larry和李华星期六晚上待在家里，觉得有些无聊，他们会用到两个常用语：stuck in a rut和someone's cup of tea.

lh: larry, 好无聊啊! 你说干点什么好啊？

larry: (distracted) huh? uh, yea... that's nice, lihua.

lh: 什么好好好? larry! 你又在打电脑游戏啦？哎呀，不要玩儿了！(pulls the plug)

larry: hey! i was about to clear that level!

lh: 你每天晚上除了玩线上游戏就什么都不干了！我们就不能出去转转，找点好玩的事情做吗？

larry: (sigh) you're right, lihua. we haven't really done anything new recently. i guess we've been stuck in a rut.

lh: in a rut？什么意思？

larry: being stuck in a rut means to be stuck in a boring routine.

lh: to be stuck in a rut就是生活一成不变。那么，这个rut是什么意思呢？

larry: a rut is what happens when a wheel rolls over the same place over and over again. eventually, the wheel will dig a line, or a rut, in the ground.

lh: 我明白了，rut是车轮不断压过同一个地方后留下的印迹。我想，这就比喻一成不变的常规吧。larry, 我们最近的确有些stuck in a rut，感觉有点平淡无味，你说这是怎么回事呢？

larry: i'm not sure, lihua, but we have been together for over a year now. it's relatively normal for couples to find themselves stuck in a rut after being together for a while.

lh: 啊？你觉得是因为咱们在一起时间不算短了，所以生活就变得平平淡淡了？我觉得根本不是这样，we're stuck in a rot because of that stupid computer game! 都怪你天天打线上游戏，不陪我！

larry: i'll admit i like to play my games, but you remember what happened last weekend, right?

lh: 上个周末？怎么啦？

larry: i wanted to take you out for a nice dinner, but you said you were too tired. we ended up staying home and watching tv all night!

lh: 还说请我吃顿好的？larry, 你每次请我吃饭都是汉堡和薯条，连吃饭内容都一成不变，难怪我们会stuck in a rut！

larry: hmm... we need to find some new things to do that we both like. otherwise, we might be stuck in this rut forever!

lh: 可不是嘛！咱们好久没有去打网球啦！不如去打两场吧！

larry: aw, you know tennis isn't my cup of tea, lihua. and besides, it's been so hot out lately...

lh: your cup of tea? 打网球还要喝茶？你不怕热吗？

larry: i would drink water, of course! i said "playing tennis is not my cup of tea"...in other words, i don't really enjoy tennis.

lh: 哦，你说playing tennis is not your cup of tea, 意思就是说你不喜欢打网球。那你的cup of tea到底是什么呀？

larry: i like swimming! how about we start going to the pool? it's always refreshing to take a dip in the pool on a hot day!

lh: 去游泳？可是，游泳不是我的cup of tea。我怕晒黑！oh, i know! why don't you take me to the ballet? 我们去看芭蕾舞表演吧！

larry: the ballet? uh, that's not my cup of tea, either. i never understood what's going on! it just looks like a bunch of people jumping around on stage, if you ask me.

lh: 你这人一点都不浪漫！

larry: being romantic was never my cup of tea, lihua. remember when i sent you flowers for your birthday?

lh: 记得！我生日你送玫瑰花给我，结果我花粉过敏，打了一天喷嚏！

larry: heheh. see? no wonder we're in a rut. i'm horrible at being romantic, and we can never agree on anything new to do. tell you what - let me think about it some more while i finish this last boss in my video game...

lh: 不行！你别想溜！get us out of this rut, larry！要不你就别想玩儿电脑了！

larry: hmmm....

lh: 什么呀？你在想什么坏主意？

larry: you want us to do something together, right? our group could use another warrior...

lh: 你想让我和你一起打线上游戏？我可不会！you know video games are not my cup of tea!

larry: (sigh). well, i guess i'll go make myself a real cup of tea and go stare out the window for fun...

今天李华从larry那儿学到两个常用语，一个是to be stuck in a rut, 表示枯燥，一成不变。另一个是someone's cup of tea, 意思是某人有兴趣干的事。