李華和Larry 在夏威夷渡假。今天我們要學兩個常用語：pale in comparison
和 blown away.

    LH： Larry，我簡直不能相信今天是我們在夏威夷的最后一天了！真舍不得
走。

    L ： I know ！ I feel like we just got here ， and now we already
have to think about going back home.

    LH：所以我們得珍惜這最后一天，咱們來點刺激的，空中跳傘怎么樣？

    L ： Sky diving ？ Wow， that would be really crazy ！ All of our
other activities would pale in comparison with sky diving.

    LH： Pale in comparison ？什么意思？

    L ： You can say that something pales in comparison when it is much
smaller or less significant than something else.

    LH：哦，pale in comparison就是遠遠不如，遜色很多。你是說，和空中跳
傘相比，我們在夏威夷玩兒的其它東西就遜色多了，簡直太沒勁了。

    L ： Exactly！ Or for another example ， I could say that John decided
to accept a new job at a different company because his old salary paled
in comparison with the one he was offered.

    LH：你是說， John 跳槽到一家新公司，因為人家給他的薪水比原來公司的
高得太多了。

    L ： Right！ But I don't know about sky diving Lihua. It sounds really
dangerous.

    LH：不用害怕！你就是走在大馬路上，也可能摔跟頭啊！難道你因為擔心這
個就不出門走路了？

    L ： True ， but I think the danger of walking down the street pales
in comparison to the danger of sky diving.

    LH：好吧。那咱們去坐直升機好了，可以鳥瞰美麗的夏威夷！

    L ： I agree. I think the natural scenery back home pales in comparison
with the incredible natural scenery here.

    LH：那當然了！不過，雖然夏威夷景色怡人，但物價也比其它地方貴。咱們
坐直升機肯定得花好多錢。

    L ： You're right. The prices of things back home really pale in comparison
with the prices in Hawaii.

    LH：但是咱們都來了，不去肯定會遺憾的！

    L ： I think you're right. Let's do it！

    ******

    LH： Larry，怎么樣？這趟直升機之旅很棒吧？

    L ： Yeah ， that was great ！ I was really blown away by how beautiful
the natural scenery was.

    LH： Blown away ？被風吹走？你沒被吹走啊。

    L ： Actually Lihua ， when you say that you were blown away by something，
that means that you were really amazed.

    LH：哦，原來be blown away 就是感到震驚的意思。你是說，咱們在空中看
到的美景徹底讓你瞠目結舌。

    L ： Right！ Here is another example. When I went to the Sichuan restaurant，
I knew that the food would be a little spicy. But I was really blown away
by just how spicy it was！

    LH：哦，雖然你本來就知道四川菜辣，但直到真把川菜吃到嘴里后，才發現
它們可比你想象的辣多了。對了，Larry ，那天咱們去釣魚，我的垂釣技術有沒
有讓你blown away，對我刮目相看呢？

    L ： Lihua， I'm sorry to say that I was not blown away by your fishing
skills. Just catching one big fish on your first try is beginner's luck.

    LH：抓到魚是我運氣好？才不是呢！對了，我還聽人說過"blow their mind"
這也是一個意思么？

    L ： Exactly. For example ， I had seen pictures of the Grand Canyon
in books. But when I finally went there ， seeing it in person really
blew my mind.

    LH：大峽谷的美景的確會讓人嘆為觀止！對了，上次我做的麻婆豆腐也讓你
驚艷了吧！

    L ： Absolutely ！ When I tasted your mapo tofu for the first time，
it completely blew my mind. I couldn't believe how delicious it was.

    LH：你還挺會說話。對了，我們下午得早點出發去機場，別遇到堵車。

    L ： I know ！ I was blown away by how crowded the airport was when
we landed.

    LH：不過比起紐約的交通，這里就算不錯了。

    L ： Oh sure， the lines at the airport here pale in comparison to
big US cities.

    LH：說到紐約，馬上就要回去了，又得上班了，真煩人。

    L ： Lihua， I have just one rule for going on vacation ： never mention
work！

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是pale in comparison，表示不能比，遜色
很多。另一個是blown away，意思是大吃一驚。