地道英语：看老外如何说“附加条件”(图)

屈联西

  2012年01月09日  中国日报网-英语点津

Catch 附加条件

　　今天李华要做心理学实验，骗Larry说她中了一百万美元，看Larry会有什么样的反应。李华会学到两个常用语：grand和catch。
　　LH: Larry, Larry!!
　　LL: Hi Li Hua. Why are you so excited today?
　　LH: 我中乐透了！一百万！我发财了。
　　LL: Oh really? Are you going to take me out to dinner?
　　LH: 请你吃饭？你的要求还真不高，我决定啊，分你一半！
　　LL: You're giving me half a million?! What's the catch？
　　Catch 附加条件
　　LH: The catch...那是什么？
　　LL: A catch is any tricky or concealed drawback to a deal. You're definitely not giving me half a million dollars for no reason. It's okay, tell me. What's the catch?
　　LH: A catch是指某件好事的附带条件？哦，我明白了，你是不相信我会因为友谊分一半奖金给你，你觉得这么好的事情一定有catch, 对吗？
　　LL: Of course. I wouldn't give my own brother that much.
　　LH: 好吧，我交待。其实我没中奖啦，是心理学课要做研究。我才想要试探试探你的反应。
　　LL: So this is all for your Psychology class. I knew it! What if you really won a million dollars? Would you share the money?
　　LH: 如果我真中了奖，当然会分你一点喽。嗯，一千块！怎样，我这朋友够意思吧？
　　LL: You'll only give me one grand?! That's 1,000th of a million, Li Hua! I thought our friendship was worth more than that...
　　LH: One grand...是一千块钱的意思吗？
　　LL: Yup. One grand is equivalent to 1,000 dollars.
　　LH: 喔。所以one grand是一千块钱的意思。
　　LL: Yes, that's right.
　　LH: 那我就可以把五千块钱说成5,000grands咯？
　　LL: No, no, no. "Grand" replaces "thousand dollars", so you would say five grand.
　　LH: 原来如此。五千块要说five grand, 因为grand代替了thousand dollars这两个词。但为什么是说five grand而不是five grands呢？
　　LL: Even though five is more than one, you still say grand because the word is already in its plural form.
　　LH: 喔。因为grand已经是复数了， 所以要说five grand而不是five grands, 那我懂了。
　　LL: Hey, so back to the topic. You're only giving me 1,000 dollars?
　　LH: Yeah, one grand is a lot of money. 那换做是你，你会给我多少钱呢？
　　LL: I would give you 10 grand.
　　LH: 你会给我一万？你真好！Wait, what would be the catch?
　　LL: There would be no catch! I treat you as a very close friend.
　　LH: 真的？我不信。不过，catch还可以怎么用？ Larry, 能不能多给我几个例子？
　　LL: Sure. A catch is any benefit that comes with a drawback. For example, when you go on a web site, and they tell you you have a chance to win a laptop, there's usually a catch.
　　LH: 你是说，某些网站如果说你有机会赢一台手提电脑，通常都要回答问卷，订阅周刊等等好多好多条件，所以这些条件就是the catch吗？
　　LL: Exactly. So whenever someone tells you you've won money, or a laptop, don't believe them. Or else, you're going to have to expect a big catch that goes with the benefit.
　　LH: 难怪有一种说法是 "天下没有白吃的午餐"。 Everything that sounds too good has a catch to it。
　　LL: That's very true.
　　LH: 但我给你一千块钱绝对没有别的企图喔！There is no catch.
　　LL: But I'm willing to give you 10 grand!
　　LH: 那我也给你10 grand怎么样？
　　LL: Ten grand. That sounds a lot better...
　　LH: 那就好。对了，你等下有事吗？请我去吃牛排吧！
　　LL: You want me to treat you to steak? A minute ago you were only willing to give me one grand, and now you want me to treat you to steak. Ai, Li Hua!
　　今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是grand, 是一千美元的替代说法。另一个catch, 指某种好处所附带的条件。
　　(来源：流行美语)

洋葱