Catch 附加条件

今天李华要做心理学实验，骗Larry说她中了一百万美元，看Larry会有什么样的反应。李华会学到两个常用语：grand和catch。

LH: Larry, Larry!!

LL: Hi Li Hua. Why are you so excited today?

LH: 我中乐透了！一百万！我发财了。

LL: Oh really? Are you going to take me out to dinner?

LH: 请你吃饭？你的要求还真不高，我决定啊，分你一半！

LL: You're giving me half a million?! What's the catch？

LH: The catch...那是什么？

LL: A catch is any tricky or concealed drawback to a deal. You're definitely not giving me half a million dollars for no reason. It's okay, tell me. What's the catch?

LH: A catch是指某件好事的附带条件？哦，我明白了，你是不相信我会因为友谊分一半奖金给你，你觉得这么好的事情一定有catch, 对吗？

LL: Of course. I wouldn't give my own brother that much.

LH: 好吧，我交待。其实我没中奖啦，是心理学课要做研究。我才想要试探试探你的反应。

LL: So this is all for your Psychology class. I knew it! What if you really won a million dollars? Would you share the money?

LH: 如果我真中了奖，当然会分你一点喽。嗯，一千块！怎样，我这朋友够意思吧？

LL: You'll only give me one grand?! That's 1,000th of a million, Li Hua! I thought our friendship was worth more than that...

LH: One grand...是一千块钱的意思吗？

LL: Yup. One grand is equivalent to 1,000 dollars.

LH: 喔。所以one grand是一千块钱的意思。

LL: Yes, that's right.

LH: 那我就可以把五千块钱说成5,000grands咯？

LL: No, no, no. "Grand" replaces "thousand dollars", so you would say five grand.

LH: 原来如此。五千块要说five grand, 因为grand代替了thousand dollars这两个词。但为什么是说five grand而不是five grands呢？

LL: Even though five is more than one, you still say grand because the word is already in its plural form.

LH: 喔。因为grand已经是复数了, 所以要说five grand而不是five grands, 那我懂了。

LL: Hey, so back to the topic. You're only giving me 1,000 dollars?

LH: Yeah, one grand is a lot of money. 那换做是你，你会给我多少钱呢？

LL: I would give you 10 grand.

LH: 你会给我一万？你真好！Wait, what would be the catch?

LL: There would be no catch! I treat you as a very close friend.

LH: 真的？我不信。不过，catch还可以怎么用？ Larry, 能不能多给我几个例子？

LL: Sure. A catch is any benefit that comes with a drawback. For example, when you go on a web site, and they tell you you have a chance to win a laptop, there's usually a catch.

LH: 你是说，某些网站如果说你有机会赢一台手提电脑，通常都要回答问卷，订阅周刊等等好多好多条件，所以这些条件就是the catch吗？

LL: Exactly. So whenever someone tells you you've won money, or a laptop, don't believe them. Or else, you're going to have to expect a big catch that goes with the benefit.

LH: 难怪有一种说法是 "天下没有白吃的午餐"。 Everything that sounds too good has a catch to it.

LL: That's very true.

LH: 但我给你一千块钱绝对没有别的企图喔！There is no catch.

LL: But I'm willing to give you 10 grand!

LH: 那我也给你10 grand怎么样？

LL: Ten grand. That sounds a lot better...

LH: 那就好。对了，你等下有事吗？请我去吃牛排吧！

LL: You want me to treat you to steak? A minute ago you were only willing to give me one grand, and now you want me to treat you to steak. Ai, Li Hua!

今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语。一个是grand, 是一千美元的替代说法。另一个catch, 指某种好处所附带的条件。

相关阅读

On the same page 意见统一

What a bummer 杯具了

Take baby steps 慢慢来

Shoot hoops 打篮球

（来源：流行美语 编辑：Rosy）