Zone out 走神

　　Larry和李華明天要考試，今天一起復習，但李華一直沒法專心。她今天會學到兩個常用語：zone out和now youre cooking with gas。

　　LL: So Reaganomics were the economic policies of US. President Ronald Reagan - Li Hua? Are you listening?

　　LH: (Pause) 嗯?發生什么事了?

　　LL: Li Hua! How can you zone out when your final is tomorrow?

　　LH: Zone out? 你在說什么啊, Larry?

　　LL: To zone out means to lose concentration and to not notice whats happening around you.

　　LH: 喔，你是說我分心嗎?

　　LL: Yes. A zone is an area. If you zone out, you mentally drift away from the place you are currently at, and go off into empty, dreamy space.

　　LH: 所以zone是指一個區域, zone out就是走神。

　　LL: Yup. So stop zoning out! We still have a lot of studying to do!

　　LH: 好吧。那你告訴我，什么是supply-side economics?

　　LL: Supply-side economics argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services (supply) -

　　LH: 比如說降低所得稅。

　　LL: Hey! Now youre cooking with gas!

　　LH: Cooking - cooking with what?

　　LL: Now youre cooking with gas! It means now you understand what Im talking about.

　　LH: 啊, now youre cooking with gas是指我終于跟上了，了解你在說什么。是啊，我還是懂一點點的。不過now youre cooking with gas和了解一件事情怎么能扯得上關系呢?

　　LL: This comes with a little bit of history. In the 1930s cooking became more convenient as the kitchen evolved from the old coal/wood range into the wood/gas combination. So when we say now youre cooking with gas, it means youve crossed the barrier and progressed!

　　LH: 真有意思。原來是1930年代煮飯從依靠炭和木頭進化成依靠天然氣，生活方便了許多，所以說now youre cooking with gas就代表我進步了。

　　LL: Yes, that is correct. Wow youre really cooking with gas now! Learning so fast.

　　LH: 沒錯。我現在精神好多了。還是學習英文俚語比較有趣。

　　LL: But we have to keep going with Economics, or else were both going to fail the exam tomorrow.

　　LH: 是啊。But if we keep talking about boring Economics, Im going to zone out again!

　　LL: Hmm what should we do then...

　　LH: 要不這樣!你先教我zone out和now youre cooking with gas的用法，讓我變得有精神之后，我們再繼續看經濟學，怎么樣?

　　LL: I guess that could work. Hmm...you seem to be able to use these two phrases already. Do you have any questions?

　　LH: 當然有。如果分心是zone out, 那很專注的時候就是Im really zoned in, right?

　　LL: Thats interesting. But no one says it that way. A lot of phrases are only used in one direction. Therefore, you can only say zone out, but there is no such thing as zone in.

　　LH: 啊，原來如此。分心是zone out, 但注意力集中時不能反過來說zone in.

　　LL: Right. What about now youre cooking with gas? Can you give me an example using that phrase?

　　LH: Even though I was zoning out at the beginning of this review session, I began to cook with gas.

　　LL: Hmm. The phrase now youre cooking with gas is usually used together as one, so no words are changed. Therefore, we dont say that someone begins to cook with gas.

　　LH: 好麻煩。所以說，Now youre cooking with gas. 得要整句一字不露地用。通常是一個人對另一個人說，Now youre cooking with gas. 而不是用來形容第三者的。

　　LL: Thats right. Now youre really cooking with gas! Do you think we can go back to Economics?

　　LH: 啊!我要回家了。今晚是美國偶像American Idol的決賽。拜拜!

　　LL: Wait! Li Hua!

　　Zone out 走神

　　Larry和李華明天要考試，今天一起復習，但李華一直沒法專心。她今天會學到兩個常用語：zone out和now youre cooking with gas。

　　LL: So Reaganomics were the economic policies of US. President Ronald Reagan - Li Hua? Are you listening?

　　LH: (Pause) 嗯?發生什么事了?

　　LL: Li Hua! How can you zone out when your final is tomorrow?

　　LH: Zone out? 你在說什么啊, Larry?

　　LL: To zone out means to lose concentration and to not notice whats happening around you.

　　LH: 喔，你是說我分心嗎?

　　LL: Yes. A zone is an area. If you zone out, you mentally drift away from the place you are currently at, and go off into empty, dreamy space.

　　LH: 所以zone是指一個區域, zone out就是走神。

　　LL: Yup. So stop zoning out! We still have a lot of studying to do!

　　LH: 好吧。那你告訴我，什么是supply-side economics?

　　LL: Supply-side economics argues that economic growth can be most effectively created by lowering barriers for people to produce goods and services (supply) -

　　LH: 比如說降低所得稅。

　　LL: Hey! Now youre cooking with gas!

　　LH: Cooking - cooking with what?

　　LL: Now youre cooking with gas! It means now you understand what Im talking about.

　　LH: 啊, now youre cooking with gas是指我終于跟上了，了解你在說什么。是啊，我還是懂一點點的。不過now youre cooking with gas和了解一件事情怎么能扯得上關系呢?

　　LL: This comes with a little bit of history. In the 1930s cooking became more convenient as the kitchen evolved from the old coal/wood range into the wood/gas combination. So when we say now youre cooking with gas, it means youve crossed the barrier and progressed!

　　LH: 真有意思。原來是1930年代煮飯從依靠炭和木頭進化成依靠天然氣，生活方便了許多，所以說now youre cooking with gas就代表我進步了。

　　LL: Yes, that is correct. Wow youre really cooking with gas now! Learning so fast.

　　LH: 沒錯。我現在精神好多了。還是學習英文俚語比較有趣。

　　LL: But we have to keep going with Economics, or else were both going to fail the exam tomorrow.

　　LH: 是啊。But if we keep talking about boring Economics, Im going to zone out again!

　　LL: Hmm what should we do then...

　　LH: 要不這樣!你先教我zone out和now youre cooking with gas的用法，讓我變得有精神之后，我們再繼續看經濟學，怎么樣?

　　LL: I guess that could work. Hmm...you seem to be able to use these two phrases already. Do you have any questions?

　　LH: 當然有。如果分心是zone out, 那很專注的時候就是Im really zoned in, right?

　　LL: Thats interesting. But no one says it that way. A lot of phrases are only used in one direction. Therefore, you can only say zone out, but there is no such thing as zone in.

　　LH: 啊，原來如此。分心是zone out, 但注意力集中時不能反過來說zone in.

　　LL: Right. What about now youre cooking with gas? Can you give me an example using that phrase?

　　LH: Even though I was zoning out at the beginning of this review session, I began to cook with gas.

　　LL: Hmm. The phrase now youre cooking with gas is usually used together as one, so no words are changed. Therefore, we dont say that someone begins to cook with gas.

　　LH: 好麻煩。所以說，Now youre cooking with gas. 得要整句一字不露地用。通常是一個人對另一個人說，Now youre cooking with gas. 而不是用來形容第三者的。

　　LL: Thats right. Now youre really cooking with gas! Do you think we can go back to Economics?

　　LH: 啊!我要回家了。今晚是美國偶像American Idol的決賽。拜拜!

　　LL: Wait! Li Hua!