Catch 附加條件

今天李華要做心理學實驗，騙Larry說她中了一百萬美元，看Larry會有什么樣的反應。李華會學到兩個常用語：grand和catch。

LH: Larry, Larry!!

LL: Hi Li Hua. Why are you so excited today?

LH: 我中樂透了！一百萬！我發財了。

LL: Oh really? Are you going to take me out to dinner?

LH: 請你吃飯？你的要求還真不高，我決定啊，分你一半！

LL: You're giving me half a million?! What's the catch？

LH: The catch...那是什么？

LL: A catch is any tricky or concealed drawback to a deal. You're definitely not giving me half a million dollars for no reason. It's okay, tell me. What's the catch?

LH: A catch是指某件好事的附帶條件？哦，我明白了，你是不相信我會因為友誼分一半獎金給你，你覺得這么好的事情一定有catch, 對嗎？

LL: Of course. I wouldn't give my own brother that much.

LH: 好吧，我交待。其實我沒中獎啦，是心理學課要做研究。我才想要試探試探你的反應。

LL: So this is all for your Psychology class. I knew it! What if you really won a million dollars? Would you share the money?

LH: 如果我真中了獎，當然會分你一點嘍。嗯，一千塊！怎樣，我這朋友夠意思吧？

LL: You'll only give me one grand?! That's 1,000th of a million, Li Hua! I thought our friendship was worth more than that...

LH: One grand...是一千塊錢的意思嗎？

LL: Yup. One grand is equivalent to?1,000 dollars.

LH: 喔。所以one grand是一千塊錢的意思。

LL: Yes, that's right.

LH: 那我就可以把五千塊錢說成5,000grands咯？

LL: No, no, no. "Grand" replaces "thousand dollars", so you would say five grand.

LH: 原來如此。五千塊要說five grand, 因為grand代替了thousand dollars這兩個詞。但為什么是說five grand而不是five grands呢？

LL: Even though five is more than one, you still say grand because the word is already in its plural form.

LH: 喔。因為grand已經是復數了, 所以要說five grand而不是five grands, 那我懂了。

LL: Hey, so back to the topic. You're only giving me 1,000 dollars?

LH: Yeah, one grand is a lot of money. 那換做是你，你會給我多少錢呢？

LL: I would give you 10 grand.

LH: 你會給我一萬？你真好！Wait, what would be the catch?

LL: There would be no catch! I treat you as a very close friend.

LH: 真的？我不信。不過，catch還可以怎么用？ Larry, 能不能多給我幾個例子？

LL: Sure. A catch is any benefit that comes with a drawback. For example, when you go on a web site, and they tell you you have a chance to win a laptop, there's usually a catch.

LH: 你是說，某些網站如果說你有機會贏一臺手提電腦，通常都要回答問卷，訂閱周刊等等好多好多條件，所以這些條件就是the catch嗎？

LL: Exactly. So whenever someone tells you you've won money, or a laptop, don't believe them. Or else, you're going to have to expect a big catch that goes with the benefit.

LH: 難怪有一種說法是 "天下沒有白吃的午餐"。 Everything that sounds too good has a catch to it.

LL: That's very true.

LH: 但我給你一千塊錢絕對沒有別的企圖喔！There is no catch.

LL: But I'm willing to give you?10 grand!

LH: 那我也給你10 grand怎么樣？

LL: Ten grand. That sounds a lot better...

LH: 那就好。對了，你等下有事嗎？請我去吃牛排吧！

LL: You want me to treat you to steak? A minute ago you were only willing to give me one grand, and now you want me to treat you to steak. Ai, Li Hua!

今天李華從Larry那兒學到兩個常用語。一個是grand, 是一千美元的替代說法。另一個catch, 指某種好處所附帶的條件。

相關閱讀

On the same page 意見統一

What a bummer 杯具了

Take baby steps 慢慢來

Shoot hoops 打籃球

（來源：流行美語 編輯：Rosy）