李華和Larry 要去打網球，他們會用到兩個常用語：shoo-in 和top dog.

    Larry ： Hey， Lihua， are you ready to go？ Where are your tennis
shoes ？

    LH： Sorry， Larry. 今天網球不打了。我得溫習功課！我們系里新設立了
獎學金，只有成績最好的學生才拿得到！

    Larry ： The top student？ Don't worry - you're a shoo-in ！

    LH： Shoe ？ In ？你說我鞋子怎么了？

    Larry ： No no no. Not the shoes that you put on your feet. Shoo is
spelled s-h-o-o. A "shoo-in" is a guaranteed winner.

    LH：哦！ shoo-in就是絕對的贏家，肯定得勝的人。你是說，我不用溫習，
也肯定能拿到獎學金？

    Larry ： Yea， exactly. Remember when you tried out for that student
dance group last year ？ I knew you were a shoo-in for the team. You're
such a good dancer！

    LH：真的？！說實話我當時沒多少信心！能入選學生舞蹈團真是出乎我的意
料！

    Larry ： Well ， it looks like my prediction was correct - you eventually
made the team ， right？ You should have more confidence in yourself！
You were a shoo-in！

    LH： Thanks Larry ！你還記得么？你找工作的時候，去面試，特別緊張，
可我當時就覺得you were a shoo-in，你肯定能被錄取！

    Larry ： Well ， I was hardly a shoo-in for the job. There were a
lot of qualified people vying for that position - I was lucky to get it.

    LH：好啦，Larry ，不要謙虛啦！話說回來。這次獎學金競爭激烈，不光要
看成績，還要看課外活動和表現，真難啊！

    Larry ： Lihua， you're involved with plenty of extracurricular activities.
Among your classmates ， I'm sure you're a top dog.

    LH： Larry！你怎么說我是狗？

    Larry ： Not a dog - Top dog. "Top dog" means "the best"， you know，
"number one."

    LH：哦？ Top dog是第一名，最棒的人？

    Larry ： Exactly. For instance， my boss is the top dog at my office.
Not only does he have the most experience ， but he also has the ability
to influence the work of his staff. He's definitely a top dog.

    LH：哦，你說你的老板是辦公室里最牛的人，他不僅經驗豐富，而且能影響
其他的工作人員。不過，Larry ，我可對我的同學沒有什么影響力……

    Larry ： Sure you do. I know plenty of your classmates look up to
you. Not only are you a hard worker in class， but you also volunteer
as a math tutor for middle school students at the community center， and
you're a member of the school dance team！

    LH：對啊，我學習努力，還當志愿者給中學生補課，又是舞蹈團成員。經你
這么一說，我也感覺著自己怪不錯的！

    Larry ： Haha ！ But seriously， you are the top dog in your class，
and you're definitely a shoo-in for the scholarship. Just show the scholarship
committee how great you are ！

    LH：對，Larry.我現在很有信心，雖然我不敢說I'm a shoo-in for this scholarship，
但是我得獎的機會還是蠻大的！

    Larry ： I'm glad to hear it！ But aren't you forgetting one more
extracurricular activity you can put on your list ？

    LH：啊？什么活動啊？

    Larry ： Playing tennis with the top dog of the tennis court - me ！

    LH：你呀？你才不是網球的top dog ，我自己不是打贏過了你好多次嘛

    Larry ： Oh ， I was just letting you win …… come on， let's go
play！

    LH：對不起啊Larry ，這個獎學金的事確實比網球更重要。我準備好了獎學
金的申請書以后，一定會跟你打網球。我保證！

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是shoo-in ，意思是“絕對的贏家”。另一
個是top dog ，意思是“優勝者，最棒的人”。