The gods must be crazy《上帝也疯狂》精讲之三-英语点津

影片对白

Andrew: Morning. Morning, Miss Thompson.

Kate: Morning.

Andrew: How are you?

Kate: Fine, thanks. How are you?

Andrew: Fine, thanks, and how are you?

Kate: I'm fine. Thank you.

Andrew: Kate, I know you think I'm an idiot, but I'm not really like that. It's only when I'm around wom…Around you. I'm sorry. Normally, I'm quite normal. But whenever I'm in the presence of a lady, my fingers turn into thumbs, my brain switches off.

Kate: Watch it!

Andrew: It's flour.

Kate: I noticed.

Andrew: It's actually…Actually, it's really only an interesting psychological phenomenon. Perhaps it's some Freudian syndrome.

That day when I brought you your shoes, I actually came to apologize for the stupid things I did when I met you at Mabula. I wanted to explain that I'm not as stupid as that. But then, of course, I blew it, and I...

So I don't blame you if you think...But it's really only an interesting psychological...

When you get to know me better, you'll see that I'm not always stumbling. It's really just an interesting psychological phenomenon.

Kate: Yes, you are a very interesting psychological phenomenon. And I think you're very sweet.

Voiceover: Xi was beginning to think he'll never find the end of the earth. And one day, suddenly, there it was.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. in the presence of: 面临着，在...面前。

来看例句：

Please speak out in the presence of everyone. 请当着大家谈一谈。

I feel strange in the presence of strangers. 在陌生人面前,我感到不自在。

The leaf was allowed to photosynthesize in the presence of radiocarbon. 叶子被允许同放射性碳进行光合作用。

2.thumb: 台词中my fingers turn into thumbs 千万别理解成“我的手指全变成了拇指”，这句话的意思是“我变得笨手笨脚了”。更常见的说法是"all thumbs"。

例如：

I'm all thumbs and no good for this. 我的手太笨，干不了这活。

He is all thumbs with cooking. 他对烹饪一窍不通。

3. switches off: 关掉，停止。Andrew说“我的脑子不转/短路了”，这是个很形象的表达。来看具体用法:

Please switch off the light. 请把灯关掉。

He forgets to switch off the intercom. 他忘了关掉对讲。

I just tried to switch off from it all. 我试着不去想这件事情。

I switch off when he starts talking about cars. 他一谈起汽车我就厌烦。

我们来看剧中Andrew是怎么为自己辩解的吧：“正常情况下，我挺正常的。但在女士面前，我就一副笨手笨脚、脑子进水的样子。”

4. blow: 这个词本意是“吹、打击”，例如

go for a blow（出外吹吹风），a hefty blow（重重的一击），counter blow（还击拳），blow up（炸毁），blow off repressed emotion（发泄压抑的感情），give sb. a blow on the head（给某人头上一击），give the nose a good blow（用力擤一下鼻子）a strong wind blow（刮大风）。

A hungry ass heed no a blow. 饿驴不顾鞭子抽。

I killed two flies at a blow. 我一下子打死了两只苍蝇。

I'll soon blow up their plan. 不用多久我就会使他们的计划告吹。

这里的意思是“搞砸了”，等于"screw up"。例如：

You'll blow it for sure! 你肯定会失败的！

5. stumbling: 障碍的，磕磕巴巴的。stumbling block就是“绊脚石”的意思。

来看例句：

Turn a stumbling block into a stepping stone. 化绊脚石为垫脚路。

Later he developed a stumbling gait. 后来他连走路也不稳当了。

After stumbling over the introduction because of his nervousness, he delivered the rest of the speech smoothly. 由于紧张，他把导言讲得结结巴巴，但是其余部分他讲得很流利。

The inertia is the innovation stumbling obstacle. 惰性是创新的绊脚石。

考考你：小试牛刀