当前位置: Language Tips> 实用口语

Bite your tongue 装哑巴

2012-10-05 11:08

分享到

 

Larry在学校书店,陪李华买新学期要用的书。他们会用到两个常用语: bite your tongue和stoop down to someone's level。

LH: 啊呀,怎么这么多人都选今天来买书!

Larry: Well, classes do start on Monday. Everyone is getting ready for school to start.

LH: Larry,刚才我结账的时候,你听见那个收款员嘲笑我了么?他看我买这本书,说什么:“呦,你还上这门课哪?有什么用啊这种课!”他怎么能这样呢?! 气得我够呛!

Larry: Yea, I almost said something to him, but I just wanted to get out of there. Sometimes it's just better to bite your tongue and walk away.

LH: Bite your tongue? Larry你咬舌头啦? 疼不疼啊?

Larry: No, Lihua. My tongue is fine. Biting your tongue is a phrase that means you force yourself to keep quiet - Like you have to bite your tongue to keep it from talking.

LH: 哦,to bite your tongue意思就是忍着不说话。你是说,你本想说那店员两句,可不想引起争执,所以就忍着没作声。

Larry: That's right, Lihua, and saying something mean back to that rude cashier just wouldn't be worth it. Better to bite my tongue and walk away.

LH: 这倒是。我真希望刚才那个收银员也知道什么时候闭嘴,bite his tongue,不要对客人说这么没礼貌的话。

Larry: He was probably just having a bad day. When someone gets frustrated, it's easier for them to forget to bite their tongue when they should...Like last Friday when my boss asked me to work late...

LH: 啊?老板让你加班,你说什么啦?

Larry: Well I wanted to tell him to get lost, but, of course, I bit my tongue instead.

LH: 幸好你忍住了!对老板大发脾气可不是明智之举!

Larry: That sure would be a mistake. Another example of a good time to bite your tongue is when your teacher makes you angry in class.

LH: 没错!有时候我也想顶老师几句,可想想得罪老师的后果,我呀,还是bite my tongue,装哑巴算了!

Larry: That's definitely the smart thing to do. You wouldn't want your teacher to be angry at you!

******

LH: 每个人在生活中都应该“三思而后言”,不能想到什么说什么。一想起刚才那个没礼貌的店员,我就来气!

Larry: It's alright, Lihua - there's nothing we can do about it now anyway. We would only be stooping down to his level if we returned the insult.

LH: "Stooping down to his level"“弯腰到他的水平”?这是什么意思?

Larry: To stoop down to his level would mean to be rude to him just like he was rude to us. Just because he is rude does not mean that we have to act the same way.

LH: 我明白了。stoop down to someone's level意思就是“跟某人一般见识”。如果别人对你没礼貌,而你也用粗鲁的语言去回敬他,那你就是把自己降低到和他一样的档次了。

Larry: Right. For example, if someone speeds past you while you're driving, it's better to let them go instead of trying to catch up and race them.

LH: 对,别人不守交通规则,咱不能跟他们一般见识,和他们一块儿违章开车。

Larry: Exactly. If they want to be unsafe, let them be unsafe by themselves.

LH: 对了,Larry, 刚才咱们排队的时候,后面一群女生在议论你的新鞋。

Larry: My shoes? What did they say??

LH: 呃....她们在嘲笑你的鞋子老土……不过没关系,我忍了,什么都没说,我不能跟她们一般见识,叽叽喳喳说人坏话,你说对吧?

Larry: My shoes? Out of style? That's so rude. I'm glad you didn't stoop down to their level. If I had heard them, I might not have been able to control myself. Why, I would......

LH: Larry! 你怎么啦?!咱们刚才不是才说么,不要想到什么就说什么!

Larry: You're right. I wouldn't want to stoop down to their level.

LH: 要不,咱们还是给你买双新鞋吧!

Larry: New shoes? What, you don't like these either?

LH: Um, I....

Larry: Yes?

LH: 我想我还是bite my tongue吧!

Larry: It doesn't work if I already know what you are going to say! (Sigh) OK. There's a shoe store. Let's hope the cashier there is having a better day.

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是bite your tongue,表示“忍着不说话”。另一个是stoop down to one's level, 意思是“跟某人一般见识”。

相关阅读

用英语聊聊“花美男”

“拍马屁”英语怎么说?

用英语聊聊美国大选

“船到桥头自然直”英语怎么说?

(来源:VOA英语教学  编辑:Julie)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn