L：喂，Michael，你今天怎么了？我怎么在学校没看到你，打电话到你上班的地方也没人接。你没事儿吧？

M: Oh, its nothing. I am just a little under the weather today, so I decided to take the rest of the day off and really rest.

L：什么？你说天气不好，所以你就请一天假。天气好好的吗，你干吗撒谎呢？

M: No no, I said "I am under the weather today". Under, U-N-D-E-R; The Weather, W-E-A-T-H-E-R. Under the weather, it means sick.

L：噢，under the weather就是生病的意思啊，那你还不赶快看医生啊？

M: Oh, don't worry. It's not very serious. Usually when someone says that they are under the weather, they mean they feel bad, but are not very sick.

L：你的病不严重，那我就放心了。可是你为什么今天觉得under the weather呢？

M: Last night I went out to eat with a friend. After dinner, it started to rain heavily. We didn't have umbrellas, and I had to walk to a long way back to my car in the rain. I think I caught a cold, so now I feel under the weather.

L：难怪了，你吃完饭就淋着雨走了那么长的路。哎呀，你以后可千万小心，万一得了什么大病那该怎么办呢？

M: It's ok, Li Hua. I can take care of myself. That's why I am resting at home. That reminds me, how is your mother doing? Didn't you say she was under the weather last week?

L：噢，我妈妈现在好多了。不过上星期可真把我们吓坏了。上星期一她突然说不舒服，提前下班，第二天就开始咳嗽，浑身发软。

M: Oh no! You must have been worried she had SARS.

L：没错，我家里人都担心她感染了萨斯。所以每个人都嚷着自己 under the weather，不过啊，第二天我妈妈的情况好转，他们每个人也都觉得自己好了。

M: They were all thinking about SARS, so they also felt under the weather. In fact, they were all ok.

L：就是啊，他们觉得自己under the weather，我看纯粹是心理作用。

M: So why were you trying to call me at work today?

L：我打电话想问问你今天晚上要不要一快去吃饭。

M: Well, I'd like to, but I really think I should stay at home tonight. Maybe this weekend we can grab a bite to eat.

L：你说我们这个周末吃什么？

M: I said we can "grab a bite to eat". Grab, G-R-A-B; a bite, B-I-T-E; to eat, E-A-T. It means we can go out and have a quick meal somewhere this weekend.

L：噢，grab a bite to eat就是随便到那个餐馆吃一顿，对不对。

M: That's about right. To be exact, it means to find some quick and simple food, like fast food.

L：啊？尤其指吃快餐啊，我可不想这样随便grab a bite to eat。我想去个有气氛的好餐馆。再说了，Michael，你也不应该老吃垃圾食物。

M: I know, I know. It's just that I often don't have a lot of time between classes and work. So at lunchtime, I usually have to go to a fast food place and grab a bite to eat. I don't have time to go anywhere else.

L：如果你觉得中午时间很紧，那你就因该在家里把午饭准备好带到学校。你看，你每天到外面grab a bite to eat，那样你的开销多大啊。

M: I don't always grab a bite to eat at fast food places. Sometimes I make lunch at home. But it takes a lot of time in the evening, and sometimes I am busy then, too.

L：Michael，你真是太不会照顾自己了，冒着雨乱跑，整天吃垃圾食品，难怪你会under the weather，以后你真的要好好照顾自己呢。