地道英语

Peaks and troughs 沉浮波折，起起落落

内容简介

每个人在人生中都会经历 “peaks（高峰）” 和 “troughs（低谷）”。英语表达 “peaks and troughs” 就可以用来比喻 “人生经历中的沉浮波折，起起落落”。主持人菲菲和 Neil 在节目中分享他们经历过的 “peaks and troughs”，教大家如何使用这个 “地道英语” 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。在每期节目中，我们都会介绍一个英语母语人士或讲英语流利的人会用到的表达。I'm Feifei.

Neil 
Hi there. I'm Neil.

Feifei 
这期节目中要介绍的表达非常实用，也十分贴近生活：“peaks and troughs”。首先我和 Neil 将用英语来讲解 “peaks and troughs” 的用法，在节目最后，我会用汉语进行归纳总结。So, Neil, have you ever experienced the peaks and troughs of life?

Neil 
Oh, yeah, of course! Life is full of peaks and troughs, isn't it? Highs and lows. But what exactly do we mean by that expression, 'peaks and troughs'? 

Feifei 
Well, in this expression, 'peaks' refer to the high points in life – moments of success, happiness or achievement. I suppose that comes from the top of a mountain which is called a 'peak', while 'troughs' are the low points. So, moments of difficulty or challenges.

Neil 
Yeah. So, we're talking about the ups and downs of life.

Feifei 
That's right. Life is like a rollercoaster with its peaks and troughs. You said you've experienced the peaks and troughs of life. Would you mind sharing?

Neil 
Oh, yes, OK. So, I did a master's degree as an adult when I had a young family. That was really challenging, but I managed to do it, so that felt good. That was a good peak. Um… a trough – I lived abroad for a long time, and then when I came back home, it was difficult to adjust. So, that was a trough, I'd say. 

Feifei
Well, good examples. Thanks for sharing, Neil. Here are some more examples of people using 'peaks and troughs'.  

Examples 
My boyfriend is self-employed, and he doesn't have any work at the moment, but it's peaks and troughs. Something will come up soon.

I went to a play the other day, and it was alright. I liked some of it. There were real peaks and troughs.

I went to an amazing restaurant the other day, but it was really expensive, and it took me ages to get there. But that's living in London – it's peaks and troughs.

Neil 
So, we have lots of different ways, actually, to describe the ups and downs of life. We have 'ups and downs', 'highs and lows', 'ebb and flow' – that's a good one – it's about the ocean tides and how they come in and out. But what kind of situations can we use 'peaks and troughs' in, Feifei? Is it flexible?

Feifei 
It is, actually, as we've seen in the examples. It can be used to talk about everyday life, but you can also use it in any situation where there are highs and lows. So, for example, if we worked in a field like economics and we probably will use a graph with a line going up and down to monitor the financial market. Or, for example, if you are a doctor, you might monitor your patient's glucose levels on a graph seeing it going up and down.  

Neil 
Yeah, that's right. So, to recap, we've learnt the phrase 'peaks and troughs' which we can use when we talk about the high and the low points in life.

Feifei
“Peaks and troughs” 的字面意思是 “高峰与低谷”，就像一张数据图表中的波线会上下波动。我们可以用 “peaks and troughs” 来比喻 “人生中的起起落落 peaks and troughs, highs and lows”；还可以比喻 “工作中的成功和失败 peaks and troughs, successes and failures”；“peaks and troughs” 还能用来比喻 “金融市场的繁荣期和萧条期”。下次当你想要描述人生中的沉浮波折或者职场上的跌宕起伏的时候，记着用这期节目中学习的表达 “peaks and troughs”。

OK, we'll be back next week with another useful English phrase. See you next time! 

Neil 
Goodbye.