Larry(L)和李華(LH)一起去逛街，給Larry的朋友Tom買生日禮物。今天我們要學兩個常用語：right on the money和crapshoot。

LH: Larry, Tom平時有什么愛好啊?

L: Tom really enjoys sports, especially skiing. But he also loves video games too。

LH: 他喜歡滑雪和電子游戲?現在天氣這么熱，沒法帶他去滑雪……對了!我們給他買一個滑雪的電子游戲，這樣他在家里就能滑了!

L: You want to buy him a skiing video game? I think you’re right on the money. Great idea!

LH: Right on the money? 什么意思?你讓我付錢買禮物嗎?

L: Actually, when you say that something is right on the money, that means it is exactly right。

LH: 哦，right on the money就是“完全正確”的意思。你是說，我提出給Tom買滑雪游戲是個特別好的主意，對不對?

L: Exactly. Here is another example. When Erica went to visit Karen she wasn’t sure which apartment number was hers. Luckily her guess was right on the money。

LH: 我明白了。Erica不肯定Karen家的門牌號碼，可是她一猜就猜中了，這就叫right on the money。

L: Exactly! You’re right on the money。

LH: 那可不!咱們去電器商場買游戲吧!對了，那家店在哪兒來著?是在14街上么?

L: Yup, you’re right on the money. There is a big electronics store there。

LH: 那我們怎么去呢?

L: There is a metro station nearby, so I think that will be the most convenient way。

LH: 對，附近是有地鐵。是地鐵的哪條線來著?綠線么?

L: Yup, you’re right on the money again. It’s the green line。

L: Larry, 這種滑雪游戲好像是新上市的，會不會很貴啊?得50塊錢吧?

LH: Wow Lihua, good guess! You’re right on the money. The most popular skiing video game is $49.99.

L: 哈!我今天怎么猜什么都那么準啊!那我再猜猜，你買這個游戲給Tom, 其實是想和他一起玩兒吧?

LH: Actually, Lihua, you’re right on the money!

******

Larry和李華正在商場的電子游戲區選游戲。

LH: Larry，這里至少有10種滑雪游戲!咱們買哪個啊?

L: Hmmm... I don’t know. Maybe we could ask a store employee to recommend one。

LH: 找店員問?他肯定給你推薦最貴的，而且還不一定好!

L: I guess you’re right. Since we don’t have any idea which games are good, it’s really just a crapshoot。

LH: A crapshoot? 什么意思?

L: A crapshoot is something that depends totally on luck。

LH: 哦，crapshoot就是完全靠運氣的事情。

L: Exactly. For example, becoming a movie star is extremely competitive. Even if you’re a good actor, it’s still mostly a crapshoot。

LH: 對，想成為電影明星很難，即使你有表演天賦，這也基本上是撞大運的事兒。

L: You got it。

LH: Larry，這里的游戲都好貴啊，要不咱們去別的店看看，也許有便宜點的?

L: Maybe, but there isn’t any way to know which store would be cheaper. It would really be just a crapshoot。

LH: 這倒也是。對了，Tom家的游戲機是什么牌子的啊?任天堂?索尼?還是X-Box?

L: Hmm... I have no idea。

LH: 啊?你不知道牌子，那怎么買游戲啊。萬一型號對不上，就沒法玩兒啦。

L: Well, we will just have to guess. It will be a crapshoot, but he can always exchange it later。

LH: 那多麻煩。要不我們送給Tom一張購物券吧，讓他自己隨便買點什么。反正我們也不是很確定他會喜歡滑雪游戲。

L: Well, it’s not a total crapshoot. We know he likes skiing and video games, so it’s likely he will like this gift。

LH: 我說 Larry, 你對Tom的生日禮物可真上心啊!我猜，等到給我買生日禮物的時候，你一定會花更多的心思!

L: Of course, Lihua. You’re right on the money!