”看美剧学英文“专栏第十五期来了。
这期我们聚焦Modern family 第11季第4-7集的十个高频语言点。
大家注意用心体会,通过朗读、背诵例句、主动造句等方式学习和不断复习,直至能运用自如、脱口而出。
get/be under one’s skin
表示“惹某人生气”,相当于annoy sb,比如:
◇Don't let him
get under your skin
.
别让他惹你生气。
近义表达还有
get on one's nerves
,表示“烦扰,令...心神不定”。比如“她老是在哼哼唧唧的,真令我心烦”:
◇She’s always moaning. It really
gets on my nerves
.
一个是“到皮肤下”,一个是“到神经上”,都表示“烦扰”😄 电影《绿皮书》也出现过
get on one's nerves
这一表达:
be a natural (for sth)
natural 不仅可以作形容词表示“自然的,天生的”,还可作名词,自然而然会做某事的人,即“有天赋的人,天才“
(person who is very good at sth without having to learn how to do it, or who is perfectly suited for a particular job)
。比如:
◇Ko Chia-yen
is a natural for
the role
.柯佳嬿是这个角色的最佳人选。
汉语里我们常用“某人是...料”来表达某人是做某事的天才,英文里也有两个十分对应的词汇:
这一表达与“某人是...料”几乎完全对应,非常好记,比如:
◇The teacher saw her as
good university material
.
老师认为她是块上大学的料。
◇
He’s a good soldier, but
not really officer material
.
他是个好士兵,但不是当军官的料。
2.
be cut out for sth/to be sth
cut out本来是“裁剪”的意思,比如
◇She
cut the dress out of
some old material.
她用一些旧布料裁剪出了那件连衣裙。
be cut out for sth/to be sth 本裁剪出来做什么 表示“是做...的料”。比如:
◇He'
s not cut out fo
r teaching.
他不适于做教学工作。
◇
He'
s not cut out to be
a teacher.
他不是当教师的材料。
catch
作名词,可表示”陷阱、隐患,圈套“,
当人们遇到一桩条件非常好的美事,觉得难以置信时(too good to be true),通常会带点戒心地、小心翼翼地问一句:”
What’s the catch?
”,表示“有什么鬼?有什么阴谋?有什么猫腻”。这是口语中一个超高频表达,比如:
◇All that money for two hours' work—
what's the catch
?
干了两小时的活就给那么多钱 —— 这里面有什么鬼?
◇
Free food? It sounds too good to be true.
What's the catch
?
免费事物?这么好的事,不像是真的。这里面有什么蹊跷?
throw sb a bone
从字面上看意思是丢给人一根骨头。比如你丢一根不带肉的光溜溜的骨头给一只饿得发慌的狗,能满足它的食欲吗? 当然不行,因为它盼望的是一大碗肉。因此throw sb a bone 喻指“给某人小恩小惠,给某人东西,但不符合他的期望”。英文解释是To attempt to appease or placate someone by giving them something trivial or of minor importance or by doing some small favor for them。比如:
◇The boss would not let his workers out early for the holiday but
threw them a bone
by buying lunch.
power suit
字面义是“权力套装”,表示显示权威或自信的职业装。如下图:
关于
suit
还有一个高频表达:
be sb's strong suit
表示“是某人的强项,是某人的长处”,英文解释是 to be a subject that sb knows a lot about,比如“恐怕地理不是我的强项”:
◇I'm afraid geography
is not my strong suit.
bet是“打赌,赌注”的意思, a good/safe bet 安全的赌,便表示“很可能发生的事情,十拿九稳的事”
(something that is likely to happen, to succeed or to be suitable)
。比如:
◇Lipsticks
are a safe bet
as a present for your girlfriend.
口红很适合作为送给女朋友的礼物。
◇
It is a safe bet that
the current owners will not sell.
十有八九现在的业主不会出售。
be/come on board with sth
on board本义是“上船”,上同一条船,便是“同意、接纳某事”,非常形象,是口语里超高频的表达。
do one’s homework
字面上是“做作业”的意思,引申为“做了充分的准备”
(if you do your homework, you prepare for an important activity by finding out information you need)
。
类似的表达还有
do some research
,不仅可以指狭义的"做研究",也可泛指研究调查。比如:
It’s a good idea to
do some research
before you buy a house.
买房子之前作些了解,这想法很对。
set sb apart
表示“使…与众不同,使突出”
(If a characteristic sets you apart from other people, it makes you different from the others in a noticeable way)
。类似的表达还有
distinguish A from B
。比如:
◇Her high height
sets her apart from
her sisters.
高高的个子使她在其姊妹中分外引人注目。
run sth by / past sb
表示“给某人看,说给某人听”
(to show sb sth or tell sb about an idea in order to see their reaction to it)
。比如:
◇Would you
run
your idea
by
me one more time?
你能不能再跟我说一遍你的想法?
第15期就到这里啦
测试一下大家我们在上一期「看美剧学英语」专栏讲过的表达。
1.如何表达”电灯泡“?
2.如何表达”欣喜若狂“?
3.如何表达”结束某事“?