李華正為了完成一項作業而焦頭爛額。她和Larry 要用到兩個常用語：Do something
till you're blue in the face和run a tight ship.

    Larry ： Hey， Lihua， are you ready to go to dinner？ I'm starving.

    LH：吃飯？我可沒心情吃飯。我沒想出這作業要怎么寫。我們小組的組長肯
定饒不了我！

    Larry ： You've been sitting there for almost four hours！ Let's go
get something to eat， and then you can come back and think about it some
more.

    LH：不行，我發誓，不寫出個提綱我就絕食！

    Larry ： Look ， Lihua， if you don't eat anything， you can sit there
and think about your project till you're blue in the face and you still
won't get any good ideas.

    LH：啊？我的臉變成藍色？這怎么可能？

    Larry ： That's just an expression， Lihua. If you do something till
you're blue in the face ， you're doing something over and over again
for a very long time - and making no progress.

    LH：哦，Do something till you're blue in the face ，就是說反復做一
件事，但一直不成功。你是說我癟了半天也寫不出論文，可還拼命地想。但是，
我不管，我非寫出來不可！

    Larry ： But， Lihua， I'm starving ！

    LH： Larry，別嚷嚷了，就算你一直抱怨到you're blue in the face ！我
是不會理你的。

    Larry ： OK ， OK. I get the point. Maybe I can help you. What's the
project about ？

    LH：這就對了！這個作業是美國歷史課的。我們小組的每個人都要介紹一個
美國歷史人物，可是別的組員都是美國人，他們的歷史知識當然比我豐富啊！

    Larry ： Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Why don't you ask
your group for some help？ That would be more productive than sitting
here until you're blue in the face.

    LH：可是，我們組長兇巴巴的，特別不好說話，還讓我們明天都要交一份提
綱出來！

    Larry ： Hmm……I think I have an idea， Lihua. Why don't you do your
report on George Washington ！ He was a military leader who ran a very
tight ship in the American Revolution.

    LH： A tight ship ？一艘很緊的船？喬治華盛頓不是美國第一任總統嗎？
難道他還在美國獨立戰爭期間當過船長？？

    Larry ： No ， he wasn't the captain of a ship； he was the Commander
in Chief of the entire army ！ And he ran a very tight ship with his soldiers
- meaning ， he was a very strict leader.

    LH：原來如此！ To run a tight ship就是指紀律嚴明的領導風格，嚴格管
理。

    Larry ： That's right. He ran such a tight ship ， in fact， that
he was able to lead an army of largely untrained soldiers through a very
harsh winter during the war.

    LH：率領沒受過什么訓練的士兵在寒冬作戰，這可不簡單！

    Larry ： Well ， Lihua， a good leader can run a tight ship no matter
how bad the situation is.

    LH： Larry，這倒讓想起了我們的組長。她對我們特別嚴格。

    Larry ： It certainly sounds like your group leader runs quite a tight
ship， but a good leader can command the respect of his soldiers by setting
a good example， not yelling. Without that respect， you could yell until
you're blue in the face and you still wouldn't be able to lead effectively.

    LH：沒錯！嚴格管理并不等于每天沖手下人大喊大叫。我們這個小組的組長
人特別厲害，可說實話沒什么威信。我真希望下次分到別的組，不要再待在她的
tight ship上。

    Larry ： I hope so， too. Now ， since you have your topic， let's
go eat pizza！

    LH： Pizza？？不行！我在減肥！

    Larry ： Oh ， Lihua， you're so skinny already ！ You could diet
until you're blue in the face and it won't make any difference. Don't
be so hard on yourself！

    LH：啊？你說我已經很瘦了，所以再怎么減肥也不會變更瘦？得了！我現在
比在中國時胖了好多，我要看牢自己的嘴，I'm going to run a tight ship ，
只吃健康食品！

    Larry ： Not another tight ship ！ I think I'm getting sea-sick.

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是 Do something till you're blue in the
face，意思是“重復做某事，但是不成功”。另一個是run a tight ship，意思
是“嚴格管理”。