To give up the ghost 
ghost town

世界上到底有没有鬼？真正看见过鬼的人似乎也不多，可是几千年来，许多人一听鬼的故事就毛骨悚然。今天我们要讲两个和“鬼”这个字有关的俗语，可是大家千万别害怕，你绝不会见到鬼的。“鬼”这个字在英文里就是：ghost。

根据字典里的解释，ghost就是看不见的幽灵，人死了，他的灵魂也就离开了人体。今天要讲的两个俗语就是这个意思。我们先来介绍：to give up the ghost。To give up就是“放弃”。一个人放弃了灵魂不就是死了吗？To give up the ghost的意思也就是：“ 死”。下面我们来举个例子：

"My poor old aunt was in bed with cancer for six months before she finally gave up the ghost."

这个人说：“我那可怜的老阿姨得了癌，在床上躺了半年后终于去世了。”

To give up the ghost不一定指人，它还可以用来说别的东西，就像那些磨损很利害无法修理的机器：

"I need money to buy a new car. My old one is twelve years old and I'm afraid it's ready to give up the ghost."

这个人说：“我需要钱去买一辆新车。我那辆老的汽车已经开了十二年，恐怕是要完蛋了。”

要是你看过美国的西部电影的话，你很可能看到过那种被遗弃的城镇。美国人把它们叫做：ghost town。Ghost town就是一些被遗弃的城镇。一百多年前，成千上万的人都争先恐后到美国西部去淘金，想一夜就变成富翁。当时那里的小城镇都很繁荣，后来，随着淘金活动的结束，人们也就逐个地离开了那里到别处去谋生，这些城镇也就没有生命了。下面的例句是一个人在形容ghost town的凄凉情景：

"These old ghost towns can give you a scary feeling, with the buildings falling apart and the only sound is the moaning of the wind blowing through the deserted streets."

这人说：“被遗弃的城镇真让你感到害怕。那里的房子东倒西歪，唯一能听到的声音就是在那没有人的街道上风吹的呜呜响声。”

就是在现代的美国社会中，有些城镇由于经济条件的变化仍然会被遗弃。我们要举的第二个例子就可以说明这种现象：

"I come from a city in Illinois which used to have three big steel plants. But these factories closed twenty years ago and the city has almost become a ghost town with most of the people gone and most of the stores and houses boarded up like a mining town out West."

这人说：“我的老家是在伊利诺伊州的一个城市。那里原来有三个大钢铁厂。但是，二十年前这些厂就关闭了，那里的大多数人也都搬走了，商店和房屋都钉上了木板，就像西部那些开矿的城镇一样。所以我的老家也几乎成了一个被遗弃的地方。”

我们今天讲了两个和ghost有关的俗语，它们是：to give up the ghost和ghost town。To give up the ghost是指人死了，或是无可补救的东西。Ghost town是被遗弃的城镇。

美国习惯用语: 第一百零三课就讲到这里。欢迎下次再一起来学习美国习惯用语。再见。 　

第2部分 流行美语

今天Michael要在家里举行一个party，请朋友来玩。李华学到两个常用语：psyched和to flop。

L: 啤酒冻好了，吃的也摆好了。我看一切都准备好了。

M: Great! I'm really psyched about this party. Tonight I finally get to relax and have fun with my friends.

L: 你是不是担心party会出问题？是不是怕没有朋友来？

M: Not at all. I said "I am psyched." That means that I am very excited, and am looking forward to something.

L: Psyched这个词听起来怪怪的。那么“to be psyched”照你说的，就表示你盼望什么事情啦？

M: Not exactly. When I say "I am psyched," I not only mean that I am excited, but that I am full of energy and ready to go.

L: 是吗？可是今天的party有什么节目让你这样高兴呀？

M: Well, once some of my friends show up, I plan to have a few beers and hit the dance floor. Quite a few ladies should be showing up at the party tonight, so my friends will be psyched and ready to go as well!

L：嗯... 美酒加美女，听起来不错嘛。不过Michael， 你也不要太激动了。我可是见过你喝醉了之后跳舞还有和女孩讲话的样子。真是不敢恭维噢。

M: O.K., that's enough already. If you're so smart, why don't you use "psyched" in a sentence for me?

L: 嗯，让我想想看。对了，像“拳击手Mike Tyson，在比赛前很psyched，因为他准备好要恶战一场了。”这句话怎么样？

M: Yeah, you seem to understand this phrase pretty well. All good athletes have to be psyched before a sports match, otherwise they have no chance of winning.

L: 行了行了，Michael, 你只要记住自己不是运动员，也不是专业的舞蹈家。

M: Oh come on Li Hua! Don't try to ruin this party for me! You should be psyched too! This is going to be the greatest party of your life!

音乐间隙

L: Michael， 你没事吧？

M: [Groan] Ugh, this is ... this is terrible. I feel like such an idiot. I can't believe my party flopped so badly!

L: 怎么了？你说你的party怎么了？

M: I said my party flopped. That's the past tense for "flop." I mean that the party sucked.

L: 我懂了, “flop” 就是你的party搞砸了。这个词还有别的意思吗？

M: Well, the word "flop" means to fall down flat and make a noise like when you drop a rug or a large book on the floor.

L: OK，我懂了。这个词的意思就是形容很重的东西掉在地上的声音。这个词是不是只能形容party的时候用呢？

M: Not at all. If a movie or a play "flops," that means it was not very successful. Sometimes we might say a plan "flopped," meaning it failed.

L: 那你说说看，为什么你的party搞砸了呢？

M: I wish I knew. Even my friends left after a couple of hours. I've never been to a party that flopped as badly as this one. Oh ...I know what happened tonight.

L: 那是为什么呢？

M: Today is the first Saturday of the new semester. Professor Wilkins always invites all of the graduate students in my department to a big pool party at his house. Everyone must have gone there!

L: 嗨，你怎么会忘了这回事呢？你的教授给研究生举行party？那我们也赶紧去参加他的party吧！我可不想在你的房间里发呆。我们也要去找点乐子啊！

M: That's wonderful. My party is such a flop even you can't wait to leave.

L: 哎哟，有什么关系？只要我们能参加另一个party就好了。我已经等不及了，赶快走吧！

今天李华学会了两个常用语：psyched和to flop。Psyched在这里就是“精神高昂，盼望某件事情”的意思，to flop就是“失败，不成功”的意思。

【听力】美国习惯用语+流行美语 08年4月2日 文字+MP3  

【听力】美国习惯用语+流行美语 08年4月1日 文字+MP3