Boston Legal (2004 - 2008) is a dramedy set in the fictional law firm of Crane, Poole and Schmidt in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a spin off of The Practice, which was created by David E. Kelley.
▍Season 1, Episode 1
▍Part 2
Reception Area of Crane Poole & Schmidt
Receptionist hands a messenger an envelope as a very upset Dr. Sharon Brant enters.
Receptionist: May I help you?
Dr. Sharon Brant: Yes, I need to speak to Edwin Poole immediately.
Receptionist: I’m afraid Mr. Poole has stepped out . . .
ˌstep ˈout: to briefly leave a place
Dr. Sharon Brant: You don’t understand. This is an urgent matter. Where the hell is Edwin Poole?
Sally Heep: Hi, is there anything I can do to help?
Dr. Sharon Brant: Yes. My ex-husband is trying to take my children from me.
Sally Heep: Okay.
Dr. Sharon Brant: And Edwin Poole—he missed my hearing today. And I’ve been calling his cell phone, and—I mean, what the hell is going on around here?!
hear·ing [cn] 听证会；听审；聆讯 A hearing is an official meeting which is held in order to collect facts about an incident or problem.
Brad Chase: Excuse me. I’m Brad Chase. We’re going to take care of this for you. Now why don’t you just take a seat in the conference room. I’ll get you a glass of water.
Dr. Sharon Brant: All right. Thank you.
Sally Heep: Hey.
Brad Chase: Yeah.
Sally Heep: I was handling it.
Brad Chase: I just thought I’d help out.
Sally Heep: That’s very nice. But, again, I was handling it.
Brad Chase: So, why does it bother you that I’m trying to help?
Sally Heep: Well, maybe because you feel I can’t deal with a client on my own.
Brad Chase: I don’t feel that way at all.
Sally Heep: Well, then I guess I really have no idea what you feel.
Brad Chase: I guess not.
Sally Heep: And that’s supposed to be my fault?
Alan Shore: Wait a minute. You two have had sex!
Brad Chase: I’m sorry. We’re not territorial about that sort of thing around here, are we?
Lori Colson’s Office
Lori Colson: If you’re not going to tell me—
Ernie Dell: I would prefer to tell Denny. Where the hell is he?
Lori Colson: Ernie, you and I have done business for a long time. And we’ve always been able to talk to each other. If I’m to help you here—
be to do something: (formal) (phrase) used in an ‘if’ clause for suggesting a possible aim when you are saying what must happen in order to achieve it
e.g. If we are to compete successfully in world markets, we must invest more money in education and training.
Ernie Dell: My wife is cheating on me. Uh, and . . . she informed me that she has been cheating on me for our entire marriage. It’s been a fraud from Day 1.
fraud /frɔːd/
[u, c] 诈骗；欺诈 Fraud is the crime of gaining money or financial benefits by a trick or by lying.
[c] 骗子；假货；赝品 If you call someone or something a fraud, you are criticizing them because you think that they are not genuine, or are less good than they claim or appear to be.
Lori Colson: Okay. First, you’ve only been married since August. Second, you’ve had five other marriages dissolve, each—
dis·solve /diˈzɔlv/ [v] to officially end a marriage, business agreement or parliament 解除（婚姻关系）；终止（商业协议）；解散（议会）
Ernie Dell: But this—this was the real thing.
Lori Colson: What’s the goal? To get her back?
Ernie Dell: Uh, I’d like to put a private investigator on her. Get some proof.
Lori Colson: If she’s admitted . . .
Ernie Dell: The goal being to get some compromising pictures to use as leverage.
com·prom·is·ing /ˈkɔmprəmaiziŋ; NAmE ˈkɑːm-/ [adj.] if sth is compromising, it shows or tells people sth that you want to keep secret, because it is wrong or embarrassing 有失体面的；不宜泄露的
le·ver·age /ˈliːvəridʒ; NAmE ˈlɛvərıʤ/ [un]（能够操控形势的）影响力，手段，优势 Leverage is the ability to influence situations or people so that you can control what happens.
Lori Colson: In hopes of . . .
Ernie Dell: sighs Negotiating an annulment.
ne·go·ti·ate /niˈgəuʃieit/ [v] negotiate (with sb) (for / about sth): to try to reach an agreement by formal discussion 谈判；磋商；协商
an·nul·ment /əˈnʌlmənt/ [u, c] 废除；取消；宣告无效 The annulment of a contract or marriage is an official declaration that it is invalid, so that legally it is considered never to have existed.
