Larry和李華剛剛在餐館吃完飯。李華今天要學兩個常用語doggie bag和back burner。
LL: This is waaaay too much food for me to finish. I guess I'd better ask for a doggie bag.
LH: 怎麼啦，你不會是想吐吧。
LL: Huh? No! I said I am going to ask for a doggie bag. That's a bag that you use to take home leftover food from a restaurant.
LH: 我知道了，就是中國人說的打包。你們叫"doggie bag"，是因為美國人一般都把剩下的飯菜餵狗吧？可你沒有狗呀。
LL: It's just a figure of speech. I 'm asking for a doggie bag because I plan on eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
LH: 原來是你自己吃啊。美國人這種習慣真好。在中國，大家出去吃飯總要點好多菜，根本吃不了，剩下的，有的就扔了。
LL: The U.S. isn't so different. People originally used the phrase "doggie bag" because they were embarrassed to admit they were saving food.
LH: 怪不得叫 "doggie bag"，原來開始的時候美國人也不好意思承認自己節儉，所以說是要餵狗。美國人真覺得這樣做丟人嗎？
LL: Hmm...well, in the U.S. you wouldn't ask for a doggie bag at a really nice restaurant, or on a formal occasion. But otherwise most people would rather ask for a doggie bag than waste food.
LH: 所以說，在高級飯店和正式場合一般不打包，但除此之外，打包就很正常了。中國現在也差不多，打包越來越普遍，不過我們用的是飯盒。
LL: Yeah, same here. But even though the food usually goes in a box, people still use the term "doggie bag".
LH: 美國人真把剩飯剩菜餵狗嗎？
LL: (Chuckles) The food from doggie bags can make a dog fat!
LH: 不光是狗，經常在外面吃，人也會變胖的。帳單來了。你得要 "doggie bag" 了。
LL: (To the waiter) Excuse me, could I get a doggie bag for this please?
******
LH: Larry, 剛才說了半天 "doggie bag"。我還真想養只小狗。
LL: I know, you've mentioned that before. But you'd better just put that on the back burner for now.
LH: 把什麼放在爐子上？你在說什麼呀？
LL: I said put it on the back burner. That means, you should give your idea of owning a dog low priority, and wait until it is more practical or convenient.
LH: 你是說我養狗不現實，所以不要著急，應該暫時放一放。其實，我要是真的養條狗也沒有什麼不可以，就是要做出一些犧牲罷了。
LL: Really, you should just put it on the back burner. Taking care of a pet requires money and time.
LH: 你說得也對，養狗又花時間，又費錢，確實應該等畢業有工作了再說。我真恨不得馬上畢業。
LL: I know! I have to put so many things on the back burner while I'm in school... I feel like I have no life!
LH: Larry, 你都想幹些什麼呢？
LL: Well, for instance, Jack and I were working together on an online business, but I am too busy with school to work on it often. I had to put that on the back burner.
LH: 你和Jack要合作在網上做生意，真有兩下子呀！
LL: It's on the back burner right now. You know, I was in a rock band for a while, but I put that on the back burner as well.
LH: (Laughs) 搖滾樂隊？不會吧。Larry, 我聽過你唱歌，你不會真想當搖滾歌星吧？(Cell Phone Rings) 是你的電話。
LL: Whoa, it's Angie. I'll talk to you later, Li Hua. I've got to answer this. I'm going to ask Angie out this weekend.
LH: 誰？你不是要跟Cindy約會嗎？怎麼又變成Angie了。你可不能腳踏兩條船啊。
LL: Cindy? Well, earlier this week, she left for study abroad in Europe, so I had to put her on the back burner.
LH: (Groans) Whatever, Larry!
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是Doggie bag, 意思是在外面吃完飯打包用的盒子。
還有一個是back burner，意思是暫時不考慮。