get good grades for the test too!

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LH: 嗨，Larry, 我刚考试考完。现在好了， 我可以轻松一下了。

LL: Well, I'm glad to see you so happy now that your test is over and those papers are done. You were really stressed out last week!

LH: 就是啊，我现在好高兴。可是，你说我上星期怎么了？Stressed out?

LL: I said you were "stressed out". Stressed out means that you were under so much stress and pressure that you barely made it.

LH: 噢，stressed out意思就是"压力太大，几乎承受不了"。Hmm, 这话一点没错，我上个星期还真是有点顶不住了。Larry, 你倒是好像不太容易stressed out.

LL: That's because I know that to be stressed out usually makes things worse. I find that I do better on a test when I'm not stressed out about it.

LH: Hmm, 我也有这种感觉，你越是感到压力大，越会坏事。在这种情况下，考试都是考不好的。

LL: Last week, you appeared a little bit impatient, but I understand it's because you were really stressed out about your papers. So I encouraged you to HANG IN THERE.

LH: 我上星期显得很烦躁呀！哟，我自己还没有察觉呢。Larry, 我要是对你显得不耐烦， 对不起哟！下次再遇到压力很大的情况，也就是我stressed out的时候，我一定会记住，要坚持下去，要hang in there.

LL: Oh, don't worry about it. The last thing I want is for you to stress out about making me upset. By the way, did you call Michael last night?

LH: 对，我打了。他说他还不太习惯那儿的生活，我让他hang in there! Try not to be stressed out. 他还让我向你问好呢！

LL: That's nice!

今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是hang in there, 表示"坚持下去，不放弃"。另一个是to be stressed out, 意思是"压力太大"。