Alan Shore’s Office
Beah Toomy: I know it sounds crazy. And I know I’m one of those obnoxious stage mothers. I get that. But Sarah worked hard. I’ve tried to teach her what you earn, people can’t take that away from you. She’s earned this, Mr. Shore.
ob·nox·ious /əbˈnɔkʃəs/ [adj.] 令人讨厌的；使人反感的；可憎的 If you describe someone as obnoxious, you think that they are very unpleasant.
stage mother: In the performing arts, a stage mother is the mother of a child actor. The mother will often drive her child to auditions, make sure he or she is on the set on time, etc. The term stage mother sometimes has a negative connotation, suggesting that the individual is prone to obnoxiously demanding special treatment for her child, or suggesting that the individual has placed inappropriate pressure on her child to succeed. Some believe that a "stage mom" is vicariously living out her own dreams through her child.
Alan Shore: I have no doubt. But you realize, producers do have discretion. And the art of casting strikes me as a very inexact science.
dis·cre·tion /diˈskreʃn/ [un] 自行决定的自由;酌情决定权 If someone in a position of authority uses their discretion or has the discretion to do something in a particular situation, they have the freedom and authority to decide what to do.
strike [v] strike sb (as sth): to give sb a particular impression 给（某人以……）印象；让（某人）觉得
▪ [VN]
His reaction struck me as odd.
他的反应令我诧异。
How does the idea strike you?
你觉得这个主意怎么样？
She strikes me as a very efficient person.
在我眼里，她是个很干练的人。
▪ [VN (that)]
It strikes me that nobody is really in favour of the changes.
我觉得没人真正赞成这些变动。
Beah Toomy: If they knew they were gonna go white, why did they let her try out at all? Why’d they let her get her hopes up? I’ll tell you why. So they can pass themselves off as equal opportunity employers. So they can claim to be about diversity. They want it both ways, Mr. Shore. And my daughter got hurt.
get someone’s hopes up/build someone’s hopes (up)/raise someone’s hopes [phrase] to make someone expect something that they want even though you are not certain it will happen
e.g. I don’t want to raise her hopes about the promotion until I’m sur
ˌpass sb / yourself / sth 'off as sb / sth: to pretend that sb / sth is sth they are not 装作；佯装；假装
e.g. He escaped by passing himself off as a guard.
他伪装成看守人而得以脱逃。
Sarah Toomy and Alan Shore exchange smiles.
Conference Room of Crane Poole & Schmidt
Dr. Sharon Brant: That was our deal. I would work two jobs, put him through business school, then he would put me through medical school. A week after he graduated, he got a job running a mutual fund, and a week after that, he left me. Our kids were four then. Twins. Simon and Harry. Pulling a picture out of her purse They’re eight now. Handing picture to Sally Heep
ˌput ˈthrough: to arrange or pay for sb to attend a school, college, etc. 安排某人上（学）；供某人上（学）
put someone through school/university/college/: to pay for someone to be a student at a school, university, or college
'mutual fund (BrE: ˌunit 'trust) [cn] 单位信托投资公司，共同基金（代客户进行不同组合的投资） A mutual fund is an organization which invests money in many different kinds of business and which offers units for sale to the public as an investment.
Sally Heep: taking the picture Oh, they’re beautiful.
Dr. Sharon Brant: Thanks. In their peewee league uniforms. You know, he’s never seen one of their games.
pee·wee /ˈpiː.wiː/ [adj.] of, having to do with, or characteristic of younger and smaller players in some sport.
e.g. a peewee hockey game, a peewee football league.
league /liːg/ [cn] a group of sports teams who all play each other to earn points and find which team is best（体育运动队的）联合会，联赛
Sally Heep: He pay your way through med school?
Dr. Sharon Brant: Take a wild guess. I don’t care, though. I’ve graduated now. Got a residency waiting for me in New York City. But Matthew won’t let me take the boys out of state. Says he wants them close by—these boys he sees once a month. It’s nothing but spite.
guess [cn] guess (about sth) | guess (at sth) | guess (that...): an attempt to give an answer or an opinion when you cannot be certain if you are right 猜测；猜想
e.g.(BrE) to have / make a guess (at sth) （对某事）作猜测
(NAmE) to take a guess 推测
If you don't know the answer, make a guess. = (US) If you don't know the answer, take a guess. = (chiefly Brit) If you don't know the answer, have a guess.
“How many people will be there?” “I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine.” [=I don't know any more than you do]
“I have no idea how many peanuts are in the jar.” “Take a wild guess.” [=a guess based on no knowledge or information]
resi·dency /ˈrezidənsi/ [U, C] (especially NAmE) the period of time when a doctor working in a hospital receives special advanced training 高级专科住院医生实习期
spite /spait/ [un] a feeling of wanting to hurt or upset sb 恶意；怨恨
e.g. I'm sure he only said it out of spite.
