Sex and the City《欲望城市》(五)
Carrie: While at home, all the English I seemed to encounter was "bills, bills, bills." I envied Amalita. Her life was a blur of rich men, designer clothes and glamorous resorts. She didn't actually work for a living, yet possessed a dazzling sexual power that she exploited to her full advantage. Which presented a certain conundrum: Where's the line between professional girlfriend and just plain professional? Samantha: Women have the right to use every mean sat their disposal to achieve power. Miranda: Short of sleeping their way to the top. Samantha: Not if that's what it takes to compete. Charlotte: But that's exploitation! Samantha: Of men-- which is perfectly legal. Carrie: Saturday night. In an effort to save money and maybe even pick up a few extra bucks, I invited the girls over for poker. Charlotte:I'll buy two. Carrie:I'm in for three.So you advocate a double standard. Women can use their sexuality to get ahead whenever possible, but men should not be allowed to take advantage of it? Samantha: No. I'm just saying that men and women are equal-opportunity exploiters. Miranda: I fold. Charlotte: What if you sense that someone is giving you a professional advantage because they find you charming? Miranda: Charming? Samantha: This I gotta hear. Charlotte: Well, a few days ago, Neville Morgan, the notoriously reclusive painter paid a visit to the gallery. Carrie: Neville was making his yearly pilgrimage to Manhattan to check out what was new and hot on the art scene. And he found it--Charlotte. It was only a matter of moments before he invited her to his farm upstate to view his latest work. Charlotte: So, if I could get him to show at the gallery, it would be an incredible coup. But what if he wants me to, you know. Carrie: Hold his brush? Miranda: If he so much as suggests what she's suggesting you give me a call and we'll sue the hell out of him. That's the only proper way to trade sex for power. Samantha: I can't believe what I'm hearing. You're like the Harvard Law Lorena Bobbitt. Miranda: It's Skipper. I told him I was here. He insisted on picking me up, but he's not supposed to be here till 11:00. Carrie: He's like a sweet little seal pup. Miranda: That you sometimes want to club. You're an hour early. Skipper: Oh, I can wait in the hall. Carrie: No, Skipper, come in. Miranda: It's all right. I'm leaving anyway. You guys have cleaned me out. Good night, ladies. Charlotte,keep me posted. Carrie: A couple of hours later, I was looking forward to calling it an early night, when-- Hello? Amalita: Carrie, you bitch! What are you doing? Carrie: Actually I'm getting ready to go to sleep. Amalita: Why don't you come and join us? We are at Balzac, and there is someone here I am dying for you to meet. Carrie: I'd love to, but I'm really trying to cut back. You know, pinch a few pennies. Amalita: You are crazy, you know that? Why don't you just come down here and be your fabulous self? Carrie: The truth was I could barely afford that either. But I rationalized that my new shoes shouldn't be punished just because I can't budget. 妙语佳句,活学活用 1. At someone's disposal 意为"由某人做主,听某人之便,受其管理,由其支配",例如:They put their car at our disposal for our entire stay. 2. Fold 3. Sue the hell out of "Hell" here is simply a swear word used for emphasis. "Sue"指得是"诉讼",意思是"(打官司)让某人输得一败涂地"。 4. Clean out 意思是"to drive out by force",例如:The new CEO tried to get away with cleaning out all employees over the age of 60. 5. Keep me posted 意思是"有消息通知我"。我们在The Queen《女王》中也学过一个同样意思的表达:keep me updated。 6. Call it a night Call it a day 的意思大家应该都知道吧,就是"Stop a particular activity for the rest of the day",比如快到下课的时候,老师说"Let's call it a day."意思就是"这节课结束了"。同样的,call it a night 的意思就是"to stop something for the rest of the night",例如:One more hand of bridge and then let's call it a night. 7. Be dying for 这个片语的原形是die for,意思是"long for, desire excessively渴望,强烈的希望",例如:I'm dying for some ice cream. 8. Cut back 意思是"Reduce, decrease",例如:They are going to cut back defense spending. |