第10课：Drained;Wired

L：嘿，Michael。这火车站好大，总算找到你了。

M: The train is just about to leave. Good thing you got here in time.

L：我当然会准时到，我什么时候迟到过？嗨，火车就要开啦？要多少时间才能到华盛顿呐？

M: Only about four hours. I'm probably going to sleep the entire way.

L：(train leaving station, announcer in background) 你想在火车上睡觉？不行，你睡觉我跟谁说话呐？

M: Li Hua, you are full of energy. But I'm drained, I'm going to sleep.

L：我是精力充沛。可你说你是什么？Drained?

M: Yeah. Drained, it means exhausted.

L：Drained就是累的意思。那drained这个词还能用在其他什么场合呢？

M: The word can be used two ways. To be physically drained and emotionally drained. For example, if a couple fight all the time, they would be emotionally tired, which you can also call drained.

L：噢，drained可以指体力很累，也可以指一个人在情绪上压力很大。要是一对夫妇老是吵架，那肯定情绪很不好。你是这个意思吧？

M: Yeah, you understand. You don't even seem drained after the mid-terms.

L：考试倒没让我觉得累，可是，两天前我跟我哥哥为了他的女朋友吵了一架。他那女朋友很任性，还老想管别人，真讨厌。跟我哥哥吵完后，我真是感到很累。

M: Yeah, you were emotionally drained. Well, if you don't want me to sleep on the train, we'd better go get more coffee. Let's go to the Cafe Car.

L：那好呀，走，去食品车厢买咖啡！

M: This coffee is going to keep me awake the entire trip.

L：这杯咖啡就能让你一路上不困啦？我可不行，到华盛顿之前，我至少还要喝两杯。

M: Geez, Li Hua, I don't think I will be nearly as wired as you are.

L：Wired？我猜这是说我精力旺盛，是不是？

M: You are right. This word has a couple of meanings. One means to be energetic and the other means to have nervous energy.

L：这么说，wired可以指对某件事很兴奋，也可以说对某件事感到紧张而努力去做。要是我精力充沛，可以说：I am wired；要是在大考前我感到很紧张而抓紧时间复习功课，也可以说：I'm wired。是这个意思吗？

M: Yeah, that's right. But it has one other meaning as well. Wired means to be connected to something, such as being wired into the Internet, or being wired into a discussion.

L：噢，跟什么东西联系在一起也可以说是wired，例如和因特网连接。你最后说的wired into a discussion 我不太懂，那是什么意思啊？

M: You have been participating in the meetings to make decisions about our college, right?

L：对啊！我是参加一些会议，讨论有关学校的某些决定。

M: Ok, your participation in the college's meetings and being involved in those decisions means you are wired into the discussion.

L：噢，我参加这些会议，参预决策的讨论，这就可以说：I'm wired into the discussion.

M: Yep. After all this coffee I have had, I don't feel so drained. In fact, after the next cup, I think I'm going to be pretty wired.

L：喝了咖啡你就不感到那么累了。再喝一杯，你就精神百倍了。那好，我再去给你买一杯，要不要？

M: Thanks so much, Li Hua!

今天Michael和李华在谈话中用了两个意思相对的词，一个是drained，意思是非常累；另一个是wired，意思是精力充沛。