Been|哎呀，我读了本“烂书” Done|Been|There|was|Chinese|Wang|thr

两年前我在二手书网站「多抓鱼」上，花了不到 10 块钱淘了两本书：

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【Been|哎呀，我读了本“烂书”】
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外研社出版，文案画风颇有年代感。这两天我才把它们读完，下面是我的读书笔记。
1. Been There, Done That

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作者 Katherine Wang（王文思）是位华裔姑娘，三岁半随父母移居美国。Been There, Done That 自称是长篇小说，读起来就是华裔高中生日记，主要看点是她的亚裔身份，比如：
It was a strange feeling: I felt torn between two ideals. I wanted to be American, but there was an invisible thread that kept pulling me back. I was beginning to listen more to Chinese pop music and even conforming to the "FOPly" dress. However, I still considered myself American, whatever that means.
语言平实口语化，还有「知识点」讲解，是学英语的好素材：

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这本我没有细读，重点看了感兴趣的话题，主要关注了其中的语言。比如：
- I was a small Chinese girl grinningfrom ear to ear.
grin from ear to ear 是个习语，夸张地表示爱笑。看到这个词我就想到了贾玲。

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- She was the most popular girl in the 8th-grade class: tanned, green-eyed, tall, athletic, pretty, and dangerously blonde.
- I was almost the exact opposite: shy, nerdy, short, and had limpblack hair.
用 dangerously 修饰 blonde 很有意思，谁不爱金发碧眼大长腿？女孩子看了嫉妒，男孩子见了沦陷，多危险啊。后面还有呼应的 limp black hair——再看看自己这软塌塌没什么特别的黑发，哎......
我还注意到了一些细节用词，常见又实用。
- I secondthat.
second 在这里表示「赞同」「支持」。
- It was surprising because he didn't look the part. He was tall but thin for a junior.
look the part 是习语，表示「看起来是XX样」，比如词典例句：If he wasn’t actually a thief he certainly looked the part.即便他实际上并非小偷，但模样却够像了。这里的 he didn't look the part 字面意思是「他看起来并非如此」，结合语境可以理解为「他看起来瘦弱，没想到还挺有劲儿」。
- "Sunny, just tell her already," Erin muttered.
already 常放在句末加强语气，表示不耐烦、惊讶。这里的 just tell her already 可以理解为「你就告诉她吧！」
- Chinese American parents will run far, far away to escape the bindsof the American fast food...
bind 在这里作名词，是个常见用法，表示 difficulty 。来看两个词典例句：It is a bindreading a bad book.读一本写得不好的书叫人厌烦。 Travelling in the rush hour can be a bit of a bind.在上下班的高峰时间出门多少够你受的。
2. The Cardinal Rules

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不知道 The Cardinal Rules 译为《深红准则》是否有深意。 cardinal 是「深红的」，也常表示「最重要的」， cardinal rules 是个常见说法，可以理解成「基本准则」。