American sports English: Fishing

Y: My gosh Patrick, I don't feel so well. 我晕船。

P: Don't worry Yangchen, once we're back on shore tonight eating the delicious fish we caught today, being a little sea sick will be totally worth it.

Y: A little sea sick? 我快要晕死了。而且我们要是一条鱼都钓不到怎么办?

P: Trust me, we'll catch something. I'm an expert.

Y: An expert on what?

P: On fishing, of course. Hey, I think I caught something!

Y: Go Patrick! Catch him!

P: Don't worry, I won't let him off the hook.

Y: Let him off the hook? That must mean 脱钩。

P: Exactly. Actually, any time you let someone escape punishment, you can say you let them off the hook.

Y: For example?

P: Well, for example, if my girlfriend forgets that it is my birthday, I won't let her off the hook with a simple apology. She would have to give me a REALLY expensive present to make up for it.

Y: 就是不能轻易地放过什么人。Well Patrick, if you don't catch any fish and I am starving to death, I'm not going to let you off the hook.

P: You are not letting me off the hook. So how are you going to punish me?

Y: You have to take me to a nice restaurant and buy me a huge dinner!

P: No need for that, look, I got one!

Y: Uh 这么一条可怜的小鱼，塞牙缝都不够。

P: Oh come on, this one is a keeper.

Y: A keeper? 我知道 salmon，bass什么的, 从来没听过a keeper fish.

P: No no, a keeper is a fish that is big enough to keep, rather than throw it back.

Y: And you think this is a keeper?

P: Actually, any time you find something that you really like, you can say that it's a keeper.

For example, when I was single I had to go out with 15 girls before I found a keeper.

Y: Aha, 那我可以说 I had to try 100 lame sports with you before I found a keeper?

P: Lame? You think fishing is lame? If there is another sport you can play that will also provide you with dinner, I'd like to hear about it.

Y: That's easy. Hotdog eating contest，吃热狗比赛。

P: Oh, that's a keeper. Let's do it next time!

A: 钓鱼对我没太大吸引力，太闷了。

B: Fishing isn't always just sitting there and waiting for the fish to bite. Have you heard of big-game fishing? There you'll get on a boat and sail to offshore area and try to catch huge fish. It's very exciting!

A: 那……掉下去怎么办？我可不想被鱼吃掉！

B: Don't worry. Big-game fishing doesn't involve sharks!

A: 那我就放心了! 好了，节目时间又到了，这次的撰稿人是晓北，编辑是蔚然。同学们，我们下次的美语训练班再见!

B: Bye!