Lý do đồ ăn trong mini bar tại phòng khách sạn thường đắt

vì nó thuận tiện thôi,

chứ ko phải giá đắt thì trải nghiệm sẽ hơn đâu...

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Dear Dan,

During a recent hotel stay, I tried to resist temptation (cưỡng lại cám dỗ) but gave in (chịu thua) and bought a $5 bag of M&M's from the minibar. I know from research on pricing that paying a lot for something often makes you experience it as especially wonderful (rất tuyệt vời)—but that didn't happen with the M&M's. Why?

—David

Research does indeed show that higher prices (giá cao, giá đắt đỏ) can increase our expectations (nâng kỳ vọng), and these increased expectations can spur us to more fully enjoy an experience. But there are limits. First, you have probably had lots of M&Ms in your life and have rather set expectations about how good they can be. Second, some high prices are just annoying (gây bực mình).

Bài trước: Con mình cứ đòi nuôi chó. Có mẹ nào nhà đang nuôi chó tư vấn cho mình với

"You had me at hello" nghĩa là gì?

Alo, crush à! Photo courtesy: Kissmyscars

"You had me at hello" = tôi đã yêu em từ câu xin chào -> nghĩa là yêu một người từ cái nhìn đầu tiên, "hello" được nói khi ta mới gặp nhau nên khi mới chào nhau thì đã "dính tiếng sét".

Ví dụ

They added that rather than saying goodbye to "our beloved cinema", they would simply say "you had me at hello".

Every phrase has to start somewhere, and "you had me at hello" started with Jerry Maguire. When it's uttered by Renée Zellweger to Tom Cruise, it's one of those big on-screen moments that lovers of romantic comedy-dramas will still be talking about decades from now — as they have been for the nearly quarter-century (1/4 thế kỷ) since the Cameron Crowe-directed movie first arrived on screens.

There’s so little genuine (chân thật), starry eyed you-had-me-at-hello romance in American movies today that when a new love story pops up, it’s hard not to root for it (cổ vũ). That’s the case with “The Photograph,” about parallel affairs of the heart. One is hindered (cản trở) by ambition and miscommunication while the other suffers from familiar fears of commitment. Movies like this tell us that falling in love is easy — cue (ám chỉ) the thunderbolt looks, passionate kisses and surging orchestration — but if it really were that simple there wouldn’t be much to tell, so also bring on the agonies, tempests (giông tố) and tears.

Ngân Nguyễn

Bài trước: "Tag along with" nghĩa là gì?

"Tag along with" nghĩa là gì?

Mình đi đâu thế bà ơi! Photo courtesy: Shawn Harquail

"Tag along with" có "tag" là đi theo = đi cùng -> cụm từ này nghĩa là đi theo một người hoặc nhóm, nhất là khi họ chưa mời đi cùng.

Ví dụ

Surely, the aim of any human rights advocacy (người ủng hộ) is to be heard by citizens of the country being criticised, and we won’t be heard if we just tag along with America.

Processing the pheasant (gà lôi) photos reminded me of a day a few weeks ago when I tagged along with state Department of Environmental Conservation personnel releasing pheasants. During the hunting season, birds raised at the DEC game farm in Ithaca are taken to various public areas across the state and released for hunting. Hunters are not allowed to hunt on the days the birds are released (two days a week); that way the birds can get adjusted to their new habitat and disperse (phân tán).

The cardiac injury was enough to get me admitted, but it didn't necessarily explain the headaches and dizziness (chóng mặt). The doctor suggested a lumbar puncture (chọc dò cột sống), since hospitals have been seeing the coronavirus cause viral meningitis (viêm màng não) in some patients. My prior bout (cơn bệnh) with meningitis didn't make me more or less likely to have it, he said. It's simply a condition — painful inflammation of the brain and spinal cord membranes (màng) — that can tag along with COVID-19. He stayed in the room and talked to me about books while another doctor performed the spinal tap.

Ngân Nguyễn

Bài trước: "Get the sniffles" nghĩa là gì?