李華和Michael正坐在咖啡館裏喝咖啡。李華在看報。今天李華會學到兩個常用語： check something out和to call something。
M: What's in the news today, Li Hua? (sound of newspaper rustling)
L: 有些什麼新聞啊？噢，我沒有在看新聞。我在看招聘人的廣告，想找個臨時工，賺點錢。
M: Hmm, let me take a look. Hey, check this one out!
L: 等等，讓我看看。(read slowly) 招聘輔導兩個孩子，要母語是中文的家庭教師。對了，Michael, 你剛才說什麼：check this one out, 你是叫我把這報紙借出去啊？這兒又不是圖書館，而且，這報紙是我自己買的！
M: No, I said "Check this one out!" "To check something out" means "to look at something closely".
L: 噢，check something out就是“仔細看一看”的意思！那不就是“從圖書館裏借書”的意思嗎？
M: Well, that 's the formal meaning of "to check something out." However, the informal meaning is to have a look at something.
L: 原來to check something out可以指從圖書館借書，可是在不正式的場合就是“仔細看一看”的意思。那，這大概是非常口語的說法，對不對？
M: Right! Ok, check this advertisement out.
L: 看這個廣告呀？ Hmmm, 不行，不行，他們要找的家庭教師必須住在他們的地下室，還得要帶孩子。算了算了吧！
M: You know, Li Hua, you can also use "check it out" when you want someone to notice something, or pay attention. It pretty much means, "Whoa, look at that!"
L: 噢，所以，你要讓人注意什麼事的時候也可以用check it out。是不是就象我們中文裏說的：“你看哪！你看哪”的意思啊？
M: That's right.
Whoa, check it out, Li Hua! That building across the street is on fire. M: 什麼？馬路對面哪棟樓著火啦？哎，對呀，你看，那兒來了三輛救火車。哎喲，但願沒有人在那房子裏。
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M: Hey, check this out! Oh, I call this one!
L: 讓我看看！ (sound of paper rustling) 招聘一位研究生，帶幾個孩子去參觀紐約的博物館和參加文藝活動。報酬優厚！嗨，這個工作太好了！
M: No way, Li Hua! I already called this job!
L: Michael, 你說什麼？你已經給他們打過電話啦？
M: No, that's not what I mean. I said, "I call this job." Whoever says "I call something" first has the first claim on whatever they called.
L: 噢，Call something就是誰先說要這樣東西，那這樣東西就歸誰？你先說你要這份工作，所以這工作就是你的！嗨，Michael, 你可別忘了，你是在幫我找工作！
M: Actually, no one can call this job. We can both apply and see who gets it.
L: 就是嘛，沒有人可以call this job. 誰都能申請這份工作的！
M: I know, I was just teasing you.
L: 哎，好了，Michael, 你再給我舉一個to call something的例子好不好？
M: Heheh, Ok. When I was little, before my family went somewhere in the car, I would always yell, "I call the front seat!" My brother and I would always fight over who got to sit in the front seat.
L: 啊，你小時候還和你弟弟搶汽車座位呀！ 你呀，要是call the front seat, 你就可以坐在前面。嚇，你還真好意思呢！
今天李華又從Michael那兒學到兩個常用語。 一個是to check something out, 在非常口語的情況下， to check something out是“仔細看看”的意思；另一個是to call something, 意思是：“誰先說，誰就有優先權得到某樣東西”。