背景资料请阅读"英语点滴"专题 Dear Abby 专栏 (1) 一文
再选几篇 Dear Abby 的专栏:
Dear Abby, About four months ago, the house across the street was sold to a "father and son" — or so we thought. We later learned it was an older man about 50 and a young fellow about 24. This was a respectable neighborhood before this "odd couple" moved in. They have all sorts of strange-looking company. Men who look like women, women who look like men, blacks, whites, Indians. Yesterday I even saw two nuns go in there!... Abby, these weirdos are wrecking our property values! How can we improve the quality of this once-respectable neighborhood? —Up In Arms
Dear UP: You could move.
indian 印第安人(北美土著)
odd 奇特的,古怪的
company 同伴,同伙,客人,
nun 修女,尼姑
werido 怪人,
property values 房产价值
Up In Arms 来信者此落款是一短语,有“满腔怒火, 竭力反对”的意思
Dear Abby: I've been going with this girl for a year. How can I get her to say yes? —Don
Dear Don: What's the question?
Dear Abby: I have always wanted to have my family history traced, but I can't afford to spend a lot of money to do it. Have you any suggestions? — M.J.B. in Oakland, Calif.
Dear M.J.B.: Yes. Run for a public office.
trace family history 追溯家族史
can't afford to 负担不起
run for a public office 竞聘公务员
Dear Abby: Are birth control pills deductible? —Bertie
Dear Bertie: Only if they don't work.
birth control pill 口服避孕药
deductible 指 tax-deductible,可税前扣除的消费(即免缴税)
Dear Abby: I know boys will be boys, but my 'boy' is seventy-three and he's still chasing women. Any suggestions? —Annie
Dear Annie: Don't worry. My dog has been chasing cars for years, but if he ever caught one, he wouldn't know what to do with it.
Dear Abby: My wife sleeps in the raw. Then she showers, brushes her teeth and fixes our breakfast — still in the buff. We're newlyweds and there are just the two of us, so I suppose there's really nothing wrong with it. What do you think? —Ed
Dear Ed: It's O.K. with me. But tell her to put on an apron when she's frying bacon.
in the raw 赤身裸体
in the buff 赤身裸体
newlyweds 新婚夫妇
apron 围裙
bacon 培根,熏肉
Dear Abby: What inspires you most to write? —Ted
Dear Ted: The Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (美国)国内税务局, (Abby调侃称激励她写作的是钱)
Dear Abby: Is it possible for a man to be in love with two women at the same time? —Jake
Dear Jake: Yes, and also hazardous.
hazardous 有危险的,冒险的
(to be continued)