Larry 和李華在咖啡店里買咖啡。李華今天要學兩個常用語，newbie和been
around. LL： Wow， it seems to be taking a long time for this guy to get
our coffee made. Maybe he is a newbie. LH ： A newbie ？你說他是新來的？

    LL： Right. A newbie is someone that is new to a place， activity
or organization. LH ：你說得對，他肯定是新手，好像連咖啡機還用不好呢！

    LL： It is like this new guy in my office. He just started work the
day before yesterday. He doesn't know where anything is. LH ：初來乍到
是最困難的時候，Larry ，你一定要幫幫這個新同事。

    LL： I have been helping him， and he's doing pretty well for a newbie.
He is clearly very bright and has picked up on a lot of things very quickly.
LH：我們的咖啡來了，我們找地兒坐吧。

    LL： MMMmmm ……It may have taken him a while to make the coffee，
but the newbie did a good job. This coffee is great ！

    LH：你看，有時候對新手就是要有耐心。我還記得剛開始教中文的時候，樣
樣東西都要學。

    LL： What did you find the most difficult about being a newbie Chinese
teacher ， Li Hua ？

    LH：當初最讓我頭痛的就是安排課堂活動，我總是掌握不好各項活動的時間
長短。

    LL： Yeah ， when I was a newbie， I remember having to learn where
everything was in the office and who was responsible for which aspects
of my job. . .Say ， Li Hua ， I want to show you something on my lap
top.

    （Takes out lap top ）

    LH：是新的電腦游戲嗎？

    LL： Yes， it is a fantasy role-playing game where you pretend to
be a warrior or a wizard and run around attacking people and collecting
treasure. I've just started the game， so I am kind of a newbie.

    LH：這里面好像還有其他人，他們也是newbies 嗎？

    LL： No ， some people have been playing the game for a long time.
Their characters are very experienced ， and they have fun attacking and
stealing treasure from the newbies.

    LH：那你肯定也是被這些老手欺負的對象嘍？我是不會玩電腦游戲，也沒興
趣。

    LL： You should try it， Li Hua. It is a lot of fun to play computer
games ， and it gets more fun when you aren't a newbie any more.

    LH：還是算了吧，在電腦游戲上面，我寧愿做個newbie.

    ******

    LL： Well ， when it comes to computer games， I've been around -
if you know what I mean ， Li Hua. LH ： "Been around"？我還真不知道這
是什么意思。

    LL： "Been around" means to have lots of experience doing something.
It is actually short for a longer expression……

    LH：我想起來了。說什么人特別老道，就是"He has been around the block."

    LL： That's right ！ We shorten it to ''been around ，'' but it basically
means the same thing. LH：所以你說自己''have been around.'' 就是說你打
過很多電腦游戲嘍？

    LL： That's right. I started playing computer games when I was seven
years old ， and I still play computer games. LH：對了，Larry ，我一直
想問你，聽說你妹妹有新男朋友了？

    LL： Yes， she is dating a new guy. But I'm a little concerned. I
think this guy has been around. He is much older than my sister. LH ：
有經驗不見得是壞事啊！

    LL： Well ， he has been around ， but not in a good way. I think
he has dated a lot of girls and may not be as serious about my sister
as she is about him. LH ：你是怕他不當真，讓你妹妹傷心吧。那你妹妹呢？
她有沒有交過很多男朋友？

    LL： No ， not really. She is still very young. I wish she would wait
until she has been around a bit before deciding she wants to get engaged
to this guy. LH ：別著急，Larry ，你妹妹絕頂聰明，她肯定能做出正確的選
擇。你要相信她！

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是newbie，是新手的意思。另一個是been
around，是老手的意思。