(sound of TV news in the background)

L：Michael，你干吗这么关心加州的州长选举啊？你又没去过加州！

M: (chuckles) I know, it's just the idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the new governor of California cracks me up! It's so funny!

L：你说阿诺选上加州州长让你什么啦？cracks-me-up?

M: I said, "Cracks me up!" That means it makes me laugh. In fact, the whole California election cracks me up. It's all so ridiculous!

L：噢，我知道了，如果说什么事情cracks you up，那就是说这件事让你觉得好笑。哎，可是，为什么加州选举会让你觉得好笑啊？

M: Hehehe. For some reason, whenever I see Arnold giving a speech on TV, I just crack up.

L：你说，你只要在电视上看到阿诺讲话就觉得好笑，为什么呢？我觉得他比其他政客还好一些哎！

M: He is not the same! He has a funny accent, and whenever I see him, I don't see Arnold, I see his characters from Terminator and Conan the Barbarian. (laughs at length) It just cracks me up!

L：啊，你一看见阿诺，就会想起他在电影里扮演的角色啊，难怪你觉得他的样子好笑。可是你嘲笑他说话有口音，这不太好吧！

M: Oh who cares? Everyone laughs at Arnold's accent: (speaks in Arnie voice) "I just want to say to Governor Gray Davis, Hasta la vista, baby! You won't be baaack!"

L：(laughs) 行了行了，Michael! (in English) You are cracking me up. (Chinese) 你啊，听起来一点也不象阿诺！

L：你知道吧，Michael，阿诺啊，他不仅仅是演员，他在经商方面也很有经验，而且看起来满有政治天才的，说不定他会是个很好的州长啊！

M: What? Are you crazy? Arnold is barely even an actor. And he doesn't have any experience as a politician! He's a wannabe!

L：你说他是什么？A wannabe? Michael，你不喜欢他可以，可是不应该这样骂他吧？

M: I didn't call Arnold a rude name! I said that he's a wannabe politician. I meant he isn't a real politician, he just wants to be a real politician!

L：噢，我懂了。Wannabe，它的意思就是，“想成为某个人或者是某种人”。 所以，你说阿诺是个wannabe politician，就表示呢，他希望成为政治家，可是啊，他不是真正的政治家。那wannabe这个词还有其它的意思吗？

M: A "wannabe" is often someone who wants people to think they are a certain kind of person, even though they aren't the real thing.

L：噢，A wannabe还可以说，是要别人认为他是某种类型的人，虽然他们并不是那种人。

M: Can you give me an example of a "wannabe," Li Hua?

L：嗯，让我想一想……，对了，很多中国学生都觉得我们系里的Anderson教授，他呀，是个wannabe中国专家。只去过中国几次，汉语啊说得乱七八糟，可是他总是做出很懂中国的样子。

M: Yeah, he is a wannabe.

L：哎，Michael，你呀，要是不好好练习中文的话，有一天，你也会成为一个wannabe中国专家！
　　
　　Michael和李华今天在谈论著名演员阿诺·施瓦辛格在加州当选州长的新闻。在他们的谈话中，李华学到了两个很有用的说法：to crack somebody up是“让人发笑”的意思，wannabe指“希望成为某种人的人”。