文化面面觀：中年危機(jī)

考考你：小試牛刀

本片段劇情：人到中年的麥克家庭事業(yè)雙雙受挫。當(dāng)麥克回到母校接在那里上學(xué)的兩個(gè)孩子時(shí)，他走進(jìn)籃球場(chǎng)，不禁回憶起了自己昔日的風(fēng)光。這時(shí)一個(gè)白胡子門(mén)衛(wèi)出現(xiàn)并直呼麥克的名字，麥克告訴他自己想回到過(guò)去……

影片對(duì)白：

Janitor: Mike O'Donnell.

Mike: Do I know you?

Janitor: No. But I know you.

Mike: Oh, yeah?

Janitor: High school star. Never quite lived up to your potential. Sooner or later you all come back to the old school. Stand there and look at the picture of the glory days, wondering what might have been. Seems to me you guys are living in the past.

Mike: Well, of course I want to live in the past. It was better there.

Janitor: I'll bet you wish you had it to do all over again.

Mike: Huh. You got that right.

Janitor: You're sure about that?

Mike: Oh, yeah.

Maggie: Dad.

Girls: Hi, Mr. O'Donnell.

Mike: Ladies.

Maggie: What are you doing here?

Mike: Oh, I was just talking to...nobody. Doesn't matter. I got off work early, and I thought maybe we could go for some ice cream.

Maggie: Together? Why?

Mike: Just go get your brother, okay?

Waitress: Do you need anything else?

Mike: No, we're fine. What's the matter, Maggie? This used to be your favorite place. We used to come here for your birthday.

Maggie: Yeah, when I was, like, 8.

Mike: So, Al, basketball season's coming up. You ready?

Al: Yeah.

Mike: Been working on that outside shot?

Al: Mm-hm.

Mike: Passing?

Al: Good.

Mike: Dribbling?

Al: Really good.

Mike: Good's not going to get you a scholarship.

Al: I meant, it's great. It's great, Dad. It's great.

Mike: That's my boy. Remember, it's not how big you are.

Al: It's how big you play.

Mike: Right up here.

Al: Uh, Maggie got into Georgetown.

Mike: Maggie, that's awesome. Can you turn down the? (They arrive home) Okay, guys, see you soon. Love you. Nice chatting with you. (He meets his wife) What the hell are you doing? What the hell are you doing?! Hey, that's my stuff. Why are you destroying our yard?

Scarlet: It's not our yard. It's my yard, remember? You took the road not taken. And I get the yard. I'm going to turn it into a showpiece for my clients.

Mike: Clients of what?

Scarlet: Landscape design.

Mike: Landscape design?

Scarlet: I'm going to show people what I can do.

Mike: Yeah, well, the divorce isn't final for another two weeks, so you have no right.

Scarlet: Really? So I've spent the last 18 years of my life listening to you whine about all the things you could've done without me, and I have no right?

Mike: It's just I put a lot of work into this yard.

Scarlet: Did you? Really? Like the barbeque pit?

Mike: Yeah.

Scarlet: Yeah. The way I remember that is that you spent about an hour working on it, and then you spent the next two days complaining about if you had gone to college, you could've hired someone else to do it.

Mike: I don't think it was a whole two days.

Scarlet: Or the hammock over here.

Mike: Yeah.

Scarlet: Yeah. I think you quit that one because you just decided not to try anymore.

Mike: Look, try to see things from my point of view. I am extremely disappointed with my life.

Scarlet: I never asked you to marry me.

Mike: Yeah, but I did.

Scarlet: Well, you don't have to do me any more favors, then. We're not going to hold each other back anymore, okay?

Mike: Scar...

Scarlet: I'll see you at court, okay? At the trial.

Naomi: Scarlet.

Scarlet: Naomi! You came.

Naomi: Of course I came. What kind of bridesmaid would I be if I didn't hold your hand during the divorce? Now, just remember. The first one's always the hardest. Mike.

Mike: Naomi.

Naomi: Naomi.

Mike: I don't care.

Naomi: Let's get going. We got to get you ready. We got to get you back on the market.

Scarlet: Yeah, I'm a real catch. Single mom with two teenage kids and manure caked under my fingernails.

Naomi: Come on. You'll do great. You got the butt of a 12-year-old boy.

Mike: Oh, that's terrific. I hope our daughter heard that.

Naomi: Ugh. When was the last time you waxed?

Scarlet: Bye, Mike.

Mike: Bye.

妙語(yǔ)佳句 活學(xué)活用

1. live up to: 實(shí)踐，不辜負(fù)，與……相配。影片中白胡子老人一語(yǔ)道破麥克心中的遺憾，即他一直認(rèn)為自己不曾充分發(fā)揮自己的潛能。看一下例子：

The new house didn't live up to expectations.（這幢新房子沒(méi)有預(yù)期的好。）

His wife was so clever that he felt he could never live up to her.

他的妻子那么聰明，他感到自己怎么也配不上她。

2. glory days: 往日的美好時(shí)光；昔日的輝煌。

3. get off work: 下班。也可以用knock off來(lái)表示“下班，收工”。例如：

What time do you knock off for lunch?（你什么時(shí)候中斷工作吃午飯？）

4. outside shot: 外線(xiàn)投籃。

5. passing: 傳球。

6. dribbling: 運(yùn)球。

7. showpiece: （供展示用的）樣品。

8.whine (about): 發(fā)牢騷。從Scarlet的話(huà)我們可以知道，Mike以前動(dòng)不動(dòng)就發(fā)牢騷說(shuō)，自己當(dāng)初如果沒(méi)有和Scarlet結(jié)婚、被保送大學(xué)的話(huà)，今天就不會(huì)是這個(gè)樣子。看一下例子：

Don't be a baby and whine about trifles.

別為芝麻大的事兒嘀咕個(gè)沒(méi)完耍小孩子脾氣了。

9. hold each other back: 妨礙對(duì)方。hold back有“阻擋，阻止……前進(jìn)”的意思。例如：He was held back from further promotion.（他沒(méi)得到進(jìn)一步的提升。）

10. catch: 值得看重的婚配對(duì)象，值得獲得的人（或物）。看一下例子：

Beatrice was marrying the catch of the season.

比阿特麗斯即將同那個(gè)活躍于當(dāng)年社交季節(jié)的紅人結(jié)婚。

文化面面觀：中年危機(jī)

考考你：小試牛刀