Larry陪李华带着她新领养的猫咪-小雪球-去看兽医。两人聊起了一位共同的朋友。今天李华会学到两个常用语：workaholic和nutty.

LL: I'm really worried about Bob. He seems as though he has turned into a real workaholic.

LH: 你很担心Bob，因为他成了workaholic. Workaholic, 那是什么意思？是不是Bob生病了？

LL: No, Bob doesn't have a disease. He's a workaholic. A workaholic is someone who works all of the time and never takes time for anything else.

LH: 啊，我懂你的意思了。Workaholic是指一个人工作过度，从来不休息。就是"工作狂"的意思嘛！Bob天天加班，怪不得他看起来总是那么累。这样对身体很不好呢！

LL: No, it's not. Workaholics often get stress-related problems such as high blood pressure or ulcers.

LH: 就是，高血压和溃疡都是一些工作过度的人常有的毛病。我爸爸就是个工作狂。我小的时候很少见到他，因为他总是在办公室里加班。结果在我10岁的时候，他得了溃疡，医生要他立刻减少工作量。

LL: That's a shame, but it's actually pretty common. I've known a few workaholics, too.

LH: 现代人工作忙碌，变成工作狂是很常见的。哎，Larry也许我们应该和Bob谈谈，让他知道我们很担心他。

LL: I don't know how he'll respond to that. Maybe it would be better if we just pressured him to hang out with us and relax more.

LH: 这倒是个好主意，让他和我们一起出去玩，一定可以放松心情的！ 要不这样吧！我们可以邀请Bob下星期到我家玩，顺便看看我的小雪球！

LL: I don't know if meeting your crazy cat is going to help prevent Bob from becoming a workaholic, but at least it will get him out of the office for a while.

LH: 嘿！我的小雪球才不疯呢！她只不过是只小猫咪，爱玩而已嘛！

******

LL: Well, did the vet officially diagnose your cat as being totally nutty?

LH: Nutty? 那是什么意思。你该不是在说我的小雪球有什么行为方面的问题吧？

LL: You could say that. Nutty means crazy.

LH: 所以nutty就是疯疯颠颠的意思。哎，我跟你说过了，小雪球不疯。她只是比较好动。

LL: Did the vet agree with you?

LH: 当然喽！兽医还说，小雪球既不疯，也没有心理问题。她只是一只小猫，所以特别需要别人注意她。兽医还说我应该经常陪小雪球玩。

LL: Oh, I see, she's so nutty because she has too much extra energy. If we play with her and tire her out, she'll be calmer.

LH: 没错，只要我们多陪陪她，消耗她的体力，她就不会精力旺盛地动来动去。所以我打算用绳子做一些小玩具，每天至少陪她玩15分钟。

LL: Hey, that actually sounds fun. Can I help?

LH: 当然喽！但是你得先答应我，不可以再叫她是个小疯子，或是nutty了。这样我才让你和她玩。可以吗？

LL: All right, I won't make fun of your nutty cat anymore.

LH: Larry! 你怎么又这么说她啊！

LL: I'm just kidding. I think it's funny that you get so offended when I call Snowball nutty.

LH: 我当然要生气咯！小雪球是只很乖的小猫。我真的很喜欢她。所以你不可以这样嘲笑她。

LL: Okay, I won't. Let's take her home and play with her now. I'm sure she doesn't want to stay here any longer.

今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是workaholic,指的是一个人工作过度，不休息，也就是我们常说的：工作狂。另一个常用语是nutty，是指行为疯疯颠颠的，不太正常。

• pressure [´preʃə]   n.压榨 vt.对...施压力   (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli]   ad.事实上；实际上   (初中英语单词)
• respond [ri´spɔnd]   v.回答；响应；有反应   (初中英语单词)
• energy [´enədʒi]   n.活力，精力；能力   (初中英语单词)
• officially [ə´fiʃəli]   ad.以职员身份；正式   (英语四级单词)
• totally [´təutəli]   ad.统统，完全   (英语四级单词)