M: Come in!

L：Hi Michael! 真抱歉，我没先告诉你就来了。你的电话一直占线，所以我没法打电话给你。

M: That's no big deal. I was on the phone with my friend Bob who lives in Georgia. He is such a redneck!

L：原来这样。对了，你把你朋友叫什么来着？你说他是什么啊？

M: I said he's a redneck, R-E-D-N-E-C-K.

L：一个红的脖子？这是什么意思啊？

M: A redneck is someone from the countryside who lives a country lifestyle.

L：所以你叫一个人redneck就是说他是乡下人或很土气。哎，这样说别人很不礼貌吧。

M: Well, maybe. If you call someone a redneck, it means you think that they are not very cultured or sophisticated.

L：你就因为你朋友住在乡下，你就开他玩笑说他是redneck，未免不太好吧。

M: I'm not really making fun of him. Some people are proud to be rednecks. Bob likes to call himself that.

L：你说叫他redneck，Bob他还很得意呀。那我就不懂了。在中国，大多数住在乡下的人都巴不得往城里跑呢。

M: Well, the U.S. is different. Being a redneck doesn't mean being poor or uneducated. It is a way of living, I guess.

L：那么rednecks到底像什么呢？你来说说。

M: Let me see, how can I describe them? When we say someone is a redneck we mean they are from the south, and speak with a southern accent。

L：现在我懂了，redneck 呢一般是指美国南方人，或者说话有南方口音的人。不过说真的，那些南方口音我真的听不太懂。

M: Also, rednecks like life in the countryside. They enjoy sports such as hunting or fishing. They like living in areas with lots of open space.

L：Hmm，rednecks他们不住在城市，他们更享受乡下的生活。

M: Exactly. Also, most rednecks have blue-collar jobs, or work on a farm. By the way, Li Hua, be careful how you use this word. Some people might get angry if you call them a redneck.

L：哎，对了，Michael，你那个红脖子朋友Bob为什么事打电话给你啊？

M: Well, he asked me if I wanted to visit him this summer. I'm not sure if I really want to go though.

L：真的吗？为什么你不想去呢？

M: He lives out in the sticks. There's nothing for me to do out there.

L：他生活在那儿？The sticks是什么地方啊?

M: Oh, when I say in the sticks, that just means in a rural area, far from a big city.

L：噢，原来是指乡下啊。哎哟，只不过离开城市几天，这样你也受不了啊？

M: Well, I am used to city life. I don't know how to fish or hunt, and I really don't like farm work. I don't think I would like living in the sticks.

L：你觉得你不适合乡下的生活啊，不过偶尔去呼吸一下新鲜空气不是挺好的吗？

M: I guess. Maybe I should visit him.

L：要是有人自称是redneck 的话，他也许觉得生活在乡下in the sticks也是很值得自豪的了？

M: Actually, the phrase in the sticks is not very polite. You shouldn't tell someone that they live in the sticks unless you are just joking with them.

L：奥，说别人live in the sticks并不是很好，除非你是在开玩笑啊？

M: You are right. Usually when you say something is in the sticks you mean it is far from anything civilized.

L：其实美国人并不懂得什么是真正的乡下。就算他们住在乡下好了，只要一开车就到城里了嘛。

M: That's true. Still, some places out in the sticks are pretty far from a big city, even if you drive a car.

　　今天李华学到了两个新词：redneck和in the sticks。Redneck是指乡下人。In the sticks则是指远离城市的农村地区。