我相信他只是为了泄愤才那么说的。
Brad Chase: Now, look, we’re going to reschedule a hearing. I’m sure everything is going to work out fine. You just have to be patient.
Dr. Sharon Brant: If I’m not at Columbia Presbyterian 8:00 am Monday morning, they will give my spot away. That can’t happen. I have worked too hard to build a life for these boys.
Columbia Presbyterian: 哥伦比亚大学长老会医院
Denny Crane’s Office
Denny Crane: We can’t tail the wife.
tail [v] 跟踪；盯梢；尾随 To tail someone means to follow close behind them and watch where they go and what they do.
Lori Colson: That’s what he wants, Denny.
Denny Crane: Can’t do it. Not ethical. She’s a client, too.
Lori Colson: What I would suggest is we send a letter of withdrawal to end-run the conflict. Get an opinion letter of outside counsel . . .
end-run (informal) To bypass (an impediment) often by deceit or trickery（非正式用语）回避，绕过，通常通过欺骗或诡计
Denny Crane: I don’t want to tail the wife.
Lori Colson: Denny, I don’t need to tell you that Ernie Dell is one of our biggest clients. If he wants a private investigator, what’s the real harm?
Denny Crane: The harm would be to me.
Lori Colson: I’m sorry?
Denny Crane: I’m the one sleeping with his wife.
The File Room at Crane Poole & Schmidt
Paul Lewiston: Denny is having an affair with the woman?
Lori Colson: I’ve got a senior partner saying, “Don’t tail her.” I’ve got a client wanting snapshots. What do I do, Paul?
snap·shot [cn] 快照；抓拍的照片 A snapshot is a photograph that is taken quickly and casually.
Paul Lewiston: Convince Ernie that the private investigator idea is a bad one.
Lori Colson: Oh, sure.
Paul Lewiston: You have enormous persuasive skills, Lori.
Lori Colson: You’re handling me.
Paul Lewiston: I am. And I need you to handle Ernie. I will handle Denny.
The Hallway of Crane Poole & Schmidt
Tara Wilson is walking; Lori Colson catches up to her.
Lori Colson: Tara?
Tara Wilson: Hi.
Lori Colson: Don’t be offended by this. I know you’re a great lawyer with exceptional legal skills.
ex·cep·tion·al /ikˈsepʃənl/ [adj.] unusually good 杰出的；优秀的；卓越的 SYN: outstanding
e.g. At the age of five he showed exceptional talent as a musician.
他五岁时就表现出非凡的音乐才能。
The quality of the recording is quite exceptional.
录音质量相当不错。
Tara Wilson: And?
Lori Colson: I need you to flirt with Ernie Dell.
Tara Wilson: Excuse me?
Lori Colson: The man is a profound skirt chaser.
pro·found /prəˈfaund/ [adj.] Unqualified; absolute 完全的：无条件的
e.g. a profound silence. 一片肃静
ˈskirt-ˌchasing [adj.][only before noun] (informal) trying to have sexual relationships with many different women – used to show disapproval
e.g. She finally left her skirt-chasing husband.
—skirt-chasing [un]
—skirt-chaser [cn]
Tara Wilson: What’s wrong with your skirt?
Lori Colson: sigh Okay, look. Men sometimes find me attractive. From time to time, they’ll even hit on me. It’s all deeply rewarding. But you—
Tara Wilson: What me?
Lori Colson: You’re hot. Yeah. Kind of . . . nasty hot. Men would leave their wives for you, and I need to make Ernie forget about his wife so . . .
Tara Wilson: If you think that I . . .
Lori Colson: Don’t make me pull rank. You can file your sexual harassment claim tomorrow, but today—now—you need to meet with Ernie.
pull rank [idiom] to use the power that your position gives you over someone in order to make them do what you want
e.g. He doesn't have the authority to pull rank on me any more.
Conference Room of Crane Poole & Schmidt
Alan Shore: It seems the client can’t pay, so the firm will have to eat the cost of prosecuting this matter. I’m sure the partners won’t object, when they hear that it was a case you assigned to me.
pros·ecute /ˈprɔsikjuːt; NAmE ˈprɑːs-/ [v]（律师在法庭上）指控，公诉 When a lawyer prosecutes a case, he or she tries to prove that the person who is on trial is guilty.
e.g. The attorney who will prosecute the case says he cannot reveal how much money is involved.
将对此案提起公诉的律师说他不能透露具体的涉案金额。
...the prosecuting attorney. 检察官
Brad Chase: I’ll tell you what. I’ll pay the cost of prosecuting the case.
Alan Shore: Mmm.
Brad Chase: Of course, if you were a betting man . . . You win, I pay. You lose, you pay. Bit of a gamble, I realize . . .
Alan Shore: I’ll pay double.
— END —