今天Michael和李华要开车去新泽西州看一个朋友，跟他一起过周末。新泽西州紧挨着纽约，开车只要一个小时就到了。请注意他们俩人讲话当中用的两个词：shot和damage。现在他们正准备上车。

　　M: Hey, Li Hua, are you ready to go?

　　L:行，我准备好了，可以走了。

　　M: Ok, let's go!

　　L:哟，怎么啦？

　　M: I think my engine is shot. This is not good.

　　L:什么？有人开枪把你车打坏啦？

　　M: No! You're right, shot does mean to have used a gun, but here shot means something is broken.

　　L:对啊，shot是指开枪，原来这儿的意思不同，这儿是指什么东西坏了。那我的电脑坏了，也能用shot这个字啊？

　　M: Sure. My computer is shot. You can say almost anything is shot.

　　L:什么东西坏了都能这样说？

　　M: Yes, if you hurt your knee, you can say: My knee is shot, or if you hurt your shoulder, you can say: My shoulder is shot.

　　L:噢，要是你的膝盖受伤了，你就可以说：My knee is shot;要是你的肩膀受了伤，那你就说：My shoulder is shot.

　　M: Let's go rent a car. I don't want our whole day to be shot.

　　L:对，还是去租一辆车吧。噢，毁了一整天也能这样说呀！

　　M: Yep. Let's go!

　　(Michael和李华租了一辆车，现在他们在开往新泽西的路上)。

　　L: Michael,这辆车真不错，挺稳的。再开半小时就到了，太好了！

　　M: Yeah, I'm glad too, but the damage for renting the car is pretty bad.

　　L:什么？这辆租的车也坏了？哟，那怎么办呐！

　　M: No, the rental car is not damaged! The word damage does mean that, but damage here means the amount of money needed to pay for something.

　　L:租的车没有坏，真把我吓一跳。原来又是我的英文有问题。Damage这个字很普通，大家都知道是指什么东西坏了。可你指的是为什么东西付的钱。

　　M: Yes, renting the car is expensive, so the damage is bad. We usually say the damage is bad or not bad.

　　L:我知道了，价钱贵就是：the damage is bad。价钱不高，那就是：the damage is not bad.再给我举个例子吧。

　　M: When you pay for dinner at a restaurant, you can ask: What's the damage?

　　L:噢，在饭店里吃完晚饭要付钱的时候可以问：“What's the damage?"所以租车很贵，the damage is bad. Michael,别担心，我可以帮你付一点。

　　M: You don't have to, Li Hua. I know the damage for your new computer was pretty bad.

　　L:你真好心，知道我买新电脑花了不少钱，所以不要我帮你付。Michael,没关系，我能付一点，你还要去修车，也很贵的。

　　M: Thanks, Li Hua. But I hope the damage for fixing my car won't be too bad.

　　L:我也希望你修车不至于太贵。得了，别说钱了，赶快开吧。

　　M: OK, I'll drive fast so that the rest of our day won't be shot.

　　L:对了，别浪费时间了，我也不想把一天的时间全浪费了。

　　今天Michael教了李华两个年轻人常用的词，一个是shot。Shot是指什么东西坏了，或者人体的某个部位受伤了；另外一个词是damage。这里的damage不是指损坏，而是指为某样东西，或某个交易付的钱。