Part 3 Jiggling the Handle

唱完卡拉OK歸來的Louis和McKenzie，玩得很痛快，還結識了很多新的朋友。這讓他們意識到無論是對人或是對事，都不能以一成不變的眼光去看待，而且生活也應該不時地做些改變，注入新鮮有趣的東西。

Louis: ①Well， good morning， bright eyes! Glad you made it back to the office.

McKenzie: Oh， hush! I didn’t stay out THAT late.

Louis: Later than me.

McKenzie: Well， ②that’s not saying much!

Louis: Haha， no， I guess not. So， I guess the impossible was possible after all: you really did have a good time at karaoke!

McKenzie: I almost hate to admit it， but yeah， it was a total blast! Who would have thought? ③I’m glad you 1)badgered me into going.

Louis: Well， I didn’t know if it was gonna be worth it， either. But sometimes in life you just gotta make a change， right? Try something new. ④Jiggle the handle a little.

McKenzie: You’re right. Sure was more fun than working out.

Louis: Really? So you’re thinking of becoming a karaoke 2)junkie?

McKenzie: Whoa， 3)buster， ⑤don’t get ahead of yourself! I just meant that it felt good to put myself out there. I usually have a lot of stage fright， if you can believe that.

Louis: No kidding!

McKenzie: The honest truth! It’s been one of my personal 4)demons. I’m glad that I was able to sing in front of people I don’t know.

Louis: Well， they were a good 5)bunch， that’s for sure! Really welcoming， and a lot of fun.

McKenzie: To think I’d judged them before I’d even met them， just because of Ned! I won’t be so shallow again. They were loads of fun!

Louis: The take-home lesson for me is this: just because somebody talks too much doesn’t mean you should stop listening. Ned knew his stuff when he invited us out.

McKenzie: That’s true.

Louis: Anyway， I’m glad I went there instead of going to the bar. All I could have gotten out of the bar was a few new acquaintances. I got that and more at the karaoke bar.

McKenzie: Yeah， I guess going to bars can be kind of boring at times. Often， I think people go out to bars all the time just ’cause they don’t have anything better to do.

Louis: Right-o. A 6)barfly is the last thing I want to be!

McKenzie: Well， you don’t have much to worry about there…

Louis: Well， what’s that supposed to mean?

McKenzie: If you keep going out to karaoke bars like this， you’re more likely to end up a pop star!

Louis: Oh， no. McKenzie， I can’t take you anywhere…

Smart Sentences

① Well， good morning， bright eyes!嘿，早上好，精神不錯嘛！

bright eyes: alert and eager（精神煥發）。例如：

Bright eyes! It doesn’t seem like you took a redeye flight.

精神不錯！看不出你坐的是紅眼航班（夜間航班）。

② That’s not saying much! 那說明不了什么！

that’s not saying much: used to invalidate what another person has just said（用以駁回對方剛才的話）。例如：

—Our salary is only 1，800 after all and that’s not much higher than the minimum wage.

我們的工資到頭來才一千八，比最低工資高不了多少。

—That’s not saying much.

跟沒說一樣。

③ I’m glad you badgered me into going. 我很高興你纏著要我去。

badger sb. into doing sth.: pester sb. into doing sth.（纏著某人讓其做某事）。例如：My brother and I tried to badger our parents into taking us to New York.

我跟弟弟兩人纏著父母，想讓他們帶我們去紐約。

④ Jiggle the handle a little. 做一些新的改變。

jiggle the handle a little: make a random change because you don’t like the situation， but don’t have a specific plan to solve it（實行隨機變化，以觀后效）。例如：

I want to jiggle the handle a little. I’ll bring in some fresh blood next week.

我想做一些改變，下周我會讓一些新人加入。

⑤ Don’t get ahead of yourself! 別想太遠了！

get ahead of oneself: try to do sth. too early（超前，走得太快）。例如：

Job hunting? We are only juniors. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

找工作？我們才大三，別想得太遠了。