地道英语
Elbow grease费劲苦干
内容简介
主持人 Phil 想把自己的车里里外外都打扫干净，他对同事菲菲说，这需要 “a bit of elbow grease”。表达 “elbow grease” 的字面意思是 “胳膊肘上的油渍”，但它实际用来比喻 “费劲苦干”，尤其指 “重活，体力活”。听节目，学习如何在日常生活中使用这个表达。
文字稿
（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）
Feifei
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “地道英语” 节目。I'm Feifei.
Phil
And I'm Phil. We have an expression which is about hard work, especially if it's physically quite hard – it's 'elbow grease'.
Feifei
Elbow grease. 这个表达的字面意思是 “胳膊肘上的油渍”，它实际用来比喻 “费劲苦干”，尤其指 “脏活、累活、体力活”。
Phil
OK, my car is absolutely filthy, I need to get it clean – it's hard work, and there are some bits that won't be easy to clean, but with a bit of elbow grease, I can get it done.
Feifei
Phil 说想要把自己的车里里外外清洁干净需要 “a bit of elbow grease（一番苦干）”。It's amazing what you can achieve with a bit of elbow grease!
Phil
Yes, sometimes hard work can be satisfying. I thought digging up my garden was going to be a horrible job, but with a bit of elbow grease, I got it done fairly quickly.
Feifei
People are always looking for the easy way out – but sometimes the only way to get something done is good, old-fashioned elbow grease. 有些事情只有自己动手、身体力行才能完成。
Phil
There's nothing wrong with a bit of hard work. Let's hear some more examples.
Examples
The kitchen looks sparkling now, but it took a lot of elbow grease to get there!
The sports teams are only successful because of the elbow grease put in by the volunteers, coaches, and organisers.
You call those shoes polished? You need a bit more elbow grease than that!
Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC英语教学的 “地道英语” 节目。以上我们学习了表达 “elbow grease” 的用法。它用来指 “重活，体力活”，尤其被用在描述 “通过一番苦干把某物彻底清洁干净” 的语境中。
Phil
Yes, that's probably the most common context. We also often use it because we think that hard work is a good, honest thing – it's seen as positive.
Feifei
“Elbow grease” 含褒义，暗示 “做点体力活没什么大不了的，出点力气是好事儿”。也正因如此，我们通常在这个表达前加 “a bit” 或 “a little” —— “a bit of elbow grease” 和 “a little elbow grease”，意思都是 “一点体力活儿”。
Phil
Anyway, it's taken quite a bit of elbow grease to record this episode, so I think I need to go and have a rest.
Feifei
You call that elbow grease? Some people! Anyway, see you next time! Bye-bye!
Phil
Bye!
