今天Michael和李華要出去買東西。李華會學到兩個常用語：down with that和to pay through the nose.

    M： Hey， Li Hua. What do you want to do today？ I don't have any special plan， so we can do whatever you want. L： 你今天沒事干呀？太好了，我正想去買幾件春天穿的衣服。那些舊的都已經過時了。

    M： I'm down with that. I need to buy some new tennis shoes. My old ones are really gross. My roommate is threatening to throw them out. L： 我也注意到你的球鞋了，實在不象話，怪不得你的室友要把它扔掉呢。哎，那太好了，咱們就一塊兒去買東西吧。不過，Michael，你剛才說I'm down with that.那是什么意思呀？就是你愿意去的意思嗎？

    M： Yes， the expression "I'm down with that" means going shopping is okay with me and I'm willing to go. L： 這很有意思。那要是你問我，要不要跟你一塊兒吃晚飯，我很愿意的話，我能不能說：I'm down with that？

    M： Yes， that would let me know that you are willing to have dinner with me. What would you say if I suggested we go to my friend's party on Saturday night. L： 你建議我們星期六晚上上你朋友家去聚會啊。嗯，那一定很好玩，我愿意去，I'm down with that.

    M： Right. Now， where do you want to go shopping？ There are lots of places close by. L： 去哪兒買東西呀？學校附近有很多買東西的地方。去附近那個購物中心，好不好？

    M： Okay， that's fine with me. That mall has a shoe store and it's close. Let's go. L： Okay， I'm down with that. 我們可以搭公共汽車去，幾分鐘就到了。然后我們有一整天去買我們要買的東西。還可以在購物中心吃飯呢！

    M： Okay， I'm down with that. L： 哎，Michael，這家店看起來真好。我們能不能進去看看呀？我肯定他們有很好的衣服。

    M： That's Neiman-Marcus. They have nice stuff， but they're really， really expensive. You have to pay through the nose to buy even a shirt there. L： 我也猜想它們的衣服一定很貴。你說要在他們這里買件襯衣就要pay through the nose？ 東西貴和鼻子有什么關系呀？

    M： To pay through the nose is to pay a lot of money for something， usually way more than the item is worth. For instance， a shirt in a normal store costs about $40. However， a shirt in Neiman-Marcus easily costs $200. That's paying through the nose. L： 我懂了。To pay through the nose就是用高價買一樣東西，往往要比原來的價值高很多。像普通店里一件襯衣要40美元，在他們這里就要200美元。可是，Michael， 我還是不懂，一個人的鼻子和錢有什么關系呀？

    M： Yeah， it is a strange expression， but that's the way it is. Do you still want to go into that store？

    L： 不要，不要，我不進去了。我只是個學生，沒那么多錢，I can't afford to pay through the nose for things. 我啊，付不起這么高的價錢。

    M： I agree. I don't want to pay through the nose for anything either. It's stupid to waste so much money on something you can buy cheaper somewhere else. L： 就是呀，能夠用便宜的價錢買到的東西為什么要浪費那么多錢去買呢？對了，Michael， 那什么時候我們還可以用to pay through the nose這個說法的呢？

    M： Well， some people are willing to pay through the nose to buy tickets to see their favorite singers. L： 噢，花好多錢買票去聽他們喜歡的歌手唱歌。我就有幾個朋友愛買名牌的東西。她們就愿意pay through the nose.

    M： I don't understand paying through the nose to eat at fancy restaurants either. Food is food. Li Hua， I'm getting hungry. Can we go eat first？

    L： I'm down with that. 我也有點餓了。但是，I don't want to pay through the nose.

    李華今天學到了兩個常用語。一個是：down with that， 意思是“同意”，或者是“愿意”。另一個是：to pay through the nose， 意思是“出高價買東西”。