L：你说什么？噢，电影还没有开场，你问我要不要买点吃的？嗯，我本想买一杯可乐，可是买了票，没钱了，算了吧！

M: Don't worry about it! I'll buy you one. It's only a few bucks.

L：你说什么？一杯可乐不是$2.75吗？你说 "only a few bucks"?

M: Yes. "Buck" is an informal way to say "dollar".

L：哟，“buck” 就是“dollar”！是非正式的名称。 嗨，昨天我要买一块糖，你给我一美元，那我就可以说：“You gave me a buck”，对不对？

M: That's right. And the other day, I lent you a few bucks for lunch. And last week, you borrowed ten bucks so you could buy a chemistry textbook, and...

L：得啦，你用不着提醒我，我知道，那天借了你几块钱吃午饭，上星期借你十块钱买化学书，不就是借了两回吗！你怎么啦，怕我不还？

M: No, I'm not reminding you, I just wanted to give you some examples.

L：得了吧！要给我举例子，跟钱有关的事多着呢，为什么非要举我问你借钱的例子！

M: Ok, don't be mad at me. Hey, since you now know what "buck" means, why don't you give me an example.

L：要我给你举个例子，行，那还不容易呀！你看我这件毛衣，款式很新型，纯毛的，还是名牌，你猜多钱？Five bucks！

M: Five bucks! I can't believe it!

L：清仓大减价嘛！可是，Michael，我去商店的时候，停车停错了地方，吃了一张罚票，it costs me 50 bucks!

M: Oh! So your sweater actually costs you 55 bucks! That's expensive!

L：真倒霉！得了，别说了。去买可乐吧！电影都快开场了。

（Michael和李华看完电影以后）

L：Michael，这电影可真棒！

M: What? Are you kidding? That was the stupidest movie I've ever seen. I would have rather spent the seven bucks on a good meal.

L：你从来没看过这么傻的电影？你宁可花这七块钱去好好吃顿饭！Michael，你真怪！我非常喜欢Piers Brosnan，他长得多帅呀！

M: Handsome? Whatever! He's got to be over 50 years old now!

L：Michael，你说“whatever”，在这里是什么意思呀？比如说：“You can buy whatever you want.” 意思是：你想买什么都行。可是，你刚才说一个字“whatever”，口气不同，好象意思也不一样。

M: The word "whatever" I said is the same as in your example，But when someone says "whatever" like this: "whatever," he is being sarcastic. He thinks what you just said is nonsense.

L：噢，原来是这么回事。你说的whatever和我举的例子里的whatever 是一个字, 可是，说的语调不一样就表示说话的人在讽 刺对方，认为对方说的是废话。好，又学会一个词。不过，Michael，你不喜欢这部电影是不是你认为Piers Brosnan不够帅？你是妒忌他吧？

M: Whatever! Piers Brosnan is an old man and he's getting fat. I couldn't possibly be jealous of him.

L：得了吧！对，Piers Brosnan年级不小了，也比以前胖了。可是我认为他还是很帅。你自己不也比以前胖了嘛。

M: I'm fat? Whatever! This movie was a waste of seven bucks!

L：唉，非要说看这部电影是浪费七块美元。得了，Michael，你还是省点钱吧，没准我下回还要问你借呢！

M: Whatever!

　　李华今天学到了两个常用语，一个是：buck，这是指美元；另一个常用语就是：whatever，这是表示说话的人对对方说的话很不以为然，就象中文里说的“得了吧”。