像美國人一樣說英語第3期:Ted’s Day at School

今天輪到這對夫妻的兒子，Ted出場了！Ted似乎很有音樂細胞，想成爲一位音樂家呢。我們來看看下面的對話。

Susan: How was your day at school today, Ted?
Ted: Bad. I had a chemistry test, and I blew it.
Susan: Maybe if you didn’t cut class so often, you’d do better.
Bob: That’s right, son. Stop slacking off and start hitting the books!
Ted: but I can’t stand chemistry class. Besides, it’s a lost cause. That class is way over my head.
Susan: You need to buckle down.
Ted: When I am a famous musician, people won’t give a hoot about my knowledge of atoms and molecules.
Bob: That’s beside the point.
Susan: We know you have your heart set on going to New York University.
Bob: And you don’t stand a chance of getting in there with such poor grades!

(to) blow sth---to spoil sth
Blow的這個用法在口語裏是很常見的, 意思就是 “笨手笨腳地把…弄糟，把…弄得一團糟”, 我們看下面兩個例子:
to blow the whole project 使整個計劃落空
We've blown it! 我們把事情搞糟了。

(to) cut class---to miss class without an excuse 曠課,缺課,逃學
She’s always cutting class. 她總是曠課.

(to) slack off---to do sth more slowly or with less energy than before 鬆懈,放鬆,懈怠
He's gone from success to success in his movie career, and there's no sign of him slacking off.
他在電影事業上佳作不斷，絲毫沒有懈怠的跡象。
友情提示: Slack 如果做形容詞,還可以形容人 “懈怠的,不用心的,敷衍了事的,吊兒郎當的”,我們看一個例子:
He's been very slack in his work lately.
近來他工作很不認真.

(to) hit the books---to start studying (用功)讀書，用功學習，備功課，做學校的功課，啃書本

Can’t stand---to hate 不能忍受,受不了
I can’t stand his brother. 他弟弟讓我受不了.

Lost cause---sth hopeless必將失敗的事業；已告失敗的事業；敗局已定的事業

Over one’s head---beyond one’s understanding 太難懂，超出某人理解力

Buckle down---to start working seriously 全力以赴，傾全力(於)，專心致力於；(使)認真幹起來，努力(或熱情)從事於，開始認真從事
I’d better buckle down to those reports. 我最好認真靜下來努力完成那些報告.

(to) not give a hoot---to not care about 不在乎

Beside the point---not relevant; not important 無關緊要,不相干
“He’been married before.” 他曾經結過婚。
“That’s beside the point.”那不重要。

Have one’s heart set on sth---to really want sth 渴望,傾心於
友情提示:另一種表達方式是:set your heart on sth.
小編記得有一句歌詞就是:But I get my heart set on you..歌名就是heart set,是很抒情的一首歌，大家有興趣可以去搜索下。

(to) stand a chance---to have the possibility of success 有機會,有希望