VOA流行美语 Unit 95: JACK / KAPUT

今天李华和Larry在谈暑假里打算干什么，李华会学到两个常用语：jack和kaput。

LH: Hey Larry, 你知不知道纽约附近哪个地方可以钓鱼呀？

LL: Fishing, huh? I'm sorry Li Hua, I don't know jack about fishing.

LH: 哎，我问你钓鱼的事，你怎么说你不认识Jack?

LL: I'm not talking about a guy named Jack. When I say "I don't know jack about fishing", that means "I don't know anything about fishing".

LH: 噢，原来jack在这里不是人的名字,你说 I don't know jack about fishing 意思就是"你对钓鱼一无所知"。这么说，jack在这里就表示 "nothing", right?

LL: That's right.

LH: I don't know jack about fishing, 那不就成了I don't know nothing about fishing. 英文里是不能用双重否定的，不是吗？

LL: OK, you're right, we don't use double negatives in proper, formal English. But this is slang! "I don't know jack" means "I don't know anything".

LH: 我也经常听人说 I don't know nothing, 我知道在正规英语里面是不应该这么说的。这样说来，在口语里是这么用的，那"I don't know jack" 就表示"我什么也不知道"。对了，Larry, 那你暑假不准备钓鱼，你打算干什么呢？

LL: Well, I may just sit around. In other words, I don't do jack!

LH: You don't do jack! 我知道，你是说你什么也不干啊。除了"I don't know jack" ，原来你还可以说：I don't do jack! 好不容易到了暑假，你却打算什么都不干？我才不会这样白白浪费时间。

LL: Well, the reason vacation is so valuable is because I can sit around and don't do jack all day. Usually I'm a very busy guy.

LH: 你说得也有道理，就是因为放假了，才有可能懒散一点儿;什么事情也不做。平时又要学习又要打工，是够忙的。

LL: Well, anyway, I need to get home and start on the term paper. I haven't written jack yet!

LH: 什么？你的期末论文一点儿还没动手啊？哎哟，那你赶紧回家去写吧！

******

LH: Larry, 你不是在家写论文吗？怎么又跑到学校图书馆来啦?

LL: Well, I got home and started to work on my term paper, but my computer went kaput!

LH: 你说你的电脑怎么啦？Went kaput? 听起来就好象是电脑出问题了，是不是啊？

LL: Yes, "kaput" means "broken, ruined or not working properly." My computer went kaput, so now I have to work on my paper in the library.

LH: Oh, 原来 kaput 意思就是"坏了，没法正常工作"。你是说你的电脑坏了，Larry, 你最近好像运气不太好嘛.前些天，你的手机电话不是也出故障了吗？

LL: Oh man, that's a real problem! My cell phone really went kaput and nobody could reach me.

LH: 就是啊，我给你打电话留言，你也没收到。

LL: During that time, I was out of touch with everyone. It felt like my whole life went kaput.

LH: 有那么严重吗？你因为手机坏了，和所有人失去了联系，让你觉得整个生活都完蛋啦？哎哟，还是先说说你的电脑吧 - 你的电脑 went kaput，那你有没有丢掉什么重要文件呢？

LL: Well, I'm hoping it wasn't the hard drive that went kaput. That would be terrible!

LH: 你先别着急，即使是hard drive went kaput, 我想有的信息还是可以找回来的啦！

LL: Let's hope so. If I can't get my computer fixed soon, I won't have jack to show them in my term paper.

LH: 但愿你的电脑赶快修好。学期论文要是交白卷可真是太糟糕了。

今天李华从Larry那儿学到了两个常用语，一个是jack, 在英语口语里 I don't know jack的意思是"我什么也不知道"。李华学到的另一个常用语是kaput, 就相当于中文里所说的"坏了""出了问题"。