M: Hey look, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later. Bye. (sound of putting the phone down). Oh, geez!

L：哎，Michael，我不想打断你说话。

M: Oh don't worry about it, Li Hua. It was just my folks.

L：Folks? 你说你在跟谁说话？

M: My folks. Here "folks" means "parents".

L：噢，folks就是指“父母”啊。听起来你好象不太想和你爸妈说话。这不太好吧？

M: I just get tired of talking to them, that's all. My folks call me two or three times a week to remind me to do things, like go to the dentist, or change the oil in my car. I am an adult now, and they don't need to do that.

L：你爸妈每星期给你打两三次电话，提醒你去看牙医、换汽车的机油，那不是很好吗？哎，对了，Michael，你去看了牙医了没有？你不是说牙痛吗？

M: Please, Li Hu, you sound just like my folks.

L：你呀，真不领情。对了，用folks来称呼父母，这是不是不太礼貌啊？

M: No, its not impolite really, but it is very informal.

L：噢，folks是很随便的称呼，但并不是没有礼貌的。哎，Michael，一般是你会主动给你父母打电话，还是他们给你打电话啊？

M: Well, um. Usually my folks call me first! I don't have to call them!

L：你不给他们打电话，那是为什么？

M: I don't usually have a lot to say to my folks. They call me so often, I have no new news to tell them. By the way, Li Hua, how often do you talk to your folks?

L：怎么会和父母没话说呢？我和我爸妈每个星期至少要打两次电话呢。

M: Wow, that must be expensive.

L：还好啦。我和我爸妈都有电脑，这样我们就可以通过电脑免费通话了。

L：哎，你知道吗，Michael，你真是应该多给你父母打电话。你们都住在同一个城市，不打电话太不应该了。

M: Li Hua, please stop ragging on me about my parents. I still visit them all the time!

L：你说要我不要怎么啦？Ragging on? 那是什么意思啊？

M: I said, "Stop ragging on me". "To rag on someone" means "to scold or tease someone over and over."

L：To rag on someone就是说你不断地责备或者取笑某个人。嘿，我才提醒你两次，这样也算是ragging on you啊?

M: Well, not really. You're not as bad as my folks. They rag me all the time about all kinds of things.

L：等等，你刚才说they rag me，那rag后面到底有没有on啊？你说清楚好不好？

M: Ok ok, stop ragging on me! "To rag" can be used with "on", or without "on." The meaning is just the same.

L：噢，我懂了。哎，那你爸爸妈妈他们老是说你什么？

M: They rag on me about not cleaning my car, not eating right, drinking too much, not having a girlfriend, not going to church, not calling them, not calling my other relatives.

L：哎，等等，等等。你说你父母说你不洗车，不吃健康食物、喝酒太多，还有，没有女朋友，又不去教堂，也不给他们打电话。哎哟，这批评还真不少啊。我的父母好象不怎么说我哎。

M: Well, anyway, its getting late. Want to get some pizza?

L：Michael, 干吗不自己做点健康食物呢？

M: First my folks, and now you. It seems like everyone wants to rag on me today.

　　李华今天和Michael一起谈到和父母沟通的问题的时候，学到了两个美国用语的用法。Folks是指父母；Rag on则是不停地批评和嘲笑他人的意思。