Michael和李华白天上了好几门课，晚饭后又做功课。李华决定到Michael 的住处去休息一下，看一会电视。今天Michael 会教李华两个常用语：nerd 和cheesy。

M:Are you okay, Li Hua? What's wrong? Why are you crying?

L:我没事。这个电视剧让人挺伤心的。我一看这种电视剧就会哭，真是没办法。

M:You are such a nerd.

L:你叫我什么？A nerd? 我知道那不是什么好话，可是nerd到底是什么意思呢？

M:If you call someone a nerd, it means you think he is weird and not cool. It can be used in many different situations.

L:噢，nerd是指那种跟一般人不一样，有点怪的人。Nerd可以用在许多不同场合。那象你今天穿了这套衣服，怪怪的，我就可以说：You're a nerd。 对不对？

M:Me? A nerd? Well, yes, you could call me a nerd.

L:我肯定好多人都叫你a nerd。

M:As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, a lot of kids called me a nerd because I didn't fit in.

L:你小的时候不合群，所以许多人都叫你nerd。我看你现在很合群嘛。看不出你小时候是个nerd。你到底是怎么个不合群呢？

M:Well, as you know I was never very good at sports, and I never knew how to fit in with the cool kids.

L:对，你好象告诉过我你从小就不太喜欢体育，跟那些很受欢迎的同学也合不到一起。所以，你就成了一个nerd。

M:A typical nerd is someone who wears glasses and carries a lot of books.

L:噢，那就是书呆子的形象，戴着眼镜，拿着许多书。

M:That's right. If someone is always studying, or seems to know the answers to everything, you can call him a nerd.

L:老念书，什么都知道的人，那不就是书呆子吗？Michael，我看你有的时候穿衣服有点怪，也许人家会叫你nerd，可是你绝对不会成为书呆子。

M:I guess so! Li Hua, That TV show is so cheesy. I don't know why it's so popular.

L:这个电视剧好多人都喜欢，包括我在内 。可你又在说什么批评的话， 我不知道cheesy是什么意思，但是我知道你在说它不好。

M:Cheesy means tacky or dumb. It's usually used to describe a TV show, movie, or something someone says.

L:噢，cheesy就是很俗气，质量很次，很愚蠢。人们经常用cheesy 这个词来形容电视节目，电影或者某个人说的话。

M:I think the new TV soap opera on Channel 6 is so cheesy. It is fake and the things they say on the shows are so weird. I don't know why these shows are so popular.

L:对，我也看了六频道那个新的电视连续剧。情节是很虚假，对话也很怪。可是你想知道为什么那么多人喜欢看吗？我来告诉你。看这种电视剧总想知道结局嘛。我有的时候还会流泪的呢。

M:How can those cheesy TV shows make you cry? You're such a nerd.

L:什么？ 你说我是个nerd?

M:Don't be mad, Li Hua. But you are a nerd. No one cries while watching these cheesy TV shows！

L:我才不信呢。你们这些不流眼泪的人缺乏感情，你们才是nerd。 我不跟你说了，我要回去了。

M:No, no, Li Hua. Wait, at least you have to finish watching this cheesy TV show so that you know who's going to marry whom.

L:对了，不看完这个电视剧，不知道结局，我也睡不着。那就看吧！

看来今天李华真是生气了，因为Michael说她是个nerd, 也就是说她这个人有点怪。后来她同意继续在Michael 家看完那个很cheesy的电视节目。Cheesy 就是很俗气， 没有水平的意思。这次[流行美语]就学习到这里。我们下次再见。

• channel [´tʃænəl]   n.海峡；航道；途径   (初中英语单词)
• typical [´tipikəl]   a.典型的；象征的   (高中英语单词)