李華和Larry到夏威夷度假，假期結束后，坐飛機回家。今天我們要學兩個常用語：right up one’s alley 和 out of the question。

LH: Larry, 我這次玩兒得真高興! 躺在沙灘上，懶洋洋地曬太陽，這種日子我永遠也過不厭。

L: Yeah, I had a great time too. I love relaxing vacations on the beach, and eating fresh seafood every night for dinner makes it even better。

LH: 不過Larry, 雖然夏威夷的風光很美，但我也喜歡去一些有人文特色的地方，比如逛逛博物館，看看歷史風情。

L: Well then, for our next vacation we can go to Paris! It sounds right up your alley。

LH: Paris sounds right up my alley? 你這話是什么意思啊?

L: You can say that something is right up your alley if it is perfectly suited to you。

LH: 哦，right up one’s alley, 就是指正合某人的口味。你是說，巴黎是藝術、文化、還有歷史之都，所以去巴黎旅行一定特別符合我的興趣。

L: Right! Here is another example. Roger loves to argue all the time, so I think a career as a lawyer would be right up his alley。

LH: 可不，對于那些喜歡爭辯的人來說，當律師最適合，如果做顧客服務，得天天跟人吵架。對了，Larry, 咱們這趟班機上會播什么電影啊?我愛看喜劇。

L: They’re going to play the new Jim Carrey movie, so I think that should be right up your alley。

LH: 要播Jim Carey的喜劇，太好了，正合我意!

Right up one’s alley 正合口味

L: I’m not really interested in watching a movie right now. I think reading a book might be more up my alley。

LH: 你想看書?那我就自己看電影吧!對了，待會兒空姐過來你幫我拿副耳機。

L: Sure, but you know you have to pay for them。

LH: 耳機還要錢?下次旅游，我不坐飛機了!

L: Well then, it sounds like the train might be right up your alley。

******

LH: Larry, 我覺得好難受啊，飛機的座椅怎么這么窄，坐得真不舒服! 唉，航空公司的服務越來越差了!

L: You’re right, the airlines have really been reducing the quality of service to save money。

LH: 是啊。現在飛機上吃的和飲料都要錢，托運行李也要錢，不知道以后會不會連隨身行李都要交錢。

L: That would have sounded crazy a few years ago, but today it’s not out of the question。

LH: Out of the question? 這是什么意思?

L: When you think that something is totally impossible, you can say that it is out of the question。

LH: 哦，out of the question, 就是絕不可能。你是說，放在幾年前，沒人會想到隨身行李也可能收錢，可是現在，這已經不是不可能的事兒了。

L: That’s exactly right, how about the time my friend Amy asked to borrow my new car. But since she got in three accidents in the past month, I told her it was out of the question。

LH: 哦，因為Amy開車老出事，所以你絕不會把自己的車借給她開。

L: Exactly。

LH: 這倒讓我想起來，你什么時候把你那輛破車扔了，換輛新車開開啊?你那舊車說不定哪天在路上開著一半就散架了。

L: Well, I just spent all my money on this Hawaii vacation, so buying a new car is out of the question for right now。

LH: 這樣的話，你不如騎車上班。省錢，還能鍛練身體。

L: I don’t think so. My office is really far away, so biking there every day is out of the question。

LH: 哦，對啊，你公司離家太遠了，騎車要累死了。你想過換工作么?找個離家近的。

L: I have, but the company I work at now is pretty good。

LH: 可是，如果能找一個又好又離家近的工作，不是更好么?

L: Well I guess you’re right. It’s not totally out of the question。

LH: 啊，不知不覺，已經飛過一大半的旅程了。你說這趟飛機能準點抵達，而且不弄丟乘客的行李么?

L: Now that, Lihua, is totally out of the question!

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是right up one’s alley, 表示正合某人的口味。另一個是out of the question, 意思是絕不可能。