今天Larry和李华要到体育馆去和几个朋友打篮球。李华会学到两个常用语：stick to something和give something a shot.

(Ambience sound in gym)

LL: Hey, Li Hua, are you looking forward to today's game?

LH: 嗨，其实我的篮球打得不怎么样。我倒想试试其他的运动。

LL: You'll get better. You've only been playing basketball for a few weeks. You have to stick to something if you want to become good at it.

LH: 对，我才打了几个星期的篮球！可是你怎么说要我stick to something. Stick不是黏的意思？这跟打篮球有什么关系啊？

LL: To "stick to something" means that you continue to do it and don't give up.

LH: 噢！我懂了，stick to something就是坚持不懈，继续做某件事。那不就像我们中文里说的"持之以恒"嘛！你的意思是，要是我想打好篮球，就得不断地练习咯！

LL: That's right. You've stuck to practicing English for a long time, and now your English is much better. Right?

LH: 你说的对，我学英文倒是尽量的多说，不断地练习。对了，Larry, 那stick to something除了运动，学语言，我还可以用在哪些地方呢？

LL: Well, a person can stick to a decision, too. If I decide to learn Chinese, and I stick to my decision, that means I don't change my mind or give up.

LH: 噢，如果一个人坚持自己的决定，也可以说stick to one's decision。那一个立场不坚定，经常flip-flop的人可就不能这么说咯！

LL: That's right. Very good use of the term flip-flop, by the way.

LH: 谢谢。不过有时候要坚持做一件事还真不容易。就好比打篮球，我已经不知道我是不是真的喜欢打篮球了。

LL: Remember how hard English was at first? But you stuck to it and now it's much easier, right?

LH: 好象是这样。你觉得打篮球也会像学英文一样，只要我坚持练习，就会越来越容易吗？

LL: I do. You'll see. So, have you decided to play in today's game after all?

LH: 好吧，我来试试看，也许就象你说的，多练习，我就能打好球！

******

(Sound of dribbling basketball)

LH: Larry, 那个篮球架子太远了，我肯定投不进！

LL: Come on, Li Hua, give it a shot. It's okay if you miss.

LH: Larry，我是在投球耶！你怎么叫我给它一枪？"Give it a shot" 那是什么意思啊？

LL: To give something a shot is to go ahead and try something, even if you don't expect to be successful.

LH: 嗨，我还以为give it a shot是开枪呢！原来，give it a shot就是试一试，不管会不会成功。好吧。那我就投喽！可是我一定投不进啦！

(Sound of basketball into the basket)

LL: Hey, look, you made it! That's three more points for our team! See, it never hurts to give something a shot.

LH: 哇！太棒了！我居然投进了！对了，Larry, give it a shot我是不是还能用在其他什么地方？

LL: Just about anything. For instance, I'd like to give sailing a shot, even though I've never sailed a boat before in my life.

LH: 你想学开船啊！我倒想试试开飞机呢！

LL: Hey, slow down. We all know what your driving is like. I don't think it's a good idea for you to fly a plane.

LH: 嘿！我的开车技术有什么不好？再说，刚才是你告诉我，不管结果如何，都应该去试一试的啊！

LL: Maybe if you stick to driving for a while and get better at it, then you can give flying a shot.

LH: 哎呀，其实我也是说说而已啦。我根本就没钱去上飞行课。不过如果有机会，我会去试试的！

今天李华学到两个常用语。一个是stick to something.就是坚持不懈，继续做某件事。第二个常用语是give it a shot. 这是试一试的意思，哪怕你认为不会成功，但也可以一试。

• instance [´instəns]   n.例子，实例，例证   (初中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid]   a.明显的；决定的   (高中英语单词)