美國(guó)人常用的口頭禪

1. I couldn't care less.

這句話的意思是“我不在乎”，“缺乏興趣（lack of interest）”，也就是：I don't care at all. 或 I don't give a hoot.

例如：人家如果問：What do you think of the budget-cut?（你對(duì)預(yù)算削減有何看法？）
你回答：I couldn't care less.（我毫不在乎）
How do you like Mr. Lee's political point of view?（你喜歡李先生的政見嗎？）
I couldn't care less.（我才不在乎呢！）

但是有時(shí)說話者也可能口是心非：例如：
I couldn't care less about the promotion or pay raise.（我不在乎升級(jí)或加薪）
而實(shí)際上他是根本在乎升級(jí)和加薪的，那么人家也許就會(huì)回答說：Yes, you do（care）.

至于 I couldn't care more. 就是“我很在乎”（I care a lot.）或 I care deeply. 同理：
I couldn't agree more. = I totally agree.（我完全同意）
I couldn't please you more. = I did my best to please you.（我盡量使你高興）
I couldn't be more right. = I am totally right.

但是老外為了自尊，不愿強(qiáng)調(diào)自己的錯(cuò)誤，所以很少人說：I couldn't be more wrong. 注意：一般人都用否定句，但也有老外把肯定句與否定句互用。

不過，嚴(yán)格來說，I could care less. = I care to some degree.（care 的程度可能減少） I could care more. = I care some.（care的程度也許增加）（主詞可用任何人稱代名詞：he, she, you, we, they 等。但只用 could，不用 can。）

2. No bones about it.

意思是：真實(shí)的，誠(chéng)懇的（truly, sincerely or exactly），也就是 to make no bones about it.（bone 要加 s, it 是指 something）例如：

His wife is beautiful; no bones about it.（他的太太真是很漂亮。）
Mr. A made no bones about it when he talked about abortion issue.（當(dāng) A 先生談到墮胎問題時(shí)，他是誠(chéng)懇的。）
When I spoke on the topic, he said, "No bones about it."（也就是他同意我的看法。）
No bones about it; the weather is very chilly today.（今天是真的太冷了。）

3. Take it on me!

意思是：“這是我的，請(qǐng)用吧！”“這是免費(fèi)的(help yourself to it; it is free)”，這多半是指吃的東西或一些不貴重的東西。例如：

Here are some candies from England; take one on me. (這是來自英國(guó)的糖果，嘗一個(gè)吧！) (one = candy)
The restaurant owner said to me, "Take the dessert on me." (餐館老板對(duì)我說：嘗嘗我的甜點(diǎn)吧！)
Please take these pencils on me. (取用一些我的鉛筆吧！) (也許鉛筆上刻有名字，做為宣傳之用而免費(fèi)。)

可見 take 后面的 it，是指 something，而 on 的后面通常不指別人，所以多半也只用在第一人稱單數(shù) me。(假如夫婦在一起，也可以說：Take it on us.)

4. I am from Missouri.

這句話有時(shí)后面要加一句：I need to be shown.或You have got to show me.，意思是密蘇里州的人很固執(zhí) (stubborn)，不太信任別人，一定要人家證明一下(prove it to me)，所以密蘇里州也被稱為The Show Me State。

據(jù)說這句話所以流行 (尤其在美國(guó)中西部) 是因?yàn)槊绹?guó)一些名人都住過密蘇里州，包括 哈里·杜魯門, 馬克·吐溫, 沃爾特·迪士尼等。后來老外不輕易相信別人時(shí)，就使用這句話。(也有半開玩笑性質(zhì)) 例如：

He is not easily convinced because he is from Missouri. (他是來自密蘇里州，所以不容易說服他。)
Don't try to fool me; I am from Missouri.(You have got to show me.) (別愚弄我，我是來自密蘇里州。)
We are all from Missouri; we need to be shown. As Mr. Smith is a tough guy; he must be from Missouri. (史密斯先生是位倔強(qiáng)的人，他一定是來自密蘇里州。)

（來源：滬江英語）