Larry 和李華剛剛上完美國歷史課，兩人正在討論上課的內容。今天李華會
學到兩個常用語： out to get someone 和go to bat for someone.

    LL： Hey， Li Hua ， did you notice how professor Smith kept asking
Mary really hard questions？ He really seemed out to get her. LH：就是
啊！我也在納悶呢！Smith 教授好象在故意刁難Mary，他問她的問題恐怕誰都答
不出來。真是奇怪。Larry 你說教授是out to get her，那是什么意思啊？

    LL： If a person is "out to get" someone else it means that he has
a grudge against that person and wants to hurt or embarrass her. LH ：
哼，out to get someone就是故意讓某人難堪，和他過不去。可是Smith 教授和
Mary有什么過節，為什么要這樣對她呢？

    LL： I heard that a student complained about Prof. Smith to the department
chair. It's possible that she was the one who complained and now he's
out to get her for it. LH ：你懷疑Mary在系主任那里表示對Smith 教授不滿，
所以教授現在要整她？哎喲！要是被教授盯上，故意和你過不去，那可慘了！

    LL： Yeah ， I can imagine that it's stressful. I've never had a professor
that was out to get me， but I had a classmate that was out to get me
once. LH：真的啊？你那個同學為什么和你過不去呢？

    LL： Well ， I asked out the girl he liked and she went out with me.
He was so angry that he was always spreading rumors about me. He even
told the girl that I had another girlfriend. LH ：那可不能怪你呀！那個
女孩愿意和你約會，他就算喜歡那女孩，也不應該散布中傷你的謠言嘛！那，那
個女孩她相信那些謠言嗎？

    LL： Of course not. She knew he was out to get me. Have you ever known
anyone who was out to get you ？

    LH：我啊，我也有過這種不愉快的經驗。我以前那個同屋常常會故意刪掉別
人給我的電話留言，特別是一些重要信息。你說，這不是故意整我嗎？

    LL： Yeah ， she really had a grudge against you after you asked her
to be quieter when she came home at night. LH ：就是啊！自從我讓她晚上
回來別聲音太大以后，她老是跟我過不去。這種人真不講理。

    ******

    LH：我真不敢相信Smith 教授居然會當著全班面罵Mary笨！

    LL： But did you see how that other student went to bat for her ？
He told the professor that his behavior was unprofessional in front of
everyone.

    LH：對，那個男同學真是有男子漢大丈夫的氣概。他站起來指責教授。可是
這和bat 有什么關系？Bat 不是球棒的意思嗎？

    LL： That term comes from baseball. If you go to bat for someone else
it means you stand up for them and defend them.

    LH：噢！Go to bat for someone 就是替某人打抱不平，就像那個男同學替
Mary出頭，站起來批評Smith 教授一樣咯！

    LL： Exactly. Can you think of a time that someone went to bat for
you ？

    LH：嗯，有一次我騎著自行車被一個開車的人撞上，那人還怪我，說是我的
錯。不是你跳出來幫我忙的嗎！你怎么忘了呢？我記得你還叫了警察呢。You really
went to bat for me. LL： Oh ， that was nothing. I was just helping you
out. I'm sure you would have gone to bat for me ， too.

    LH：那當然，朋友有難，我一定會拔刀相助，替你出頭啊！哦！還有一次，
一個女同學在考試的時候偷看我的考卷，還向教授說是我做弊呢。

    LL： Yeah ， I remember that.

    LH：你為我打抱不平，跑去和教授說你看到那個女孩偷看我的考卷。

    LL： Well ， that was true. I did see her cheating.

    LH： Larry，我真的很感謝你噢！你也有男子漢大丈夫的氣概。

    LL：Thank you ！

    今天李華學到兩個常用語。第一個是out to get someone. 意思是故意和某
人過不去，讓他為難、難堪。另一個常用語是go to bat for someone ，是替某
人打抱不平，為人出頭的意思。