VOA流行美語 Unit 340:掌握&基本要領
李華和Larry在夏威夷渡假，倆人今天坐着帆船出海。今天我們要學兩個常用語：the ropes和get the hang of。
LH: Wow, Larry, 我太喜歡坐帆船了。你看，藍天白雲，海天一色，微風拂面，我好象已經融化在大自然裏了。
LL: Yeah, this is really great! Do you think the captain would teach me how to sail the boat?
LH: 你想試試看嗎？可是Larry, 這麼大一條船，駕馭起來可沒那麼簡單，肯定不是一下子就能學會的。
LL: That's OK, Li Hua. I don't expect to become an expert in one day. I just want to learn the ropes a little bit.
LH: Learn the ropes? 你是指如何用這些繩子來控制船帆嗎？
LL: Exactly! Actually, when you learn the basic rules of how to do something, you can say that you learn the ropes.
LH: 哦，the ropes, 就是指最基本的知識和技巧，那你的意思是，不是真要學會駕駛帆船，只是要了解一些皮毛。
LL: Right! Or, here is another example. When you start a new job and don't know how to do things, you should find a more experienced colleague to teach you the ropes.
LH: 沒錯，到了一個新的工作單位，是要找個熟悉工作的同事帶你入門，給你介紹一下工作的基本要求和流程。
LL: So Li Hua, do you like sailing or surfing better?
LH: 坐帆船出海更放鬆，去海邊衝浪更刺激，嗯，我更喜歡衝浪，而且我衝浪已經入門了，可以自己練習了。
LL: Right. Once the surfing instructor has shown you the ropes, you can practice by yourself.
LH: 今天出來坐帆船算是休息，明天我們加大活動量，去爬山！
LL: Sure! But since we are visitors and don't know anything about hiking in Hawaii, we should find a local guide to show us the ropes.
LH: Come on Larry! 你的冒險精神都跑到哪裏去了？好了，我們還是去找船長，讓他教我們幾招show us the ropes, 好不好？
兩小時後，Larry和李華回到岸上。
LH: Wow, Larry, 看不出，你還真有兩下子，船長教了你一下，你就自己把船開了回來，真是讓我刮目相看。
LL: Thanks, Li Hua. You weren't nervous when the captain let me sail the boat?
LH: 那有什麼好緊張的？你的飛車我都敢坐，更別說帆船了，大不了掉到海里去，反正我會游泳。駕駛帆船難不難？
LL: Well learning to sail was pretty hard at first, but after a little while I got the hang of it.
LH: You got the hang of it? 這是什麼意思啊？
LL: When you get the hang of something, that means that you succeed in learning it.
LH: 哦，我明白了，to get the hang of something, 就是學會、掌握的意思。你是說駕駛帆船雖然並不容易，但是練習一會，就能學會基本技巧。
LL: Exactly. Or for another example, I could say that John is a really talented athlete in whatever sport he tries. When I showed him how to play football, he got the hang of it very quickly.
LH: 就是說John有體育天分，凡是體育項目一教就會，所以沒用多久就掌握了橄欖球的基本技巧。
LL: Right. So Li Hua, you don't think I'm a good driver?
LH: 這麼說吧，我倒是覺得在海上開船更安全，地方大，足夠你橫衝直撞。
LL: Well driving is hard! Remember when I taught you? It took a long time before you started to get the hang of it.
LH: 怎麼會，我可是天生的司機，考駕照都是一次通過。對了，Larry, 我們明天真的要去釣魚嗎？我可從來沒釣過魚，you have to show me the ropes. 你得手把手地教我。
LL: Sure. Fishing is pretty simple. so I'm sure you won't have problem getting the hang of it.
LH: 好，如果咱倆明天真能釣到魚，我保證回去做給你吃。
LL: That's a great idea. I've never got the hang of how to cook Chinese food. All the dishes I make taste terrible!
LH: Right... Larry, 你難道就想不出更好的藉口逃避做飯嗎？
LL: Haha... I'm still trying to get the hang of it.
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是the ropes，意思是基本技巧和要領。另一個是get the hang of，意思是學會，掌握。
