Larry 和李華一起去參觀藝術博物館。他們會用到兩個常用語：Overkill和
write something off.

    LH： Larry，聽我的對了吧。逛藝術博物館比看電影強多了！

    L ： Well I agree. But the art museum would be even better if it served
popcorn too ！

    LH：這倒也是，要是博物館里也賣爆米花、熱狗、啤酒，邊逛邊吃，那該有
多舒服啊！

    L ： Hot dogs and beer？ I don't know ， Lihua. I think that might
be overkill.

    LH： Overkill 是什么意思？

    L ： When you think that an idea goes too far ， you can say that
it is overkill.

    LH：哦，overkill就是過份的想法或行為。你是說，在博物館里賣爆米花似
乎還不錯，可如果連熱狗和啤酒都一起賣就太夸張了。

    L ： That's right ！ Here is another example. Elliot's boss thought
about firing him for being an hour late to work ， but then decided that
would be overkill.

    LH：哦，Elliot遲到了一個小時，老板本來想因為這個而炒他的魷魚，不過
后來覺得，這么做太過份了。對了，Larry ，博物館這么好，我們天天來這里逛
如何？

    L ： Lihua， I really enjoy the art gallery ， but coming here every
single day would definitely be overkill.

    LH：什么過份，你真沒有藝術細胞！我的藝術氣質比你濃多了，我看，我干
脆去讀個藝術史的博士好了！

    L ： Lihua， it's fine to enjoy art as a hobby， but I think getting
a PhD in art history would really be overkill.

    LH：呵呵，我開玩笑的。對了Larry ，你還記得上次咱們去華盛頓看兵馬俑
展覽么？

    L ： I sure do！ That was one of my favorites.

    LH：就是，多好看啊。可惜展出的只是一部分，要是所有兵馬俑都到美國來
展覽就好了！

    L ； I don't know …… I was satisfied seeing just a few. I think
bringing the entire collection here would be overkill.

    LH：才不會呢！要看就得看全的！那個氣勢，肯定不一樣！我給你買張機票，
你去中國看吧！

    L ： Lihua， it's nice that you're encouraging me to see the Teracotta
Warriors， but buying me a plane ticket to China is definitely overkill！

    ******

    LH： Larry，你喜歡什么流派的藝術啊？現實主義還是抽象主義？

    L ： I definitely prefer the realistic kind. Anybody can make abstract
art ！

    LH：人人都能創作抽象派藝術作品？那好，你創作一個給我看看！

    L ： Er …… I guess you're right. I shouldn't write off abstract
artists so quickly.

    LH： Write them off ？這是什么意思？

    L ： When you write something off ， that means you decide that it
isn't important.

    LH：哦，就是小看，不看好的意思。你是說，你不該小瞧抽象派藝術家。

    L ： Right！ Here is another example. In high school most people had
written Jack off as an actor， so they were really surprised when he became
a movie star years later.

    LH：我明白了。高中時大家都覺得Jack肯定當不了演員，可后來他成了電影
明星，所以大家都很吃驚。

    L ： That's right ！

    LH：對了Larry ，你說這些藝術品的創作者一定都很有錢吧？他們的作品都
賣得好貴哦！

    L ： Actually I don't think so. Many great artists were written off
in their own time ， and people only started to appreciate them many years
later.

    LH：也是，好多藝術家在世的時候不被世人重視，總是死了之后才得到人們
的認可，真可惜！哎， Larry，你喜不喜歡畫畫？

    L ： I thought of being an artist when I was a little kid ， but I
wrote that dream off a long time ago when I realized I was bad at drawing.

    LH：哦，你發現自己畫畫不行，就放棄了當畫家的夢想。

    L ： Yeah ， but I still like to draw as a hobby. Even though I can't
be a professional artist， giving it up even as a hobby would have been
overkill.

    LH：要不這樣吧，Larry ，把你最近畫的大作拿來，跟我五歲時畫的兒童簡
筆畫比比，看看你有沒有達到我五歲時的水平？

    L ： Very funny ， Lihua. I'll write that off as a joke ！

    今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是overkill，表示過份的想法或行為。另一
個是write something off ，意思是“小看，不看好”。