強(qiáng)人所難的tall order

Chris告訴同事Jason, 準(zhǔn)備買(mǎi)輛新車(chē)。

Jason: Hey there Chris, what are you up to?

Chris: I'm just poring over some brochures about various car models.

J: Oh, so you're thinking about buying a new car?

C: Yeah, it looks that way. My wife has been bugging me about it. I thought we could probably survive without one, but with a baby on the way, maybe it is time to get a car.

J: So this would be your first automobile?

C: That's right. For quite a few years, I rode a bicycle to work. Then I got a motorbike.

Chris太太懷孕，所以不得不考慮買(mǎi)車(chē)。Chris說(shuō)，my wife has been bugging me about it. 意思是我太太一直在軟磨硬泡要說(shuō)服我，to bug someone是沒(méi)完沒(méi)了煩某人的意思，比如說(shuō)，Stop bugging me. 意思就是別煩我了。這是Chris的第一輛車(chē)，他以前都是騎自行車(chē)或是騎摩托車(chē)上班，但現(xiàn)在 with a baby on the way 眼看就要有孩子了，所以只好考慮買(mǎi)車(chē)。Jason表示理解。

J: Yeah, I think I can understand your wife's position. Asking her to ride on a motorcycle when she's pregnant is a tall order.

C: Oh...I don't let her ride with me. It's just too dangerous. She takes the bus to work, but it is sometimes difficult to get a seat and it's crowded and hot.

J: So it's time to buy your very first car! Wow, that's exciting!

C: Yes, but it's also a pretty big financial responsibility.

J: Yeah. I still remember my first car. It was an old clunker that my dad gave me when I turned 17. I drove it around for a couple of years until I scraped together enough money to buy a better secondhand car.

Jason說(shuō)，讓太太挺著大肚子坐Chris的摩托車(chē)確實(shí)有點(diǎn)強(qiáng)人所難，It's a tall order. tall order 意思是很難完成的任務(wù)或要求。Chris解釋說(shuō)，其實(shí)太太不坐他的摩托車(chē)上班，但是擠公交車(chē)也很辛苦，所以才必須買(mǎi)車(chē)。Jason說(shuō)，他的第一輛車(chē)是17歲過(guò)生日時(shí)老爸送的，It was an old clunker. clunker是老破車(chē)的意思，開(kāi)了幾年后，攢夠了錢(qián)才自己買(mǎi)了輛稍微像點(diǎn)兒樣的secondhand car二手車(chē)。Chris說(shuō)，

C: I'm having a hard time deciding which model is best for us.

J: Yeah, it is a tough call. Each one has its pros and cons. Are you looking for a sedan?

C: Yes, I'd like a Jeep, but my wife says we have to get a comfortable sedan for long drives home to see her relatives.

J: I'd advise you to listen to your wife. She will be sitting in the back taking care of the kids so whatever she prefers is probably the best choice.

Chris說(shuō)，拿不定主意應(yīng)該買(mǎi)什么型號(hào)的車(chē)。Jason承認(rèn)，It's a tough call. tough call意思是很難做的決定。他還說(shuō)，不同型號(hào)的車(chē)有各自的優(yōu)缺點(diǎn)，pros and cons是指一件事情的正反面，pros 是優(yōu)點(diǎn)，正面的，cons是缺點(diǎn)，負(fù)面的。Chris想買(mǎi)吉普車(chē)Jeep，但他太太堅(jiān)持要買(mǎi)轎車(chē)sedan, 因?yàn)閟edan開(kāi)長(zhǎng)途坐著更舒服些。

C: What do you think about this one? Here...take a look.

J: I like it. It's quite stylish. But...it's also pretty small.

C: That's OK. We are only a family of three.

J: This model has a 1.3 liter engine. With a small engine, you'll save a lot of money on gas.

C: That's one of the reasons I'm considering this one. It gets good gas mileage and overall has good value.

J: When I was young, having a car was all about power, prestige and fashion. But today, everything is about economy, value and savings.

C: The world has changed.

Chris看中了一款車(chē)，征求Jason的意思。Jason說(shuō)，車(chē)外觀還是挺有型的，但就是有點(diǎn)小。Chris覺(jué)得，小點(diǎn)沒(méi)關(guān)系，因?yàn)樗麄兙腿谌?，a family of three, 小點(diǎn)也夠用了。Jason說(shuō)，這款車(chē)引擎是1.3公升的，省油，是優(yōu)點(diǎn)。Chris承認(rèn)，這也是他看中這款車(chē)的原因之一，It gets good gas mileage and overall has good value. 意思是說(shuō)這輛車(chē)油耗低，總體上說(shuō)很劃算。Jason大發(fā)感慨，說(shuō)自己年輕那會(huì)兒買(mǎi)車(chē)就是為了馬力、時(shí)尚，如今大家考慮的卻都是實(shí)用和省錢(qián)。

J: Have you considered getting a secondhand car?

C: My wife rejected that idea. She says that you never know if the car dealer is unscrupulous. The car could be water damaged or could have been involved in an accident.

J: She makes some good points. Anyway, having a new car is a great experience.

C: I'm also trying to decide if I should take the three or fiveyear payment option.

J: If I can make a suggestion: go with a threeyear plan. The fiveyear might look easier, but in the end, the interest payments are not worth it.

Chris不準(zhǔn)備買(mǎi)二手車(chē)，因?yàn)樗珦?dān)心碰上個(gè)缺德的二手車(chē)車(chē)行老板，把出過(guò)車(chē)禍的車(chē)買(mǎi)回家，上面所說(shuō)的unscrupulous意思是沒(méi)有道德操守的。Jason覺(jué)得，she makes some good points. 她說(shuō)的很有道理。在貸款方面，Chris不知道應(yīng)該三年還清還是五年還清，Jason建議他做三年的貸款，因?yàn)槲迥曩J款每個(gè)月付的錢(qián)看上去雖然少些，但其實(shí)把交的利息都算進(jìn)去，就不值了。

C: I'll go home and do the math, but you're probably right.

J: How about the color?

C: Blue is my lucky color, so I'll pick blue if possible. My wife says we should consider black because it doesn't look dirty so quickly.

J: Cool! Well, let me know when you decide. I'd love to check out your new car!

C: Sure, Jason. Thanks for the input.

Chris說(shuō)，我回家算算I'll go home and do the math. Do the math是口語(yǔ)里很常用的一種說(shuō)法，意思是算算清楚，特別是指明擺著的事情，比如：We cannot afford that house with our salaries. You do the math. 咱們的工資買(mǎi)不起那棟房，你自己算算吧。在顏色選擇上，Chris說(shuō)，藍(lán)色是自己的幸運(yùn)色，而太太覺(jué)得黑色經(jīng)臟。Jason最后說(shuō)，I'd love to check out your new car! 買(mǎi)了新車(chē)別忘了給我看看。

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（來(lái)源：VOA英語(yǔ)教學(xué) 編輯：丹妮）