pain in the neck
to have had it
今天Michael會教李華兩個常用語:pain in the neck和to have had it。
M: Hello? I'm sorry. I'm not interested. No. No thank you. Look, I said I am not interested!
L: Michael,是誰打來的電話,讓你這么生氣啊?
M: That was someone who wanted to sell me a magazine subscription over the phone. Those people are such a pain in the neck!
L: 嗯,我也不喜歡別人在電話里跟我推銷東西??墒悄憬兴麄兪裁??A pain in the neck?
M: That's right. Pain. A pain in the neck is something that is just very very annoying.
L: 噢,我明白了,“a pain in the neck”就是指討厭到了極點。
M: Exactly. I can't stand telemarketers. When I get home and finally sit down, they always call. What a pain!
L: 那是真的很討厭。哎,“a pain in the neck”是不是只能形容人呢?
M: Not always. Things or situations can be a "pain in the neck".
L: 噢, 所以,“a pain in the neck”還可以拿來指某樣?xùn)|西,或者是某種處境。那我可不可以說“It is such a pain in the neck when the electricity goes out”?
M: You've got it! And it really was a pain in the neck, too! I couldn't do anything last week when we had the blackout. I couldn't cook, couldn't watch TV......
L: 哎喲,不能看電視算得上什么“pain in the neck”。那天我開車回家,馬路上連紅綠燈都壞了,那才叫不方便呢。
M: Yeah, well that's all over now. Oh man! It's my neighbor again! He always plays his drums in the evening. It's such a pain in the neck.
L: 原來是你的鄰居,他又在練習(xí)打鼓啊。唉,我也有個討厭的鄰居,她那只狗總是叫個不停,有時候晚上睡著了又給那狗吵醒了。真是個“pain in the neck”。
M: Yeah, well if it's that bad, why don't you ask your neighbor to do something about it.
L: 有啊。可是她不但不改,還和我們耍態(tài)度呢。這個人啊,也是個“pain in the neck”。
M: I guess the only thing worse than telemarketers are noisy neighbors.
******
M: I have had it! That guy has got to stop doing this.....I've got to call him.
L: 等等,Michael,你說“I have had it”,那是什么意思啊?
M: It means that I am so annoyed by something that I cannot stand it any longer.
L: 噢,“I have had it”就是你再也無法忍受了,是不是?
M: That's right. When we say "I have had it," we just mean that we have been dealing with the problem for a long time, and can't stand it any longer.
L: 哎,Michael,這次讓我來接。(Speaking to phone in English) Hello? No, sorry, I'm not interested. No, I'm not the lady of the house. Listen, we've had it with you telemarketers! Leave us alone!
M: Wow, looks like you learned this phrase quickly. Don't you think you were a bit rude with them?
L: 什么?你說我粗魯?哎呀,我真是受不了你。你這個人啊,就是沒有魄力,什么事也做不成。你討厭誰就直接告訴他嘛。還有啊,為什么你不敢理直氣壯告訴你的鄰居他打鼓的聲音太吵了。光坐在那兒抱怨有什么用嗎?
M: Alright then, I've really had it with my neighbor. I'm going to do something about it this time.
L: (Mocking tone of voice) 喲,Michael,這回來真的啦。你要做什么,打電話向你媽咪訴苦嗎?
M: I've had it with you too, Li Hua. You always laugh at me. You can be such a pain in the neck!
L: 哎呀,Michael,對不起嘛。我不是故意要氣你的啦!不過你說的也沒錯,有的時候我還真的是“pain in the neck”。
M: No.....no. You're not really a pain in the neck. The noise is just making me crazy. I'm going to call that guy and tell him to stop.
今天李華學(xué)的兩個常用語都和人的情緒有關(guān),pain in the neck是討厭到了極點,to have had it是再也無法忍受下去了。