Larry 去李華家吃飯。他告訴李華說，自己今天特別倒霉。李華今天要學兩
個常用語：nightmare 和group hug.

    LL： I had the worst day at work today. It was an absolutenightmare！

    LH：上班做惡夢？Larry ，你可要小心點兒，上班睡覺是要被老板炒魷魚的！

    LL： No ， no. I didn't HAVE a nightmare at work……Being at work
today was LIKE a nightmare. LH：噢，你是說今天上班很痛苦，就像是做了一
場惡夢啊，聽起來挺嚇人的。

    LL： It wasn't so much scary as it was unpleasant. Any situation that
is really bad or unpleasant can be called a nightmare - even a really
angry person can be a nightmare. LH ：我知道了，nightmare 是指令人不愉
快的人或者事。那你今天上班出什么事了？

    LL： It all started with my boss. He is usually a nice guy， but today
he was really angry with his staff - me ， included. He was a total nightmare.
LH：我記得你老板人挺隨和的，今天怎么會突然發(fā)脾氣呢？

    LL： Well ， he wasn't happy that we hadn't finished a project by
the deadline. When he came into the office this morning ， he told everyone
we better have it finished by the end of the day - or he was going to
become our worst nightmare！

    LH： Your worst nightmare ？ Yikes！你們不是一直都在趕著完成那個項
目嗎？老板這么生氣，大家一定很沮喪吧？

    LL： That is exactly what happened， Li Hua. After work ， my day
didn't get better. On my way over to your house ， the traffic was a nightmare.
LH：我也從新聞里看到堵車的消息了。你今天可真夠倒霉的。我特別理解你現(xiàn)在
的心情，還記得我博士生資格考試那天嗎？

    LL： I do remember. As I recall that day was a total nightmare for
you. LH ：是呀，我當時論文打到一半，電腦突然死機了。What a nightmare.

    LL： But the nightmare turned out okay in the end ， didn't it？

    LH：我只好從頭再來。還好，我的論文最后還是得了優(yōu)秀。

    LL： Then maybe my nightmare will have a good ending， too.

    ******

    LL： You know ， Li Hua ， when my co-workers and me were feeling
down after the boss yelled at us， we had a "Group Hug" and all felt better.
LH： A "group hug"？在辦公室里集體擁抱？

    LL： Well ， I know it sounds kind of strange ， but sometimes when
a group of people or a team is down and they need to cheer themselves
up they have a "group hug." LH：你的意思是，大家情緒低落的時候，group
hug 一下，感覺就會好起來？

    LL： Well ， after my boss left and everyone was feeling down ， one
of my co-workers said aloud ， "Group Hug ！" We all stood up ， hugged
in a circle one time， and then felt much better. LH：真有意思，group
hug 能讓你們提高工作效率嗎？

    LL： It really did. The group hug reduced the tension ， and we all
were able to get back to working on the project. LH ：我可以在我的中文
課上試試看。中文很難學，所以學生們有時會因為進步慢而感到氣餒。

    LL： A "group hug" could help lighten the mood in class ， especially
after a really hard test. LH： Larry， group hug是怎么做的呢？

    LL： Well ， usually someone says ， "Group Hug" or "Let's have a
group hug." Then the group forms a circle and each participant puts their
arms over their neighbors' shoulders. LH：大家站成一圈，胳膊搭在旁邊人
的肩膀上，是這樣嗎？那下次我發(fā)考卷的時候，如果學生們考得不好，我就可以
說，不要灰心，Let's have a group hug.

    LL： Yes， that's it！ In my family ， when my brothers and sisters
would have an argument， my mom would say ， ''Let's stop fighting and
have a group hug.'' It was like magic - we'd all stop fighting. LH： Larry，
我知道你今天情緒不好，但是我們兩個人不能說是group hug 吧？

    LL： No ， you are right， Li Hua. To have a true group hug ， you
need three or more people. But I'd be happy with just a regular hug from
you ， Li Hua ！

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是nightmare ，是令人不愉快的人或事。

    另一個是 group hug，是集體擁抱。