Larry和李華一起去參觀藝術(shù)博物館。他們會(huì)用到一個(gè)常用語：write something/someone off，意思是“小瞧，不看好；認(rèn)為……不重要”。

LH: Larry, 你喜歡什么流派的藝術(shù)啊？現(xiàn)實(shí)主義還是抽象主義？

L: I definitely prefer the realistic kind. Anybody can make abstract art!

LH: 人人都能創(chuàng)作抽象派藝術(shù)作品？那好，你創(chuàng)作一個(gè)給我看看！

L: Er ... I guess you're right. I shouldn't write off abstract artists so quickly.

LH: Write them off? 這是什么意思？

L: When you write something off, that means you decide that it isn't important.

LH: 哦，就是小看，不看好的意思。你是說，你不該小瞧抽象派藝術(shù)家。

L: Right! Here is another example. In high school most people had written Jack off as an actor, so they were really surprised when he became a movie star years later.

LH: 我明白了。高中時(shí)大家都覺得Jack肯定當(dāng)不了演員，可后來他成了電影明星，所以大家都很吃驚。

L: That's right!

LH: 對(duì)了Larry, 你說這些藝術(shù)品的創(chuàng)作者一定都很有錢吧？他們的作品都賣得好貴哦！

L: Actually I don't think so. Many great artists were written off in their own time, and people only started to appreciate them many years later.

LH: 也是，好多藝術(shù)家在世的時(shí)候不被世人重視，總是死了之后才得到人們的認(rèn)可，真可惜！哎， Larry, 你喜不喜歡畫畫？

L: I thought of being an artist when I was a little kid, but I wrote that dream off a long time ago when I realized I was bad at drawing.

LH: 哦，你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己畫畫不行，就放棄了當(dāng)畫家的夢(mèng)想。

L: Yeah, but I still like to draw as a hobby. Even though I can't be a professional artist, giving it up even as a hobby would have been overkill.

LH: 要不這樣吧，Larry, 把你最近畫的大作拿來，跟我五歲時(shí)畫的兒童簡(jiǎn)筆畫比比，看看你有沒有達(dá)到我五歲時(shí)的水平？

L: Very funny, Lihua. I'll write that off as a joke!

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