M: Li Hua, what are you looking at on the Internet?

L：噢，我想在网上买个做豆腐的机器。我和一个朋友想做了豆腐周末拿到农民集市上去卖。你说有人会买吗？

M: Of course people would buy your tofu! You'd make a killing!

L：Make a killing? 做豆腐和杀人有什么关系？

M: No, I said you'd "make a killing". "To make a killing" means to earn a lot of money quickly through some kind of lucrative business.

L：唷，to make a killing就是通过做生意赚了许多钱！Michael，这么说，你认为我们这个生意能做得成，是吗？我不知道美国人是不是爱吃豆腐呐。

M: Of course! A lot of people who don't eat meat, or who want to eat healthy foods eat tofu. Also, there are a lot of Chinese in this part of town. I'm sure you'll make a killing.

L：对，好多美国人现在健康意识很强，不吃肉，爱吃豆制品。Michael，你说得没错，这一带中国人也很多，肯定有人会买新鲜豆腐的。Michael，你能不能再给我举一个例子呀？

M: Well, for instance, my uncle Roger made a killing in real estate. A few years ago, he bought a lot of land and then rich people started building houses in the area, and he made a lot of money.

L：你叔叔几年前买了好多地，然后有钱人在这些地上盖房子，所以他就通过房地产生意赚了好多钱！他可真有远见呐！

M: You can also say to make a killing in the stock market, in the insurance business or even in the tofu business!

L：噢，to make a killing in the stock market就是通过买卖股票赚了好多钱，in the insurance business就是保险业。可是，我想靠卖豆腐大概不会make a killing赚不了太多钱。

M: Don't worry about losing money, Li Hua. At the very least, you will break even.

L：你说我至少会什么？break even？

M: "To break even" means to neither lose nor gain money. If you do some business and are able to cover the costs of the business, but don't make a profit, you are breaking even.

L：噢，那就是既不赚钱，也不亏本。做豆腐的机器不是太贵，所以，你说得对，要做到收支相抵，也就是break even，应该不会有问题。

M: Even if you don't earn a lot of money, if you break even you lose nothing, plus you get to enjoy lots of fresh tofu.

L：唷，你倒想得好，不赚不赔没什么损失，还能吃好多新鲜豆腐！你不就是想不出钱白吃豆腐嘛！对不对？

M: What? I don't care that much about tofu. Stop being silly and use this phrase in a sentence.

L：嗯……有了。我和我的朋友Regina上星期第一次去大西洋赌城玩。开始我们各自出了50 美元，可是不到一小时全输光了。后来我们两人各出10美元，合在一起，结果终于把100美元又赚了回来。所以，In the end,we broke even.

M: (Sarcastically) Wow. $50. Good thing you were able to break even, or you'd have to sleep in a cardboard box on the sidewalk.

L：Michael, 别小看人哪！输了50美元，我就得睡在马路上的纸箱里呀？哎，不过，说实话，50美元是不少钱，我本来就不该去赌钱。

　　今天李华学到两个常用语，一个是：to make a killing，意思是做生意在短期内赚了很多钱。另一个是：to break even，意思是做生意没有亏本，也没有赚钱。