對話
Johnny：Hey, how's it going with your new house?
強尼：嘿，你的新家現在怎樣？
Mark：Not so good. I am having a whale of a cold. I can't even go to work.
馬克：不太好。我現在重感冒。我甚至沒辦法去上班。
Johnny：That's too bad. So you haven't cleaned it or anything?
強尼：那太糟了。所以你還沒打掃清理什麼的嗎？
Mark：No, nothing. It's a mess. I won't be able to paint it until next week.
馬克：還沒，一無進展。現在一團混亂。我要到下星期才能粉刷房子。
Johnny：What about the party we're supposed to have there this weekend?
強尼：那我們預計這個周末要在那裡舉行的派對該怎麼辦？
Mark：I don't know.
馬克：我不知道。
Johnny：It will be a disaster.
強尼：派對一定會很失敗。
Mark：I have an idea. Why don't we do a theme party?
馬克：我想到一個點子。我們何不辦個主題派對？
Johnny：A theme party?
強尼：主題派對？
Mark：Yeah, we can have everyone dress like cleaners. And we can clean the house while we party.
馬克：對啊，我們可以叫大家穿得像清潔工。我們就可以邊掃地邊進行派對。
Johnny：Sounds great. But I think I have something else to do this weekend. See you later.
強尼：聽起來不賴。但我想我這周末有其他活動。再見囉。
Mark：Come on! It will be fun!
馬克：別這樣嘛！會很好玩的！

延伸學習

俚語精解
．a whale of a cold
whale是「鯨魚」。鯨魚是地球上最大的哺乳類動物，因此英語裡就用鯨魚來形容「巨大」。我們如果要表達「有很大的不同」，除了可用“There is a lot of difference.”也可使用較為俚語的用法“There is a whale of a difference.”此外，a whale of a something 也可表示「某物非常棒」，例如：have a whale of a time（玩得超開心）。

關鍵字詞
．be in a mess 一團亂
例：The room is all in a mess.（房間真是一團亂。）
．paint vt. 粉刷╱畫（圖）
例：My father painted the fence white.（我老爸把籬笆漆成白色的。）
．have / throw a party for 為某人辦派對
例：My parents threw a party for me yesterday.（我爸媽昨天替我舉辦一場派對。）
．disaster n. 災難╱大失敗
例：The party was a disaster; the food was bad and the band was lousy.
（這個派對真是失敗；食物難吃，樂團又爛。）

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