Larry 和李華在一個大商場里買東西，那里非常擁擠。李華今天學會兩個常
用語my bad和back in the day.

    LL： My bad ！ I didn't mean to step on your foot ， Li Hua. It's
just that there are so many people at the mall today.

    LH： My bad ？ Bad不是壞的意思嗎？這兒人確實很多，你不小心踩到我的
腳，為什么說my bad？ My bad 是什么意思呀？

    LL： Oh ， That's my bad， too. I should have explained what "my bad"
means. It is a very informal way of apologizing without actually saying
"I'm sorry."

    LH：原來my bad是表示道歉，但是是很不正式的道歉。什么時候用my bad，
什么時候用I'm sorry 呢？

    LL： Because you are my friend， and stepping on your foot was a pretty
minor thing ， I said "my bad." I'd say "I'm sorry" for something more
serious - or if you were my boss.

    LH：明白了，my bad是對很熟的朋友說的，而且發生的事也不是太嚴重，就
像不小心踩了腳這類小事。要我是你的老板，你就不能說my bad！

    LL： Yeah ， that's right. Say， would you like to get out of the
crowd and stop for a cup of coffee in that shop over there？

    LH：你要去那邊那個店里喝咖啡？好呀！可是My bad我沒有帶現金。

    LL： Don't worry， Li Hua. I've got some cash. You can pay me back
later.

    LH：謝謝你。我在這里占著位子，你去買咖啡吧。我要一杯摩卡拿鐵咖啡。

    （Sounds of busy restaurant/cash register transaction as Larry gets
coffee）

    LH： Okay ， Li Hua ， here is your latte. Oh-My bad！ I now remember
you wanted a mocha latte. I got the wrong drink.

    LH：沒關系，不是摩卡拿鐵也沒關系。 Larry，遞我一張餐巾紙，好不好？

    LL： Sure ， here's a napkin.

    LH： Oops ， My bad ！對不起，我把咖啡撒了！

    LL： Here let me help you clean that up.

    LH：謝謝你，幸虧你拿了好多餐巾紙，否則還真沒法收拾。

    LL： Agh！ Now it's my bad！ I've spilled my coffee ， too. （laughs）

    LH：（Also laughing ）你的咖啡也撒了。Larry ，我們趕快走吧，不然不
知又會出什么事，那樣我們就會沒完沒了地說my bad！

    ******

    LL： I can't believe how rude people are at the mall. I know it is
crowded ， but back in the day people were much more polite.

    LH：沒錯，有的人真是沒有禮貌。Larry ，你說back in the day 人們都很
有禮貌，back in the day 是指哪一天呢？

    LL： No ， no ， Li Hua. "Back in the day" is a general expression
referring to a time in the past when things were better than they are
now.

    LH：噢，back in the day 就是指過去，而不是指哪一天。你是說過去美國
人都很有禮貌？

    LL： Yes， back in the day a man would have taken the time to open
a door for a lady ， especially if she was carrying packages.

    LH：我遇到過這種情況。上次我去看牙，進大樓的時候，前面那個男子看見
我也是進那大樓，就把門開開，等著讓我先進去。Larry ，你是說以前都是這樣
的嗎？

    LL： Yes， and life was much simpler. There were no computers and
cell phones back in the day. Now it is rush ， rush ， rush.

    LH：沒錯，過去生活是比較簡單，別說沒有電腦和手機，我們小時候連彩色
電視也很少。現在每個人都好像匆匆忙忙，不知道怎么回事。

    LL： And can you believe it ？ Before e-mail， back in the day people
wrote letters with their own hands�。�！

    LH：自從有了電子郵件后，現在拿起筆來寫信的人恐怕是很少了，可是我很
喜歡收到別人親筆寫給我的信，因為那讓我感到很親切。

    LL： I agree with you. But， then again ， I guess not everything
back in the day was so great.

    LH：是啊，過去也不是樣樣都好。我父親常對我說，他小時候上學要走很遠
的路。現在的孩子們就幸福多了，可以坐校車。

    LL： You know ， my dad says the same thing. He would tell me I was
so lucky， because back in the day he had to walk five miles to school.

    LH：你爸爸上學要走五里路。我爸爸更苦，他不僅走路還要背著幾十斤重的
課本呢。

    LL：I agree. Li Hua ， let's take the bus and go home. Oh ， let me
open the door for you.

    LH：謝謝你， Larry，你真希望有更多像你這樣有禮貌的年輕人。

    今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是my bad，意思是對不起。還有一個是back
in the day，意思是過去。