How to say it in American English
Jessica在北京學漢語,她的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞,就會來請教她。今天是小北要問的:無語。
Jessica; Xiaobei! You look upset. What happened?
Yiru: 別提了!我有個朋友欠錢不還,拖了好長時間了,每次都找各種理由搪塞我!氣死我了,以前我還和她理論,現(xiàn)在我簡直是簡直是無語了我!
Jessica: I see. You're so tired of your friend's excuses that you are speechless.
XB: Speechless? 原來這就是無語的意思。
Jessica: Yes. For example, you can say “she was speechless after learning her boyfriend was dating another woman.”
XB: 哦,知道男友跟別的女生交往后,她氣得說不出話來。
Jessica: Exactly. Basically, you can use “speechless” to mean something so bad or so surprising that you don't know what to say.
XB: I see. 跟你說,我認識一個女生,她特別虛偽,總是假惺惺地稱贊別人,轉(zhuǎn)過頭來就說人壞話。Every time I see her being so fake, I'm speechless!
Jessica: I bet you also roll your eyes!
XB: Roll my eyes?
Jessica: If you roll your eyes, you're showing that you don't believe someone or you aren't interested in what they're saying.
XB: 哦,就是因為不相信或者不耐煩而翻白眼。這個說法真形象! 就在今天早上,I got an email saying I was selected to win 5 million dollars. It also asked for my bank account.
Jessica: That's fishy! It must be a scam!
XB: 我當然知道這是詐騙郵件了!I rolled my eyes when I read it! 不過你說,要是我哪天我真中了500萬
Jessica: That would blow me away! Meaning I'd be really amazed!
XB: 哦,to blow someone away就是使人大吃一驚,不過,這應(yīng)該是用在形容什么好事兒的時候吧?
Jessica: Exactly. For example, My new computer ran so fast it blew me away!
XB: Or Jessica has so much cash hidden under her bed it blows me away!
Jessica: What? Me? Cash? Now I'm rolling my eyes, xiaobei!
XB: 我來總結(jié)一下今天學的詞:因為厭惡或者吃驚而無語,用speechless; 因為不耐煩或不相信而翻白眼是roll one's eyes; 某些好事讓人大吃一驚用blow someone away.
B: I heard something this morning that totally blew me away...
A: What? What happened?
B: Remember Bob and Amanda in my office? They are GETTING MARRIED!
A: 什么? 我記得一年前,Bob 還在發(fā)愁怎么跟Amanda 講話呢! 真為他們高興!
B: Absolutely! Congrats Bob and Amanda! And to celebrate, let's discuss a similar topic for today's business etiquette: having a crash on your co-worker!
Business Etiquette
King 跟同事 Dan 聊天,發(fā)現(xiàn) Dan 心不在焉。King 說,
King: The trip was pretty good except for the flat tire we got on the way home. I was going to change it myself but then...hey Dan, are you even listening to me? Dan?
Dan: Oh sorry, I spaced out there for a second.
K: Who were you looking at? Wait a second...you were looking at Julie!
D: All right, I confess! I'm busted. I have a big crush on Julie.
K: That's wonderful! Julie is a great woman, and you're a great guy! So have you asked her out yet?
D: No. I'm not really sure it's appropriate.
King正在給Dan講自己最近的一次旅行,他們回家路上車胎爆了。We got a flat tire. 正說得高興,King發(fā)現(xiàn)Dan根本沒在聽自己說話。Dan很不好意思,承認 I spaced out for a second. 我走神了。space out 是走神的意思,形容心不在焉,走神,還可以用 daydream, 所以剛才那句話也可以說 I was daydreaming for a second. King發(fā)現(xiàn),Dan走神是在看女同事 Julie。 Dan只好承認說,I'm busted. I have a big crush on Julie. I'm busted. 意思是我被抓住了,被發(fā)現(xiàn)了,暴露了。他說自己確實在偷偷喜歡Julie,但又不敢 ask her out 約她出去,不知道這樣做是否合適 appropriate。King 說,
K: I think lots of people meet their "significant other" in the workplace. It's not like she's your boss...go ask her out!
D: I don't know...what if she says 'no?'
K: Have you ever heard the old expression: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained?" What if she says 'yes?'
D: I've always had a really hard time approaching women. I get tongue-tied and start sweating. I don't want to come across as too aggressive, but I also don't want to appear too passive...It's really hard to get it right!
King說,很多人都是在工作場所遇到自己另一半的,significant other 是伴侶的意思,也可以說是自己的 better half. Dan 害怕被拒絕。King 告訴他說:Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 不去冒險嘗試,就絕不會有收獲。Dan 說自己在追女人方面特別不在行,I get tongue-tied and start sweating. 我說話會結(jié)結(jié)巴巴,直冒冷汗。Dan 還說,既不想顯得太主動,也不想顯得太被動,It's really hard to get it right. 很難把握好分寸。King 勸他說:
K: If there's one thing I've learned in my life it's that you never lose by trying. You never know unless you try! Getting rejected isn't the end the world!
D: But how do I make the initial approach? Should I try to come up with some clever or witty remarks?
K: There are a lot of guys out there who think they're Casanova, but in my experience, women don't go for cheesy pickup lines. I suggest being sweet, straightforward and sincere.
D: So what should I say?
King說,最糟糕也不過是被拒絕。Getting rejected isn't the end the world! 被拒絕也并非世界末日,沒什么大不了的。Dan問,要不要come up with some clever or witty remark 想出一些俏皮話,King告訴他,約女人出去,直截了當些就好,很多男人都以為自己是 Casanova, 卡薩諾瓦是十八世紀的一個意大利探險家和作家,也是一個風流倜儻的情圣,在英語里是大眾情人的代名詞。King 還說,其實,women don't go for cheesy pickup lines. cheesy is spelled c-h-e-e-s-y, cheesy 意思是俗氣的,肉麻的;pick up lines 是指男人跟女人搭訕時說的俏皮話。Dan會鼓起勇氣約 Julie 出去嗎?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。
A: 我喜歡這個3S策略: sweet, straightforward and sincere! I hope a sweet, straightforward and sincere man would come and ask me out today!
B: 哈哈,你完了,我要去告訴你的男朋友...
A: oops...善解人意的Kat, 等會我們來討論一下封口費的問題吧...
B: Hush money? 可以呀! 好了, 這次節(jié)目時間就到這里。Tune in next time for American English Mosaic!